Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 41! Referee, didn't the ball go in?

Jiang Bin and a student from the No. 3 Middle School in the provincial capital both chose to play in the men's singles. They were assigned to Court 1. After confirming their opponents, Jiang Bin immediately went to Court 1.

Just as the two were about to enter, a staff member suddenly jogged over and said, "The match in Stadium 1 is suspended. You can rest for a while and continue when the stadium is cleared."

"Why?" Jiang Bin asked, puzzled.

The staff explained, "Other competitions have been arranged here. You can enter after the competitions are over. If you're free, you can warm up first."

"I will obey your orders!"

Seeing that the other party had said that, Jiang Bin didn't press the matter further. After exchanging a glance with the student from the Third High School of the Provincial Capital, the two decided to go and watch the other people's matches. They might run into each other later, so they could get a feel for each opponent's strength and avoid being caught off guard if they did encounter them.

"Which court does Chen Lin from Linzhong play on?"

"I'm not entirely sure either," the other person hesitated. "I think it's at Stadium 7!"

"Let's go take a look. Chen Lin is very strong. He participated in the National Middle School Tennis Championships last year. Although his ranking wasn't particularly high, he should be the biggest threat to us in the men's singles."

"Right on my mind."

The two looked at each other and then laughed; they had probably thought of the same thing.

Regardless of who wins or loses in their match, Chen Lin is the biggest obstacle for either the starting lineup or the substitute position.

They hadn't had time to watch before because of the competition, but now that they had free time, they weren't about to let such a good opportunity slip by.

Just as the two were about to walk towards Court 7, Yu Haoyang, carrying a racket on his back and walking in their direction, suddenly came into view.

"Yu Haoyang!?"

What is he doing here?

Jiang Bin looked up and said uncertainly, "Maybe it's something like being a referee!"

"The referee is carrying a racket?"

Jiang Bin explained, "Didn't Coach Zhou say before that anyone interested could play a couple of friendly matches with Yu Haoyang after the game? And he agreed to it, so isn't it normal for him to bring his racket over?"

"Makes sense."

The other person nodded and turned to leave when Yu Haoyang shouted, "Is court number 1 available?"

The staff who had previously suspended the match at Stadium 1 immediately responded, "It's available now, and we can start the match anytime."

"Now that you're here, I'll get back to work."

"Hey! Wait a minute, since you're already here, don't leave. Be my referee later."

The staff member hesitated for a moment but then agreed.

Jiang Bin and the others were stunned when they saw Yu Haoyang walk into Court 1, take out his racket, and warm up on the spot.

"Didn't they say the friendly match would only be played after the main competition?" A student from the No. 3 Middle School in the provincial capital frowned.

"not……"

"You mean to say..." Jiang Bin swallowed hard.

"Someone is challenging Yu Haoyang!?"

"No way?"

Jiang Bin and the other person exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of shock in each other's eyes.

That's Yu Haoyang!
"It shouldn't be a challenge match, right?" The students from No. 3 Middle School were still somewhat skeptical.

Jiang Bin didn't speak, but stared at Yu Haoyang in a daze. More than the other's disbelief, he was curious about who wanted to challenge Yu Haoyang.

Gu Cheng?

Jiang Bin immediately thought of him, since only Gu Cheng had raised his hand just now. If someone were to challenge Yu Haoyang, Gu Cheng would be the most likely candidate.

But Jiang Bin felt it was somewhat unlikely. He knew a little about the situation at Ningbo No. 1 High School. The best tennis player, and someone who was also quite famous among the students, was probably only Wu Yifei.

As for Gu Cheng, he had never heard of him.

However, since Gu Cheng signed up for the preliminary rounds, his strength must be considerable.

As for getting three points from Yu Haoyang, he felt the chances were slim, or even impossible.

How could a high school student with no reputation possibly beat a professional player who won the National Games singles championship and is active in ITF events?

If they had the chance, they would have taken the risk long ago.

Why bother playing seven or eight rounds of matches with other people?

The news that someone was challenging Yu Haoyang quickly spread throughout the tennis hall, and many students who were not playing rushed to Court 1.

Yu Haoyang warmed up briefly, and seeing that the person hadn't arrived yet, he urged, "Where is he?"

"It seems they went to the restroom halfway through; they should be there soon," a staff member said.

"Give them a heads-up." "Okay."

Just as the staff were about to run to the restroom, they turned around and saw Gu Cheng rushing over.

"hurry up."

"Okay, right away."

Everyone looked in surprise in the direction the staff member had called out. When they saw Gu Cheng running towards them with his racket on his back, the scene fell into a deathly silence, as if time had stood still.

There was a full three or four seconds of silence before the crowd finally erupted.

"Gu Cheng?"

"It's him!?"

"I was just wondering if it could be Gu Cheng, but it really is him."

"Holy crap! He's amazing! He's truly incredible! Knowing Yu Haoyang's record, he's the first person to dare to challenge Yu Haoyang with his back against the wall."

"Is it possible that he felt he wouldn't get a spot even in the knockout stage, so he decided to play it safe and challenge Yu Haoyang, so that even if he was eliminated, he could at least find a reason to comfort himself?"

Everyone was stunned by these words and turned to look at the tall boy who had spoken.

Several people who signed up for the men's singles competition, feeling that their skills were average, were eager to try.

In the end, everyone will be eliminated, but being eliminated in the knockout stage and being eliminated by losing to Yu Haoyang are two different things. When you go back to school and talk about it, it gives people a completely different feeling.

Losing to professional players is perfectly normal.

The student from No. 3 Middle School standing next to Jiang Bin looked at Gu Cheng walking into the No. 1 court and said leisurely, "Is he from your Ningbo No. 1 Middle School?"

"Ah."

"How is the strength?"

"do not know."

"Don't know?" The student from No. 3 Middle School couldn't help but turn his head.

Jiang Bin gave a wry smile: "I really don't know. I know almost all the other students who came from Ningbo. We usually play ball together. But I really don't know Gu Cheng. I've never heard of him when I was in Ningbo."

The student from No. 3 Middle School shrugged: "That means they don't have much ability!"

Jiang Bin smiled but didn't say anything, only looking at Court No. 1.

……

Seeing that Gu Chengren had arrived, Yu Haoyang stretched and said, "Since you're here, let's not waste any more time. Let's finish our match quickly and clear the court so we don't delay the others from playing in the knockout stage."

"Let's skip all those fancy rules, you serve first."

Gu Cheng nodded, indicating he had no objection, and then retreated to the vicinity of the baseline corresponding to Zone 1.

He tossed the ball, bent down, and then leaped into the air.

How many balls?

"Uncertain, maybe three goals?"

"However, serving first meant this was the easiest game for him to score points. If he can't even get a point or two in the first game, then the rest of the match won't be very interesting."

"Actually, he shouldn't have chosen the Challenger Series. The outcome of the knockout stage might not have changed, but being able to compete against different opponents would have helped improve his skills."

When Gu Cheng made his serve, people outside Court 1 were already guessing how many balls Yu Haoyang would need to break Gu Cheng's serve.

The result was obvious: if his opponent was Yu Haoyang, no one was optimistic about him.

While everyone was still whispering among themselves, a crisp sound of a ball being struck rang out, and everyone instinctively looked towards the court.

The tennis ball flew through the air in a beautiful parabola, landing directly on the right side of the service court in the inverted triangle shape.

Yu Haoyang glanced at it and was somewhat surprised; the quality of this serve was very high.

His opponent seemed to be not as weak as he had imagined.

With a smile, Yu Haoyang stepped forward, glanced at Gu Cheng's court, and, having already judged the direction of the bounce, guided the racket behind him, intending to finish the game with one shot.

However, as the tennis ball spun violently upon hitting the ground and bounced toward his face, his confident smile froze instantly, and his body instinctively recoiled.

A flash of yellow light appeared before my eyes.

Yu Haoyang even felt the tennis ball glide past his nose as it flew into the air.

The chattering noise at Stadium 1 fell silent.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Gu Cheng, holding his racket, looked at the staff member acting as referee: "Hey, referee, didn't the ball go in?"

(End of this chapter)