Serena and the Magical Tennis Balls

There was a girl named Serena, and she loved playing tennis. Every day she practiced with her dad, who was not only a good tennis player but also a great coach. From the very beginning, Serena showed real talent.

But she had a problem—her backhand wasn't that great. She could hit the ball beautifully with her forehand, but on the backhand, she would almost always put the ball in the net. So she practiced and practiced and practiced.

She got better, but she could never really beat the very strong players, because of her backhand. And there was a second problem: she played well at the baseline, but when the ball came close to the net and she had to run forward to hit it, she would always put the ball in the net.

In spite of all her practice, she could never be the number one player. She would always come second or third in her school tournaments. She loved tennis and played because she loved it, but she always felt, "I'm never able to win because of my backhand."

One day, Serena was waiting near her school when she saw an old lady trying to cross the road. The lady was struggling, so Serena went over, held her hand, and slowly helped her across. When cars came, Serena would signal them to stop. After they crossed, the lady looked very thirsty.

"Aunty, you sit down," Serena said. "I'm going to get you a bottle of water."

She ran to the shop and bought a bottle of water. She only had two dollars left in her pocket, and she spent one dollar on the water because Serena was very kind. The lady was about to faint, but after drinking the water, she felt better.

"Thank you so much, dear," the lady said. "You did a very nice thing by helping me. I want to do something for you. What can I do?"

"Just give me your blessings, Aunty. It's okay," Serena replied.

"No, no, you don't know—I have magical powers. I can really help you out."

"Really?" Serena's eyes widened.

"What can you do for me?" she asked.

"Tell me, what do you need?" the lady asked.

"Aunty, I'm a tennis player. I practice so much and I love playing, but I'm never able to come first."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Two things," Serena explained. "My serve isn't very strong because I'm a little short. And secondly, I'm not able to hit the backhand very well."

"I see," the old lady said. She reached into her small bag and pulled out three brand-new tennis balls. "These are magical tennis balls. If you play with these balls, you will never lose a point."

"Really?" Serena couldn't believe it.

"But there's one condition—you cannot lose these balls. If you play with them, you will not lose a point. They are magic."

Serena thought the lady might be pranking her, but she was happy anyway. "At least I got three new tennis balls!"

The next day, she took one of the balls and played against the best player in her school—the girl who always beat her. In tennis, the person who's serving usually wins their game. If you can break the other person's serve, you have a great chance of winning the set.

That day, Serena served with the new ball, and it went like a rocket—like never before! When the other girl served, Serena hit it with her backhand, and *tapak!*—the ball landed perfectly in the court. She was winning every point. She beat her opponent 6-love, 6-love.

"Wow, what happened to you, Serena? How come you're so good?" the girl asked.

Serena realized—these really are magic balls! She collected them carefully and thought, "I have to be very, very careful not to lose these balls."

From then on, she didn't take all three balls to every match. She would only take one, because she didn't want to risk losing them. She would serve with it, and whenever she needed it, she would ask for "her lucky ball." The ball was magical, so it never even got worn out or damaged.

With this ball, she kept playing and winning. Soon, she became number one in her school, then number one in Singapore. Then she qualified for the national games.

She told her daddy about the magical balls. At first, he didn't believe her, but when she played with him using the ball, he believed.

"Now you have to be careful," her dad warned. "If you keep playing with the same ball and keep winning 6-love every time, somebody will realize something is wrong. Sometimes you should lose a point. Don't use this ball for every shot—only use it when you're about to lose or when it's a very important match or an important point. Otherwise, people will figure it out."

"Okay, Daddy," Serena agreed.

So she kept the ball in her pocket and played well with regular balls. Then, when the game was 40-40, she would take out the magical ball and play. She had three of these balls and kept them very carefully. After every game, she would put them back. Her daddy would also help her keep track of the ball.

Finally, she qualified for Wimbledon—the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. At Wimbledon, it was very difficult to use your own ball because they have specific balls there. But she somehow kept one in her pocket. She marked it with a "W" so she could recognize it.

She won the first round, the second round, the third round. By this time, people were starting to notice that she was always looking for a particular ball, but nobody could be certain. She used regular balls for 80% of the game and only used the magical ball for crucial points.

Then came the Wimbledon final—the most important match of her life.

And that day, she could not find the balls.

For some reason, they had gotten lost just before the final. Serena was heartbroken and terrified. She kept looking and looking, but the balls were gone.

Her daddy realized something was wrong. She had no confidence left. So he quickly went and bought three new balls—regular balls, not magical ones. He came back and said, "Hey, Serena! I found them. You left them in your other locker."

But actually, these were not the magical balls. He didn't tell her, though.

Serena took the balls, and suddenly her confidence came back. "Okay, Daddy. I'll be careful not to use them for all my points—only for the very important ones."

"That's right. Be careful," her dad said.

Now, the magical balls were gone, but Serena didn't know. Her daddy didn't tell her because he didn't want to ruin her confidence.

The match began. First game, second game, break point, serve point. The first set score was 6-6, and it went to a tiebreaker.

Serena took out what she thought was the magical ball. She had so much confidence that she whacked the ball, and she won the point! Everybody clapped.

The second set was the same. She only used "the magical ball" a few times, but every time she used it, she won the point.

But here's the trick: this time, the magical ball wasn't there. She was still winning all the points. You know why?

Because she had the confidence. By this time, she believed she could beat anybody. She just believed the ball was magical, and that belief made her win.

After the last point, she hit the ball perfectly and won Wimbledon! Everybody knew her name. She was a champion.

After the tournament, her daddy said, "Sorry, sweetie. Those weren't the magical tennis balls."

"What?!" Serena was shocked.

"What's magical is your tennis game and your confidence. Those magical balls had a purpose—that lady gave them to you so you could feel the confidence and win games. But now, because the purpose of those balls has been served, you can play independently without them. Just believe in yourself and your tennis game, and you will keep winning."

And that is how Serena won Wimbledon—not because of magic, but because she believed in herself.