Tabiran Olympics - Tennis

Whap! The ball ricocheted off of Horace’s racket as he swung, knocking it across the court, sailing over the net. On the other side, Lin Lin smacked the ball back towards them. It rocketed across the court so fast you could almost see smoke trailing behind it.

Ray dove and narrowly missed it as it bounced into the back corner of the court before going out. The fans in the stands cheered as the point was scored.

“Fifteen, love!” Ethelyn announced from the commentators’ desk. “The first point has been scored, but it’s still anyone’s game!”

Horace collected the ball, tossed it up into the air, and served. He was a little unfamiliar with the technique of this game, but he was starting to get the hang of it.

The ball bounced into the other court, heading for the outside, but Aveline darted to intercept it, sending it back over. This time, Ray was quick enough to catch it, sending it back towards Lin Lin.

The Pangoro swung her racket hard, smashing the ball into the wall behind Horace. The wall cracked, and the ball lodged itself firmly inside.

The crowd was silent, all eyes on Lin Lin. She rubbed her head sheepishly. “Āi yōu,” she muttered. “Sorry!”

Laughter rang through the arena as a new ball was handed to Horace. “That’s quite the backswing Lin Lin’s got!” Ren laughed from the commentators’ desk. “She should start carrying a tennis racket into battle!” The laughs intensified, Lin Lin laughing along with them. It was good-natured fun, after all. “The score is now fifteen all, everyone! Let’s see how who scores next!”

Horace served the ball again, launching it directly down the center of the court. Aveline intercepted, hitting it back to him, and he returned in kind. Lin, who was now measuring her swings so as not to send the ball out of the court, managed to hit it towards ray, who deflected it back into the opposite court.

They went back and forth for some time before Aveline finally managed to score. “Thirty to fifteen, folks! Things are really getting interesting now!” Ethelyn shouted. The crowd roared as the two sides continued trading scores, back and forth. Finally, however, they had it down to a tie game, both teams only needing one point for victory.

Horace threw the ball up and served. The ball shot towards Lin Lin, who returned it with a precise swing of the racket. Ray deflected the ball towards Horace, who knocked it back towards the other team. The ball soared up in the air, and Aveline leapt up to hit it. The ball slammed into the court, rocketing straight towards Horace, and he swung his racket just in time, hitting it with all his might.

The ball bounced flew out of the stadium with a ping!

The entire crowd went silent. Jaws hung open as they all stared at the spot where they had last seen the ball.

Ethelyn leaned into her microphone. “Well… it seems that the ball has gone out of the court. Which means Aveline and Lin Lin are the winners!” The crowd roared with applause.