Tennis games – or should we say decent tennis games – are a rare breed on PS4, for some reason.
Back in the days of PS3, we had too many to choose from. Virtua Tennis, Top Spin, EA’s Grand Slam… even Sega had its own title, with Superstars Tennis! For the first few years of the PS4’s life, it had no tennis games whatsoever. Thankfully, for those of us who love the racket sport, tennis games finally started to trickle in – but our selection is still rather limited.
If you want the joy of hitting that fuzzy yellow ball without the hassle of going to visit an actual tennis court, look no further. We’ve rounded up a list of the best games to capture the sport of tennis on PS4 in all its glory. We’ve tried to weed out the not-so-good games, leaving only the best.
Read on through to see our pick of the best tennis games on PS4.
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1. AO Tennis 2
Released in 2018, AO International Tennis wasn’t particularly well-received. In fact, at launch, it was pretty much deemed unfinished – and while developed Big Ant Studios eventually fixed most of its glaring issues through patches, it never quite recovered from its initial reception.
Thankfully, Big Ant has followed up with AO Tennis 2. Released in January 2020, it’s a much better game than its predecessor straight out of the gate. With a fully-fledged career mode, an extensive character creator and a plethora of game modes and training to take part in, it’s one of the most comprehensive tennis games you’ll find on PS4. There’s also a wealth of professional tennis players in the game, with their likenesses faithfully recreated thanks to motion capture and 3D scanning.
Read our review of AO Tennis 2
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2. Super Tennis Blast
Don’t let Super Tennis Blast‘s cutesy cartoon art style put you off; this is a serious tennis game in disguise. Featuring a traditional scoring system, the game’s CPU opponents mean business. Even when you set the game on one of the easiest difficulties.
It’s great fun and easy to pick up, though. There’s plenty of customisation options for those wanting a harder challenge. And those wanting just a bit of fun can choose their avatar from dozens of pre-set models. Best of all, you can play in local multiplayer with a friend – or three, if you fancy a game of doubles. There’s a full range of moves available, with different face buttons doing volleys, backspins, lobs and other kinds of fancy moves so you can feel like a true tennis pro.
3. Tennis World Tour
When it first launched, Tennis Word Tour wasn’t received particularly well – and for good reason. It was essentially unfinished, with numerous issues. You couldn’t even play online, which is quite a big deal in a game where multiplayer is a key element. Thankfully, since its release, Tennis World Tour has had more time and love poured into it, and many improvements have been made. Now, it’s one of the best tennis games on PS4 if you’re looking for a serious game. It might not quite live up to the standards of the excellent Top Spin series, but it’s certainly not bad.
Tennis World Tour features a decent career mode that sees you create your own player. Starting from the bottom of the league, you’ll work your way up to tennis greatness, playing in a variety of locations and against plenty of opponents of differing skill levels. There’s also quick play and online play options if you don’t want to bother with the whole career ladder business. The basic version of the game can be picked up relatively cheap now, and the newer Roland-Garros Edition is more expensive but comes with a wealth of DLC.
We think its better than its sequel, which scored just a paltry 4/10 from us thanks to its timing-based shot system, which really missed the mark.
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4. Everybody’s Tennis/Hot Shots Tennis
We’ve all heard of Everybody’s Golf, but tennis? Everybody’s Tennis, or Hot Shots Tennis as its known in North America, is a re-release of the PS2 classic that became available on PS4 in 2016. It’s never had quite the same following as its golfing counterpart, but it aims to bring the same level of fun and accessibility to tennis.
If you’re looking for a serious tennis sim on PS4, Everybody’s Tennis is not it. But if you want something that’s cutesy and easy to pick up, then this may be the game you’re looking for.
Of course, since it was originally a PS2 game, its graphics aren’t exactly cutting edge, but thanks to its cartoon art style it’s not so much an issue. Whether you’re playing alone or with friends in doubles, Everybody’s Tennis has plenty of fun to offer.
5. Timber Tennis: Versus
Remember Timber Man, the game from 2015 that hard you chopping word in humorous arcade fashion? Well, Timberman is back, but now he’s trying his hand at tennis. Timber Tennis: Versus takes the same arcade-style gameplay and humour and applies it to a tennis court. It’ll have you using a range of power-ups and special moves in order to defeat your opponents.
While it has the basics of a tennis match – passing a ball to and fro across a court – it’s certainly not the most serious game of the sport on this list. But with tonnes of characters to unlock and a variety of weird and wonderful opponents to face off against, it is a lot of fun.
And it’s only £1.69 to buy on the PSN store. So you really can’t go wrong, can you?
6. Dream Match Tennis VR
If the ‘VR’ on the end of its title didn’t give it away, Dream Match Tennis VR is a virtual reality game, so you’ll need a PSVR headset to be able to enjoy it. Released in 2018, it puts you on the tennis court in a first person perspective and aims to fully simulate the experience of a real game of tennis.
If you’ve got motion controllers, that means actually swinging your racket. Real ball physics have been recreated in Dream Match Tennis VR, too, meaning that topspins and slices can be performed accurately – if you’ve got the skill, of course! The game also boasts more intelligent AI opponents, making for more challenging and rewarding matches.
So, if you have PSVR and fancy playing a game on the courts, you’ll undoubtedly find a great experience here. It’s one of the best tennis games on PS4 – providing you’ve got a headset, of course.
7. Racket Fury: Table Tennis
Another game that requires PSVR to play, Racket Fury: Table Tennis brings the tabletop version of tennis to life by pitting you against a range of… robots. Sure, why wouldn’t robots be good at tennis?
Table tennis tends to be a little more accessible to newcomers than the full-sized version of the game, and so Racket Fury is pretty easy to get to grips with. Use motion controllers to swing your bat to and fro to hit the ping-pong ball.
But keeping a steady hand and controlled movements is important: the table is much smaller than a full tennis pitch, so swing too wildly and the ball will fly out of bounds. And those robots are better at table tennis than you think: Racket Fury proves to be a great challenge. It’s well worth a go if you’d rather play table tennis than the real thing.
8. Tennis in the Face
We’re cheating a little bit here: Tennis in the Face isn’t technically a tennis game in the traditional sense. But it does have “tennis” in the name, and it does involve hitting fluffy yellow balls with a racket.
In Tennis in the Face, our hero Pete Pagassi (lol) is out to save his city from Explodz, an evil energy drink corporation set to take over the world. It’s his job to destroy Explodz, and his only weapon is a tennis ball and racket. In the style of Angry Birds, its up to you to use a limited number of balls in which to aim and take down all the targets on a level.
It’s a very simple premise, but it’s a lot of fun. There are over 100 bright and bold levels to work through, and whether or not you’re a fan of tennis, it’s well worth picking up. Especially since it’s dirt cheap. If you’re looking for one of the best “serious” tennis games on PS4, this isn’t it, but as far as the fun factor goes, it’s right up there.
