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.
　　莱顿·休伊特1981年2月24日出生在澳大利亚阿德莱德市，他母亲是前无挡板篮球冠军，父亲在澳大利亚足球联赛踢球，他的妹妹已经是澳大利亚她那个年龄段排名第一的网球小选手。莱顿在她这个年龄的时候可没有这么好的成绩。

　　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 decided¹ it was time to find him a coach.
　　休伊特家里有一个草地网球场，小莱顿正是在那儿开始他的网球生涯的。他4岁的时候就表现出了非凡的才华，能不断地将球打过球网，这时候他父母决定给他请个教练。

　　“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.
　　“最好是让他学习正确的击球方法，而不要养成坏习惯，”他父亲说。两年后，他们请了彼得·斯密斯当他的教练。

　　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.
　　5岁的时候，当多数孩子还在玩捉迷藏、淘气的时候，而莱顿则同家人常常去墨尔本观看澳大利亚网球公开赛。莱顿常常一连12个小时坐在那儿，观看选手们训练。

　　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.”
　　莱顿的网球生涯是他的父母一手安排的，他们想办法不让他踢足球。他们认为踢足球风险太大，因为他可能会受伤。如果莱顿去踢足球，他最终可能会加入他最喜欢的球队——阿德莱德乌鸦队。他母亲说，“我想我们在他自行决定之前就已经引导他涉足对他有益的事情。”

　　By the time Lleyton was eight, he was winning² “under-10 games” and always won a year ahead of his age. A professional³ career was looking very promising⁴. Lleyton officially turned pro9 in 1997.
　　到莱顿8岁的时候，他就开始在“10岁以下赛事”中获胜，而且总是在比他大一岁的年龄组的比赛中获胜。一个大有前途的职业网球生涯已经初露端倪。1997年他正式成为职业网球运动员。