Tennis is one of the 8 sports currently in Nintendo Switch Sports, and one of the 5 returning sports.
Overview[]
The goal of Tennis is to score points by hitting the ball onto the other team's court. There are 2 players per team.
Online matches are played first to 7 points with a 2-point lead needed; at 9-9, the next point wins. Offline matches are played first to 1, 3, or 5 games with traditional tennis scoring.
In offline matches with two different player characters on the same team, there is a pre-match setting for who will be the front or back player, and they will stay in that position for the whole match. In online matches, the front and back players on a team swap places automatically after every 2 rallies.
History[]
Tennis was one of the first sports announced in the series. Tennis originally made its debut on November 19, 2006, with the launch of Wii Sports for the Wii. It also launched with Nintendo Switch Sports on April 29, 2022. The sport got mixed reception from critics and fans alike.
Courts[]
In Nintendo Switch Sports, Tennis has 3 different courts that are randomly selected at the start of any game.
Note: These names are unofficial
Grass Court[]
The Grass court is a port of the Wii Sports Tennis court. The ball bounces low on this court, and does not lose speed on bounce.
Clay Court[]
The Clay court is a light brown color. The ball bounces higher here, however it loses speed on bounce.
Hard Court[]
The Hard court is a pinkish red color. The ball bounces high, and does not lose speed on bounce.
Terms[]
Deuce[]
When both teams reach 6 points in online matches (40-40 in offline matches), a deuce is called. This means that a team needs a 2 point advantage to win. If the one team scores while the other has the advantage, it is reset.
Moves[]
There are several moves in Tennis that a player can perform. Unofficial names marked by *.
Swing[]
Swing the racquet by swinging the Joy-Con in the direction you wish to hit it.
Wobbly Swing[]
When your character has to leap across the court to swing, it can cause a wobbly swing. These are identified by the blue, wavy trail following the ball.
Smash[]
You can perform a smash when hitting a ball that has just been hit with a weak swing (blue, wavy trail). Hitting a ball with a smash hits it extremely fast and applies a golden trail to the ball.
Backspin[]
Twist the Joy-Con. If you're holding the Joy-Con neutrally, where your thumb is facing your body, twist so that your palm is now facing you. A backspin is meant to slow down the ball.[1]
Topspin[]
Twist the Joy-Con the opposite way as a backspin, so that the back of your hand is facing your body. The topspin is meant to speed up the ball, but also help it stay within bounds.[1]
Serve[]
Throw the ball up into the air by swinging the Joy-Con up and then performing a swing. In online matches, there is a 10-second shot clock for serves; if the timer runs out, the player serves automatically.
Fast Serve[]
Same motions as serve, but swing at the peak of the ball's airtime (approx. 30 frames after throwing into air). This will create a purple trail and send the ball flying across the court, with a smaller window to react to it.
Collection points[]
Applied in order from top to bottom:
- Play Bonus: 30 points
- Victory Bonus: 1.2x
- Decided by Deuce: 1.1x
- Long-Rally Bonus: 1.1x
- Repeat Rocket Serves: 1.1x
- Event Bonus: 1.5x, 2x, or 3x
Staff Credits[]
Tennis gameplay is also featured in Staff Credits in the Options menu, where the player (and only) character is shown standing sideways, and can serve and smash the ball back and forth to a wall, with the rolling credits feed making up the wall. Getting 50 swings in a row unlocks the "Staffer" title.
Trivia[]
- Although one of the intermission tips explain that drones pick up balls that have fallen into the pools surrounding the courts, the ball will actually bounce off the water surfaces.
- Despite tennis being played as doubles matches, the online matchmaking will never place players on 2 different systems on the same team.
Gallery[]
