Playing the game
There are 5 different kinds of shot in Dream Match Tennis:
Normal Shot (also hits a 'normal speed' serve, usually used as a second serve)
Hard Shot (also hits a 'hard' serve, usually used as a first serve)
Slice Shot (also hits a 'slice' serve, usually used as a first serve)
Lob
Drop Shot
A Super-Hard Shot has also been recently added, which is harder than the hard shot, but with the added risk of the shot going long or into the net.
The normal shot has been criticized for some of the characters, as it is so weak for the likes of Mason that a hard shot must be used the entire time, negating the use of the normal shot.
Unlike most tennis games, Dream Match Tennis is controlled primarily through the use of timing rather than simply the directional buttons. If a player wants to hit a cross-court shot, they have to hit the ball slightly early. If they want to hit the ball in the opposite direction, they have to hit it slightly later (i.e., when it's going behind the player's character). The directional buttons can be used to get extra angle or direction; for instance, the downwards directional button makes the ball go short, and is useful for hitting angled cross-court shots.
Serving is also performed via correct timing - each character has a unique serving motion, and the shot button must be pressed at the correct moment in order for the ball to go into the court. The moment that the shot button must be pressed varies depending on what kind of serve is being hit, and at what pace the serve is being hit at (pressing the upwards button makes the serve more powerful, whereas pressing the downwards button makes it travel more slowly). The serve is noticeably more effective in Dream Match Tennis than in other tennis games, and the characters with the more powerful serves are capable of hitting up to 14 aces per set (depending on the quality of the opponent).
Players
The number of playable characters has risen to 13 (only one female among them) since the release of the game, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. All of the characters are based on real players, with their names altered in order to avoid licensing issues:
R. Ford (based on Roger Federer) – considered to be one of the best characters in the game, Ford has powerful groundshots with much spin, is capable of serving at up to 128 mph (his serve speed has been reduced from earlier versions), is quick around the court and is also good at volleying. Ford has been weakened in the last few versions of the game due to balancing issues.
R. Nelson (based on Rafael Nadal) – along with Ford is thought of as one of the strongest characters, with a powerful forehand that can generate extreme angles, a strong backhand and good speed around the court. The strength of Nelson's serve is somewhat of an issue with some players of the game, as it is considered too effective when compared to Nadal's serve in reality.
P. Scott (based on Pete Sampras) – slightly weaker than Ford and Nelson, Scott nevertheless has a very powerful serve (he is capable of serving up to 135 mph), a powerful forehand and solid backhand, with good volleys.
A. Arnold (based on Andre Agassi) – a strong baseline player, Arnold is capable of hitting winners from either his forehand or backhand very easily, but this is offset by his poor volleys and relatively ineffective serve.
S. Evans (based on Stefan Edberg) – rarely used in multiplayer matches, this player has an accurate serve, very good volleys and a powerful backhand, but his weak forehand and slowness around the court make it difficult to compete with the better characters when using him.
B. Baron (based on Boris Becker) – has a powerful serve that is easy to time (around the same speed as Ford), but is fairly lumbering around the court with only average groundshots.
A. Richmond (based on Andy Roddick) – the newest addition to the game, this character has a very powerful serve (he can hit it up to 150 mph), and a strong forehand, but his backhand and volleying ability are among the worst in the game. He is also very slow.
I. Leach (based on Ivan Lendl) – a powerful baseline player, his forehand is one of the strongest in the game, but tough to control when using super hard shots and his backhand is also very strong. However, he is also slow and his serve, while being quite powerful, is hard to aim accurately.
M. Cooper (based on Michael Chang) – extremely quick around the court, with an average forehand and a good backhand, and a serve that is difficult to time.
J. Mason (based on John McEnroe) – this character has very weak groundshots, and a serve that, while also lacking power, is capable of getting aces due to the amount of spin on it. He is also quick around the court, with good volleys. J. Mason is the only character available to use online in the free demo of the game, and is consequently used frequently in multiplayer matches. This has become an annoyance with some players who have purchased the game, because Mason is unable to maintain a rally with some of the more hard hitting players such as Ford or Nelson.
S. Gibson (based on Steffi Graf) – the only female character in the game, she is virtually never used in an online match because each one of her shots is among the worst in the game.
J. Cain (based on Jimmy Connors) – Cain has a very weak serve (only capable of reaching just over 100 mph), but his groundshots are powerful and he is able to easily hit winners. However, the fact that they do not have much spin means they often go in the net when going for angled shots. His volleys are also among the worst in the game.
B. Banks (based on Björn Borg) – a good baseline player, Banks is somewhat of a jack-of-all-trades, with average power on each of his shots and mediocre speed around the court.
The characters most often used in online games are Ford, Nelson, Richmond and Arnold.
Game modes
Exhibition – this is where a match (either singles or doubles) can be played between any two characters. This can either be a human against the computer, of which there are a number of different difficulties (with 'beginner' being the easiest, and 'insane' being the hardest), or a human against another human (either using a gamepad, or online). Doubles matches cannot be played online yet.
Challenge – this is a single-player mode, where a player using any character has to beat 4 randomly chosen characters on each of the 4 Grand Slam surfaces. Unlike 'exhibition' mode, the computer difficulty only ranges from beginner to pro, with no insane level.
World Tour – the player chooses a character and has to play in a number of events around the world against computer controlled opponents, trying to reach the ranking of world number 1.
Practice – this is where a player can practice any kind of shot with any character.
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" and "doubles". Badminton is often played as a casual outdoor activity in a yard or on a beach; formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court. Points are scored by striking the shuttlecock with the racquet and landing it within the other team's half of the court.
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player who is unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.
In tennis, a grip is a way of holding the racquet in order to hit shots during a match. The three most commonly used conventional grips are: the Continental, the Eastern and the Semi-Western. Most players change grips during a match depending on what shot they are hitting.
The forehand in tennis and other racket sports such as table tennis, squash and badminton is a shot made by swinging the racket across one's body with the hand moving palm-first. In tennis, except in the context of the phrase forehand volley, the term refers to a type of groundstroke—a stroke in which the ball has bounced before it is struck. It contrasts with the backhand, the other type of groundstroke. For a right-handed player, the forehand is a stroke that begins on the right side of the body, continues across the body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the left side of the body. It is considered the easiest shot to master, perhaps because it is the most natural stroke. Beginners and advanced players often have better forehands than any other shots and use it as a weapon.
The backhand is a shot used in most racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and pickleball, where the back of the hand precedes the palm when swinging the racket. Except in the phrase backhand volley, the term refers to a groundstroke. It contrasts with the forehand stroke, where the palm precedes the back of the hand. The term is also used in other sports where a similar motion is employed, such as throwing a sport disc.
In racket sports a groundstroke, or ground stroke, refers to a forehand or backhand shot that is executed after the ball has bounced on the court. The term is commonly used in the sports of tennis and pickleball, and is counter to a volley shot which is taken before the ball has bounced. Groundstrokes are usually hit from the back of the court, around the baseline.
A lob in tennis involves hitting the ball high and deep into the opponent's court. It can be used as an offensive or defensive weapon.
A smash in tennis is a shot that is hit above the hitter's head with a serve-like motion. It is also referred to as an overhead. A smash can usually be hit with a high amount of force and is often a shot that ends the point. Most smashes are hit fairly near the net or in mid-court before the ball bounces, generally against lobs that have not been hit high enough or deep enough by the opponent. A player can also smash a very high ball from the baseline, generally on the bounce, although this is often a less forceful smash.
In tennis, there are a variety of types of shots which can be categorized in various ways. The grip you place on will help you have different types of shots, the lower your grip means that the ball is most likely going to be a ground stroke. According to William T. Tilden, "All tennis strokes, should be made with the body' at right angles to the net, with the shoulders lined up parallel to the line of flight of the ball." The serve is the opening shot of a point. Groundstrokes are hit after the ball has already bounced, and can be either forehands or backhands depending on which direction the racket is swung relative to the body. A lob is a groundstroke hit well over the head of an opponent who is positioned at the net. A passing shot is a groundstroke that is hit out of reach of an opponent at the net far to his left or right. A cross-court shot is a shot hit from the left side of one player's court to the left side of the other player's court, so that it crosses the lengthwise centerline of the court. A down-the-line shot is one that is hit more or less parallel to, and near to, one of the sidelines, so that it never crosses the centerline.
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Santiago Giraldo Salazar is a retired Colombian professional tennis player. He played on the ATP tour and represented Colombia in the Davis Cup competition. His best tournament result is reaching the final in the 2014 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. He is the highest-ranked tennis singles player in Colombia's history, with a career-high singles ranking of 28th in the world, and 77th in doubles.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to tennis. Tennis is a sport usually played between two players (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a specialized racquet that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court.
A passing shot is a forceful shot, as in tennis or team handball, that travels to one side out of the reach of one's opponent. In tennis, this shot is generally a groundstroke and is used when one's opponent is running to the net or if they are at the net already. The alternative to a passing shot is to lob the ball over the opponent's head. The aim of the passing shot in tennis is to prevent the opponent from returning the ball once he/she is at the net.
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