Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Stefan loved tennis. He knew everything about it. Each afternoon he practised his shots. He hit a tennis ball against the back wall of his house.

  Thoomp! Whoomp! Boomp! Stefan liked the sounds it made. It was almost like a drumbeat.

  Thoomp went the ball as it made contact with the racquet. Whoomp went the ball when it hit the wall. Boomp went the ball when it bounced off the pavement.

  Stefan played every day after school.

  When the sun was setting, the shadow of the big tree in the backyard flickered across the wall.

  It looked as if Stefan was playing against someone – but not just another tennis player. The shadow looked like a monster with a tennis racquet!

  It was a different monster every time.

  Stefan called them the Grand Slam Beasts. Today he was playing against the Smashing Demon.

  ‘So it’s the Australian Open Final,’ Stefan said, tapping the ball up and down on his racquet. ‘And you think you can crush me? Really? Well then, bring it on, beast!’

  Stefan knew that with a name like Smashing Demon, this beast would be great at hitting the ball hard, right into the middle of the court.

  He had to stop the beast playing its favourite shot – the smash.

  Stefan served.

  The Smashing Demon returned with a super-fast shot. It was impossible to hit the ball back.

  The Smashing Demon looked pretty happy about that.

  How could Stefan stop the Demon from hitting a smash?

  This time, he tapped the ball, low and gentle.

  The Demon ran in too late and missed.

  ‘Yes!’ Hitting the ball softly meant that the Demon couldn’t return with a big smash.

  The next couple of shots dropped short on Stefan’s side of the court.

  He returned them easily.

  The Smashing Demon was furious! It was also a majorly sore loser.

  It began shooting fireballs from its bottom and kicking over the drink stations.

  ‘RAAAARRRR!’ growled the beast, before exploding into a giant black puff of smoke.

  ‘Woo-hoo!’ Stefan cheered. ‘Take that, fire butt!’

  ‘Who are you talking to?’ came a voice.

  Stefan turned around and saw a girl looking over the fence.

  ‘I’m Emma,’ said the girl. ‘We just moved in here. I think we’re going to the same school.’ She looked around the yard. ‘So . . . who are you talking to?’

  ‘No one,’ said Stefan, feeling embarrassed.

  ‘Yes, you were,’ said Emma. ‘Was it that monster on the wall? Because he looked really angry.’

  Stefan smiled. ‘It was,’ he said. ‘That’s a Grand Slam Beast and I just beat it in the Australian Open Final.’

  ‘Cool!’ said Emma. ‘I love games like that. I’m coming over.’

  Emma disappeared behind the fence.

  Before Stefan could say ‘Grand Slam’, she came running through the side gate.

  ‘So who’s your next opponent?’ she asked.

  The afternoon sun had dipped some more and the shadow on the wall had changed its shape.

  ‘It’s the Lobbing Lizard,’ said Stefan. ‘And I’m about to play against him in the Wimbledon Final.’

  ‘Wimbledon is a big tennis tournament in England,’ he explained.

  ‘Cool,’ said Emma. ‘I’m going to be the Queen of England.’ She made her voice sound very posh.

  ‘In the name of the Queen, I order you to beat that beast!’

  ‘Yes, Your Highness,’ said Stefan. ‘One royal butt-kicking coming right up.’

  The Lobbing Lizard was a mean-looking beast. It started with its best move, the lob. It hit the ball really high and deep into the court.

  The ball spun over Stefan’s head. He couldn’t run back in time to return it.

  But for the next shot Stefan had a plan.

  ‘If that’s the only trick you’ve got,’ he said, ‘then, take this!’

  Stefan ran backwards, just as the beast hit the ball.

  He got under the shot and returned it.

  WHAAAACKK!

  Stefan smashed the ball right into the middle of the wall.

  It was an awesome return. The Lobbing Lizard couldn’t even get its racquet to the ball.

  Queen Emma cheered. ‘Great shot!’

  For the rest of the game the scaly beast repeated his jaw-dropping lob shots. And each time Stefan got into position and smashed them into winning points for himself.

  Thoomp! Whoomp! Boomp!

  The Lobbing Lizard hissed at him. It began to smash its racquet.

  ‘Yes!’ yelled Stefan, throwing his arms in the air. ‘Game, set and match to me. I’m the Wimbledon champion!’

  ‘Nice one!’ said Emma. ‘Can I have a go?’

  ‘Really?’ said Stefan. ‘Can you play tennis?’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Emma, picking up Stefan’s racquet.

  ‘I play all the time. My mum’s been teaching me. But I really want to play a Grand Slam Beast.’

  ‘You do?’ said Stefan. ‘Are you ready to take on the meanest beast of them all – the Rally Robot? In the US Open Final?’

  Emma grinned. ‘Oh, yeah,’ she said, bouncing the ball ready to serve.

  It was almost dark and the shadow on the wall had doubled in size.

  ‘Let’s do it,’ Emma said.

  The Rally Robot was a super tennis player. It could do everything! It had a mean serve, an amazing backhand and a sizzling forehand.

  It was awesome at rallies.

  Emma served.

  The Rally Robot hit a powerful return.

  Emma ran for the ball and hit it back, right into the middle of the wall.

  The Rally Robot made the shot, but so did Emma.

  ‘Wow,’ said Stefan. ‘You’re really good!’

  The ball went back and forth. It looked like Emma and the Robot were evenly matched. But then the Rally Robot tapped a shot just over the net.

  Emma ran in but she couldn’t get to the ball in time.

  ‘Oh no!’ said Stefan.

  One point to the Robot!

  Stefan’s heart was racing. It was the best tennis battle he had ever seen. Well, the best he’d seen in his backyard.

  Emma began to hit different shots.

  She hit one low and short, and the next high and long.

  The Rally Robot had to run around the court.

  It began to buzz and crackle – it was losing its cool. It punched its giant steel fists into the court.

  ‘Nice one!’ said Stefan. ‘You’re confusing the bolts out of that old rust bucket!’

  Emma grinned and served again.

  She won the next three points . . . then the match.

  And the Rally Robot just fell apart.

  ‘Woo-hoo!’ yelled Stefan. ‘That was awesome.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Emma. ‘You’re pretty awesome too.’

  ‘Emma!’ cried a voice from over the fence. ‘Dinner’s ready!’

  ‘That’s Mum. I’ve gotta go,’ said Emma.

  ‘Really? Already?’ Stefan sighed. ‘Are you sure?’

  He’d never had this much fun playing on his own.

  ‘Yeah,’ said Emma. ‘It’s getting dark. But maybe we could play tennis tomorrow.’

  ‘Yes!’ said Stefan. ‘The beasts won’t know what hit them! Wait till you face the Backhand Blob.’

  But Emma shook her head. ‘No, not against the beasts,’ she said.

  ‘You and me. I’ll bring my racquet and we can play against each other.’

  ‘Tennis is even more fun when you have someone else to play with,’ said Emma.

  Stefan couldn’t stop smiling.

  You can practise your tennis skills, like Stefan does, by playing against a wall or with a ball on a string. But once you learn to hit the ball, there’s nothing better than playing with a friend.

  The forehand is the basic stroke in tennis. Once you can hit a forehand, you can learn how to control where the ball goes, how fast it’s travelling, even how it spins!

  Here’s how to hit a forehand:

  Start with the racquet out in front of you with the edge up.

  Bring your arm back and turn your body to the side – but always keep your eyes on the ball!

  Swing in a straight line with the strings aiming at the ball.

  Don’t stop when you hit the ball – follow through with your racquet.

  Other tennis skills include the backhand, the smash and the lob. So practise your forehand, then grab your mum or dad and have a rally!

  Why is tennis such a noisy game?

  Because everyone makes such a racquet.

  Did you hear about the sale on tennis balls?

  It’s first come, first serve.

  This one is for your parents: What time does Sean Connery arrive at Wimbledon?

  Tennish!

  What do you serve but don’t eat?

  A tennis ball!

  What do you call someone who lies across the middle of the court?

  Annette!

  Knock! Knock!

  Who’s there?

  Tennis

  Tennis who?

  Tenn-is five plus five.

  Why can’t fish play tennis?

  They don’t like getting close to the net.

  What did one tennis ball say to the other tennis ball?

  See you round!

 

Did you know?

  At first tennis was played by hitting the ball with your hand. Racquets have been used since the 16th century.

  The most important tennis tournaments are known as Majors or Grand Slams.

  The Grand Slams are the Australian Open, Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open.

  Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam played on grass.

  Sabine Lisicki has the fastest recorded serve in the women’s game. The men’s record is held by an Australian, Samuel Groth.

  Margaret Smith Court holds the record for the most Grand Slam single titles – she won 24 titles.

  Some of the greatest tennis champions have come from Australia – including Rod Laver, Margaret Court, John Newcombe and Yvonne Goolagong Cawley.

  In 1932, Henry Austin was the first to wear shorts at Wimbledon. Before that, players wore trousers, skirts and even jumpers!

  PUFFIN BOOKS

  UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia

  India | New Zealand | South Africa | China

  Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies

  whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.

  First published by Penguin Group (Australia), 2015

  Text copyright © Red Wolf Entertainment Pty Ltd, 2015

  Illustrations copyright © Tom Jellett, 2015

  The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  Design by Tony Palmer © Penguin Group (Australia)

  puffin.com.au

  ISBN: 978-1-74348-513-2

  THE BEGINNING

  Let the conversation begin...

  Follow the Penguin Twitter

  Keep up-to-date with all our stories YouTube

  Pin ‘Penguin Books’ to your Pinterest

  Like ‘Penguin Books’ on Facebook

  Find out more about the author and

  discover more stories like this at penguin.com.au

 

 

  Felice Arena, Tennis!

  Thanks for reading the books on GrayCity.Net