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Ep# Title Original airdate English airdate
1 "A Prince Appears"

"Ōjisama Arawaru" (王子様現る)

October 10, 2001 July 14, 2006
Toonami Jetstream premiere
At the request of his father, Ryoma Echizen moves to Japan after having success at tennis in the United States, having won four consecutive American Junior Openings. On his way to a Japanese tennis tournament, he "saves" Sakuno Ryuzaki from some thugs. Due to this, he misses the tournament, however, he finds an opponent in the form of one of the thugs he met on the subway. He then puts his opponent, Sasabe, in his place during the match, where he reveals his exceptional tennis capabilities.
2 "Samurai Junior"

"Samurai Junia" (サムライ·ジュニア)

October 17, 2001 July 24, 2006
Upon his arrival in Seishun Academy, "Seigaku" for short, Ryoma teaches a lesson to two juniors who are picking on the First year freshmen. Takeshi Momoshiro, one of the team's regulars, puts a stop to it and decides to play Ryoma in a tennis match. Noticing that Momoshiro has a bad ankle, Ryoma decides not to play with his dominant hand. Also, Sakuno's energetic friend, Tomoka Osakada, is introduced to Ryoma, and instantly proclaims herself to be his number one fan.
3 "The Seigaku Regulars Make Their Debut!"

"They've Arrived! The Seigaku Regulars // Tōjō! Seigaku Regurā" (登場!青学レギュラー)

October 24, 2001 July 31, 2006
The Seigaku Regulars are introduced, while a , Mamoru Inoue, and a photographer, Saori Shiba, visit Seigaku in order to report on the team's upcoming ranking matches. Meanwhile, Ryoma defeats a second year non-regular, Masashi Arai, using an old broken tennis racket when the latter hides all three of Ryoma's rackets. Seeing his skill, the captain of the tennis team, Kunimitsu Tezuka, enters Ryoma's name on the roster for the intraschool ranking matches despite the fact that he is a freshman.
4 "The One Named Viper"

"The Man Called Viper // Mamushi to Yobareru Otoko" (マムシと呼ばれる男)

October 31, 2001 August 7, 2006
The Seigaku ranking matches has begun, and Ryoma and the Seigaku regulars continue to win their matches early on in the tournament. Ryoma then gets pitted against regular Kaoru Kaido in the third round, where the latter reveals his special move, the Snake. This throws Ryoma off guard, so he decides to switch to his dominant hand.
5 "Snake Shot"

"Suneiku Shotto" (スネイク·ショット)

November 7, 2001 August 14, 2006
Kaido attempts to use his Snake shot to wear off Ryoma's stamina, and though Ryoma initially shows signs of sweating and fatigue, he surprises both Kaido and the spectators when his speed and power does not decrease. Near the end, it is revealed that Ryoma had been implementing a plan: he had been specifically hitting shots that Kaido had to bend his knees in order to return, thus Kaido would loose stamina far faster than Ryoma. His plan works, earning him the win.
6 "Nanjiro Echizen"

"That Man, Echizen Nanjirō // Sono Otoko, Echizen Nanjirō" (その男, 越前南次郎)

November 14, 2001 August 21, 2006
Inoue plays a match with Nanjiro Echizen, the former "Samurai Nanjiro", a legendary tennis professional, to get answers about why he retired. Though Nanjiro appears to not be taking it seriously, his skills show otherwise, and he easily beats Inoue with both his eyes closed. However, Inoue finds out that Nanjiro is now focusing on developing the skills of his son, Ryoma. Meanwhile, Sakuno looks for Ryoma to learn more about him and tennis.
7 "The Two Ryomas"

"Futari no Ryōma" (二人のリョーマ)

November 21, 2001 September 5, 2006
In Ryoma's next ranking match, he plays against Inui Sadaharu, who uses Data Tennis to counter Ryoma's play style. Using the data he gathered from Ryoma's previous match, Inui is able to dominate the match by accurately predicting and countering Ryoma's moves. Though irritated, Ryoma refuses to give up and reveals that he is glad to have transferred into Seigaku because he can now play against different types of players, like Inui.
8 "The Split Step"

"Supurittosuteppu" (スプリットステップ)

November 28, 2001 September 18, 2006
In order to counter Inui's data, Ryoma uses a new technique he had practiced when playing against his father, the One-footed Split Step. This requires him to continuously hop in place so he can react faster to the ball, as well as be able to move to another part of the court more quickly. Using this technique, Ryoma gains enough agility and speed to return Inui's calculated shots. This, along with the Twist Serve, surpasses Inui's data and turns the game into Ryoma's favor.
9 "The Hard Day"

"Za Hādo Dei" (ザ·ハード·デイ)

December 5, 2001 October 2, 2006
Inui continues to be unable to return Ryoma's Twist Serve, resulting in his eventual loss. Ryoma then wins his next games, and finally becomes a regular. Meanwhile, Inui plays against his next opponent, Kaido, who also surpasses Inui's data and takes a spot in the regulars as well. With eight spots taken, Inui loses his place as a regular, however, Seigaku's coach, Sumire Ryuzaki, asks him to help in the regulars' training instead. During training, he introduces his special and dreaded vegetable juice, which most of the regulars fall victim to.
10 "Counterattack! Sasabe Again?"

"Counter Attack! Sasabe Once Again // Gyakushuu! Sasabe Futatabi" (逆襲!佐々部再び)

December 12, 2001 October 16, 2006
Ryoma and the rest of the freshmen go to where Kato Kachiro father works as a tennis coach. However, they find trouble with Sasabe again, but this time, Sasabe's father is the bigger problem. In order to teach him a lesson, Ryoma asks the father to teach him tennis. Though Sasabe warns his father not to, the latter is more than willing to do so. In their practice match, the father ends up pulling a muscle after Ryoma shows him just how much he should have listened to Kachiro's father's advice about warming up first.
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