First Lesson Ella and Evan are at their first tennis lesson Their coach spent the first part of the class teaching them about the rules Then they learned how to hit the ball Now they’re finally ready to play a real game Ella smacks the ball over the net It bounces on Evan’s side but when he tries to hit it back it goes out of bounds Ella gets a point 4 CHAPTER 1
FUN FACT The earliest version of tennis was played 900 years ago Back then players didn’t use rackets They used their hands often spelled racquet 15-love says the coach Whaaaaat Ella and Evan say at the same time That’s how you keep score in tennis their coach says It’s a little bit different than other sports Okaaaaay Ella and Evan say at the same time When the game starts again Ella gets another point 30-love says the coach Ella and Evan look at each other Looks like they have a lot to learn 5
CHAPTER 2 Serve it Up Before their first lesson Ella and Evan didn’t know much about tennis I bet I know more than you said Ella I’m pretty sure I know more than you said Evan They knew that one player tried to hit the ball over the net and the other player tried to hit it back And they knew the ball couldn’t bounce twice on the same side or go out of bounds But that’s about all they knew 6
JUST JOKING Q What number comes before tennis A Nine-is Their coach taught them that every tennis game begins with a serve The serving player has to stand at the very back of the court Then he has to hit the ball diagonally over the net onto the other side of the court See page 11 7
