Lleyton Hewitt was born in Adelaide1, Australia on 24 February, 1981. His mother is a former champion netballer2, his father is a league footballer, and his sister is already ranked number one in Australia for her age in tennis. She has achieved already more in tennis than Lleyton had at the same age.

　　The Hewitt s have a grass court at their home. This was where young Lleyton began his tennis career. When Lleyton showed an unusual ability for a 4-year-old and he was hitting balls consistently3 over the net, his parents decided it was time to find him a coach.

　　“Rather than get into bad habits, it was best he learnt how to hit the ball correctly.” says his father. Two years later, they got Peter Smith as his coach.

　　At the age of five, when most children that age are playing hide and seek4 or getting into all sorts of trouble, Lleyton and his family would make the trip to Melbourne5 for the Australian Open6. Lleyton would sit for up to 12 hours a day watching players practise.

　　Lleyton s career as a tennis player was planned by his parents who tried their best to keep him away from football. Lleyton s parents thought it was too risky7 to play football since he might get hurt. Had Lleyton played football, it is quite possible he may have ended up8 playing for his favourite team—the Adelaide Crows. As his mother says, “I guess we ve guided him into things we felt good for him before he did.”

　　　By the time Lleyton was eight, he was winning “under-10 games” and always won a year ahead of his age. A professional career was looking very promising. Lleyton officially turned pro9 in 1997.