Introduction
You can control the game through the main menu or by tapping on Player, Coach, League Board or Club building.
You can revisit parts of the in-game tutorial by choosing HELP from the game’s main menu. Activate the main menu by tapping on a tennis player icon in the top left corner of the screen.
Basic game concepts and controls
You can execute shots with either swipe or tap. Swipe provides more power if timed right, tap provides more control over shot placement.
Serve:
Swipe controls: Swipe up to toss, and swipe to hit the ball.
Tap controls: Tap to toss, and do a second tap at the desired target point to hit the ball.
Shot:
Swipe controls: Swipe in the direction you want to make your shot. Mind the timing! Perfectly timed swipe will make your shot a power shot – shot with increased power. When you swipe, you will see a shot timing indicator ranging from Early to Late.
Tap controls: Tap anywhere on the opponent’s side of the court to place your shot. The earlier you place your shot, the more precise it will be.
The game selects a shot type automatically depending on the player’s position and shot’s target point. Lob shots, however, are never performed automatically.
When you place your shot, you will see a gradually decreasing “shot circle”. Your actual shot will land at a random point within this circle. The smaller the circle, the more precise is the shot.
To increase shot precision, you should:
- Use Skills tab to upgrade your Precision skill. The higher the Precision, the smaller the shot circle when the shot is placed. Note that by upgrading the Power skill you will increase the initial size of the shot circle.
- When using swipe controls, try to executed your shots with perfect timing. Perfectly timed swipe will never miss and higher precision skill will allow hitting closer to the lines.
- When using tap controls, place your shots early. The more time you have to prepare for the shot, the smaller the shot circle when the shot is performed.
Regular shots have a yellow shot circle and a white ball trail.
Lob shot:
Swipe controls: Swipe up with two fingers. Mind the timing! Perfectly timed swipe will never miss. When you swipe, you will see a shot timing indicator ranging from Early to Late.
Tap controls: Tap twice on the opponent’s side of the court to place your lob shot. The earlier you place your shot, the more precise it will be.
Lob shots have an orange shot circle and an orange ball trail.
Movement:
Tap once on your side of the court to specify your player’s recovery position, where the player will move right after the shot.
All response movements are automated: as soon as the opponent’s shot has started, your player will move automatically to return the shot.
Advanced controls
Slice shot (Player Level 12):
Swipe down (from target point to your player) to execute a slice shot. Slice shots are available starting from Player Level 12.
Slice shots have a blue shot circle and, if timed perfectly, blue ball trail.
Quick recovery (Player Level 7):
Starting from Player Level 7, you can execute a quick recovery movement with double tap. Quick recovery allows moving faster towards the desired recovery position, but consumes more stamina.
Power shot button (Player Level 10):
When the power shot meter is full (the Power shot button displays “Active”), you can activate a power shot — a shot with increased power. Note that you can tap the Power shot button at any time when it is active, and the next shot will become more powerful. Power shot button is available starting from Player Level 10.
Note that when you execute shot with swipe then power shot executed automatically if you timed your swipe perfectly.
Power shots have a yellow trail.
AI agent control button (Player Level 8):
During any match, you can give control to your virtual substitute (AI agent) by tapping the Agent button. Your AI agent will play in a style learned from you. AI agent control button is available starting from Player Level 8
Note that while your agent is in control, you still can use the Power shot button.
Basic gameplay tips
- Don’t forget about your recovery movement! We recommend specifying your recovery position by tapping on your side of the court as early as possible, before the end of your own shot.
- In the 20s, there has been a lot of net play. Consider attacking the net, don’t stay at a baseline all the time.
- Your shot’s precision depends on your Precision and Power skills and good timing. Swipe with perfect timing or place your shots early (if using tap controls) and always pay attention to the “shot circle”.
- When playing using tap controls, the “normal” tempo for the game is about two taps per second: tap the opponent’s side of the court to place your shot, then tap your side of the court to specify the recovery point, and repeat :). Please remember that you can set your shot point and recovery point at any time.
- Skills and equipment play an important role in the game. Consider your play style when you do the upgrades. Speed, Power, and Precision are the primary skills, and they are very important. However, other skills might play a vital role as well, especially when your reach higher league levels. Please note that you can always reset your skills and redistribute them in some other way when your preferences change.
Skills and Equipment
PRIMARY SKILLS:
Power determines the power (maximum speed) of your shots.
Precision determines the precision of your shots by deciding the size of the shot circle and how fast it will shrink.
Speed controls how fast your character can move during response and recovery movements.
Serve power controls how fast and powerful your serve can be. To reach maximum power, you also need to be good at playing the serve minigame.
Serve precision controls how precise your serve can be. Higher serve precision level also makes the serve minigame easier.
Stamina controls how much stamina your player will have. Every action costs your player some stamina that is regained while the player is not moving or relaxing after a point. When the stamina is low, your player will eventually lose precision and movement speed (and might even refuse to chase the ball). When stamina bar blinks, it means that the ball was just lost due to the negative effect of low stamina – e.g. lower speed or lower precision.
SECONDARY SKILLS:
Backhand skill controls how powerful are your backhand shots are (as a percentage of your Power skill).
Spin skill controls maximum values for topspin and backspin shots, influencing trajectories and power of most of your shots.
Volley skill influences the power and precision of volley shots. Since all shots also depend on Power and Precision skills, you will need to improve all three skills to get precise and powerful volleys.
Lob skill determines how precise the lob placement is, and how close the lob trajectory is to the optimal. Low lob skill will result in imprecise lob shots that are often lower or higher than needed for the current game situation.
Smash skill controls the reach and power of your player’s smashes. Upgrade this skill to return opponent’s lob shots more efficiently.
The starting speed of your shots (except serves and smashes) depends on the power skill and the incoming ball speed. Spin, Volley, and Backhand skills improve further the shots of the corresponding types. Your player may also reduce shot power when this is the only way to hit the target.
Another way to improve your shots is to upgrade rackets.
SKILL CAP
Equipment skill cap is the maximum player skill value where this particular equipment is effective. Equipment (e.g. racket or shoes) provides bonus up to the equipment skill cap value. If skill value exceeds equipment skill cap than you need to upgrade the equipment (or redistribute skill points).
How to prepare for league matches
There are three training modes in the game that will help you to prepare for league matches: basic training, advanced training, and mirror training.
In Basic training mode, your coach Bill will play in a style resembling a simple novice opponent. This type of training is perfect for polishing basic gameplay elements: serves, recovery movements, ordinary shots and lob shots.
In Advanced training mode, your coach Bill will play in a style resembling the player you just lost to in the league or the current league leader (or the second-place player if the leader is you). Use Advanced training to stay on par with the best players in the league.
In Mirror training mode, your coach Amanda will mimic the style of any league player of your choice. Use Mirror training to prepare for the game against a particular opponent.
Player rating
After each competitive match, player rating is updated.
Change of rating depends on:
1. Difference between player rating and opponent rating.
2. Score.
Private Clubs
To join a private club:
1. You need to be Player Level 5.
2. Open Menu/Club/Find.
3. Check “Advanced Search” and tap Find (this will display a list of clubs that you can join now).
Please note that in order to join a club, a club needs to have a place available (not full) and you need to meet the club’s rating requirements. Also, some clubs require a premium location to be unlocked (these clubs are indicated in blue color).
There are several reasons to join a private club:
1. To compete with other clubs in Clubs leaderboard. To see “your” club become better etc.
2. To play friendly matches with friends (if you have friends in a particular club).
3. To be able to practice against players who have either significantly higher or significantly lower rating compared to yours. (League and tournament matches are more restricted to a range of rating, based on the rating of your player).
4. To compete within the club (club members are sorted by their rating).
Additional user interface elements
Three additional tabs with useful statistical data can be opened by tapping a portrait of either player in the Schedule tab of the league window. In the Summary tab, you will also see L* and W* buttons next to the picture of player’s racket. Use them to watch a replay of any of player’s three most recent league matches.