Chapter 2 – Training Master
Splash!
Gao Wen abruptly lifted his head from the sink, fresh oxygen rushing into his lungs. A wave of coolness eased the chaos and excitement in his mind. He stared at the youthful yet slightly unfamiliar face reflected in the water-streaked mirror. The face seemed vaguely familiar, yet it felt more like a stranger’s.
Wet black hair hung down like seaweed. Spreading his fingers, he combed it back, revealing his sharp features. His bold eyebrows and prominent brow ridge exuded stubborn defiance—so vibrant and full of life, with the boldness of an eighteen-year-old etched into his angular contours.
Gao Wen had long forgotten that once, at eighteen, he too had been a celebrated prodigy, believing he could win Grand Slam titles and claim the world’s top ranking. But the harsh realities of setbacks and challenges had gradually dulled his sharp edges, erasing them completely.
Yet, the reflection before him was different.
The eyes no longer held the innocence or naivety of youth. The restrained sharpness hinted at a steadiness—vaguely reminiscent of someone exhausted from working late at the office the night before. Reality gradually solidified, and Gao Wen finally confirmed—
He had returned from 2021 to 2013, back to his freshman year of college.
At this moment, the golden era of the “Big Four” still reigned supreme in tennis. The new generation of players born in the 1990s struggled under their dominance, and the 1995-born players had yet to come of age. Though fresh faces were scarce, every clash between the Big Four was an instant classic, a golden age for tennis fans. (T/N – Big four of tennis – Roger Federer, Novak Đoković, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray)
In truth, tracing back to 2021, it had only been seven years. But for Gao Wen, it felt like another lifetime ago, almost like a relic from the previous century.
Especially after the surreal experiences of 2020 and 2021, time seemed distorted. Gao Wen needed a moment to steady his nerves.
After notifying McDonald, Gao Wen went to the bathroom, washed his face, and calmed himself. The grounded feeling of reality grew more vivid. His chaotic thoughts began to organize themselves into a single thread: the system, yes, the system!
Phew…
Exhaling deeply, Gao Wen gazed at his reflection in the mirror. His rationality had returned. He summoned the system that had just appeared, focusing his attention and silently calling for it in his mind. A virtual light-blue interface materialized before his eyes:
“Tennis Training Master.”
The main page was divided into two sections.
The left side displayed his basic personal information:
Name: Gao Wen
Nationality: China
Age: 18
Birthday: November 11, 1995
Dominant Hand: Right
Height: 193 cm (T/N – if you don’t use cm in your country, 193 cm is like 6ft3in)
Weight: 83 kg
The right side was split into four sub-sections, three of which detailed personal attributes:
- Physical Attributes: 52
- Technical Attributes: 63
- Mental Attributes: 70
Each attribute occupied a section, with detailed subcategories. For instance:
- Physical Attributes: strength, explosiveness, speed, reflexes, endurance, flexibility.
- Technical Attributes: serve, return, forehand, backhand, net play, anticipation.
- Mental Attributes: tactics, focus, resilience, clutch performance.
Here’s where things get interesting: the specific numerical values for the subcategories of attributes are not visible. Instead, there are a series of bar graphs, giving a vague sense of highs and lows. However, if the differences between the bars are small, it becomes hard to distinguish them.
In the Physical Attributes category, endurance had the highest value, followed by flexibility, while strength had the lowest, and explosiveness ranked second to last.
For Technical Attributes, anticipation stood out as the highest, followed by the backhand. The weakest areas were a tie between the serve and the forehand.
In the Mental Attributes, the four subcategories were relatively even and balanced. Tactics had a slight edge over the others.
The overall panel displayed only the composite scores for the three main attributes. Specific subcategory values weren’t shown, but even this amount of information was enough to predict a player’s style.
Gao Wen was born in a small coastal city in southeastern China. As a child, he was extremely energetic and loved running around like a wild horse that couldn’t be reined in. His family decided to channel this energy into a sport. Since his mother was a fan of tennis legend Andre Agassi, they chose tennis—a relatively niche sport at the time.
Unexpectedly, this choice turned out to be a stroke of luck, as Gao Wen’s talent for tennis was soon discovered.
As the attribute data suggested, Gao Wen’s Physical Attributes were his weak point. He was slender and lacked strength, which made his forehand and serve relatively weak. This also meant he had to use a two-handed backhand because his single-handed backhand lacked power and required support from his left hand. (T/N – your translator also used a two-handed backhand, it was my favourite shot…)
On the other hand, Gao Wen’s backhand and movement were excellent, displaying remarkable ability at a young age.
However, tennis isn’t a contact sport like soccer, basketball, rugby, or boxing. It’s a sport that requires a combination of technique, strength, and agility. The ideal height-to-weight ratio for tennis players is unique.
Take Novak Đoković as an example: at 188 cm and 80 kg, he’s not particularly muscular.
In Gao Wen’s case, while he was relatively slim overall, his physique was sufficient for tennis. The lack of strength and explosiveness, however, impacted both his technical and tactical play.
What truly made Gao Wen stand out was his extraordinary feel for the ball and touch.
Ball sense refers to an intuitive understanding of the game.
Similar to soccer or basketball, it’s the ability to grasp the spin and trajectory of a ball in flight. This skill becomes especially apparent during no-racquet drills. Roger Federer’s unparalleled ball sense is a legendary example.
Touch refers to the sensitivity and precision of how the racquet interacts with the ball.
It relies on fine muscle control in the arm. Since tennis revolves around spin and power, mastering the subtle mechanics—how the ball strikes the racquet, and how to analyze and control it—that all demands incredible skill. Agnieszka Radwańska currently ranked fourth in women’s tennis, is a once-in-a-decade talent known for her exceptional touch.
Of course, ball sense and touch are closely related and represent a rare innate talent that’s almost impossible to train or develop. These abilities can’t be quantified with numbers, yet they are among the most crucial and valuable skills in any ball sport.
Additionally, Gao Wen demonstrated an exceptional tennis IQ.
He had a natural ability to “play with his brain.” His early signs of strategic understanding and tactical planning balanced out the strengths and weaknesses in his physical attributes, allowing him to quickly find his place on the tennis court.
T/N – Two-handed backhand > one-handed backhand
T/N – Btw a couple of days ago I put out a list of my favourite 50 web novels, so if you are interested and if you want to maybe add something to your to-read list please check it out – https://hereticnovels.com/my-top-50-web-novels/