TennisGuide.org

Home » Which is better AO tennis 2 or Tennis World Tour 2?

Which is better AO tennis 2 or Tennis World Tour 2?

Tennis is one of the most popular sports on the planet. It’s a great way to exercise, stay fit, and have fun. Over the years, video game developers have tried to bring the thrill of tennis to the digital world. The two most popular tennis games are AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2. Both offer a realistic experience of what it’s like to play tennis and have their own unique features.

AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 are both excellent games. They both have realistic physics and controls, as well as beautiful graphics. The only difference between the two games is the gameplay.

AO Tennis 2 is a fast-paced game that focuses on quick reactions and accuracy. It has a wide range of difficulty levels, which makes it suitable for players of all skill levels. The game also features a career mode that allows players to create their own players and compete against the pros.

Tennis World Tour 2, on the other hand, is a more realistic game. It emphasizes strategy and timing, as well as accuracy and skill. The game has a wide range of courts, players, and tournaments, which makes it a great choice for tennis fans. The game also features a career mode, as well as online and offline tournaments.

Both AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 have excellent graphics. AO Tennis 2 has more vibrant colors and smoother textures, while Tennis World Tour 2 has a more realistic look and feel. The animation is also very good in both games.

The sound in AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 is also very good. Both games feature realistic sound effects, such as the sound of balls hitting the court and players grunting as they hit the ball. The background music is also good in both games.

Customization

AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 both offer a wide range of customization options. In AO Tennis 2, players can customize their players’ appearance, as well as their abilities and equipment. The game also allows players to create their own courts and tournaments.

Tennis World Tour 2 also offers a wide range of customization options. Players can customize their players’ appearance and abilities, as well as the courts and tournaments. The game also has an online store where players can purchase new equipment and clothing.

Online Play

AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 both offer an online mode where players can compete against each other. In AO Tennis 2, players can compete in tournaments and challenge other players to one-on-one matches. They can also create their own tournaments and join others’ tournaments.

Tennis World Tour 2 also offers an online mode where players can compete against each other. The game has an online ranking system, as well as leaderboards, tournaments, and challenges. Players can also create their own tournaments and join others’ tournaments.

Replayability

Both AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 are very replayable games. AO Tennis 2 has a career mode where players can create their own players and compete against the pros. The game also has online tournaments and challenges, as well as a wide range of customization options.

Tennis World Tour 2 also has a career mode, as well as online tournaments and challenges. The game also has a wide range of customization options, as well as an online store where players can purchase new equipment and clothing.

AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 are both reasonably priced games. AO Tennis 2 is available for $39.99, while Tennis World Tour 2 is available for $49.99. Both games offer great value for money and are a great choice for tennis fans.

Both AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 are excellent games. They both offer a realistic experience of what it’s like to play tennis. AO Tennis 2 has a faster pace and is more suitable for players of all skill levels, while Tennis World Tour 2 is more realistic and emphasizes strategy and timing.

The two games also offer a wide range of customization options and online play. AO Tennis 2 is slightly cheaper than Tennis World Tour 2, but both games offer great value for money. In the end, it comes down to personal preference. If you’re looking for a fast-paced game, then AO Tennis 2 is the way to go. If you prefer a more realistic experience, then Tennis World Tour 2 is the better choice.

AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 are both excellent tennis games. They both offer a realistic experience of what it’s like to play tennis and have a wide range of customization options. AO Tennis 2 is a faster-paced game that is more suitable for players of all skill levels, while Tennis World Tour 2 is more realistic and emphasizes strategy and timing. In the end, it comes down to personal preference.

Cross play, split screen co-op and multiplayer games listing on Gamescover

Comparison of Tennis World Tour 2 vs AO Tennis 2 - Differences

Comparison between tennis world tour 2 vs ao tennis 2 in gameplay, career, graphics & modes:, tennis world tour 2 vs ao tennis 2 gameplay:.

Compare Tennis World Tour 2 vs AO Tennis 2 Gameplay

Tennis World Tour 2 vs AO Tennis 2 Career Mode:

Tennis world tour 2 vs ao tennis 2 graphics:.

Differences between Tennis World Tour 2 vs AO Tennis 2 Graphics

Single Player & Multiplayer Modes:

You might like, post a comment, contact form.

  • Review Policy

gamespew

If you make a purchase after following a link on our site, we may earn a small commission. Learn more.

Tennis World Tour 2 Review

tennis world tour 2

Rather watch the video version of our Tennis World Tour 2 review? Click here.

I’m not really sure what’s happened with tennis world tour 2 ..

After the first title in the series failed to impress, it seemed as though Nacon was doing all it could to make up for it. At least on paper, anyway. Big Ant Studios was brought in to develop this sequel, and its last title, AO Tennis 2 , actually impressed us a fair bit. Tennis World Tour 2 , however, seems like a step back for the studio. It’s an improvement over the first game, sure, but it still falls short of being a good tennis game.

So, what’s new? How about a new game engine that allows for improved animations and physics? That’s certainly welcome. Doubles is in, too, which many players will appreciate. You can even play in doubles online. And court surfaces now have an effect on play, adding another layer of challenge and/or strategy to each and every match. There are so many improvements in Tennis World Tour 2, big and small, that make sense, and that make it a clear step up from its predecessor. But they’re all nullified by two major changes that do the game no favours at all.

The first is a new timing-based shot system. You can tap one of the various shot buttons to perform a precision shot, or hold one to charge a shot up for more power, but get the timing wrong, and chances are the ball won’t go where you wanted it to. It’s meant to make play more skilful, but the system’s so hard to gauge that it effectively ruins the game. AO Tennis 2 has a similar system, but it also has a useful indicator to help you along. Tennis World Tour 2 doesn’t, and the timing of shots feels horribly inconsistent.

The place where the new timing-based shot system really makes its mark is in career mode. Take a professional such as Roger Federer for a spin in an exhibition match, and you might find yourself actually having a decent time thanks to his high stats. Even if your timing isn’t perfect, there’s a good chance your shot will still be good. Create your own character in career mode, however, and their pitiful starting stats will mean that unless you get good or better timing on a shot, chances are it will go out or hit the net. And getting good or better shots is made all the harder because of their poor starting stats. It’s just not fun.

Tennis World Tour 2 3 (1)

The second of Tennis World Tour 2 ‘s major mistakes is a revamp of its cards system. Where cards could be equipped to players in the first game to boost their abilities in the long-term, here, they mostly provide boosts that last as little as one hit and as long as one match when activated during gameplay. Some of them even reduce your opponent’s abilities. You can reduce your opponent’s serving strength for, example, increase the precision of a slice shot, or restore a portion of your stamina. The trouble is, it feels largely ineffectual and superfluous.

Cards are purchased in packs from a store on the game’s main menu – currently, only in-game money can be used. You can then assign five of your cards to a deck, one of which providing a passive ability, and the other four active abilities that you activate during play by double-tapping a direction on the d-pad. After so many uses, a card expires and disappears from your deck. With effects being so precise and a game of tennis being so dynamic, however, using them effectively is a hit-and-miss affair. It’s also at odds with the game’s serious tone – it’s a very arcade-like feature in conception.

Tennis World Tour 2 4 (1)

There are other issues with Tennis World Tour 2 as well. You’ll find the AI of your computer-controlled opponents to be a bit all over the place. Sometimes they’re magnificently dumb, other times they run rings around you. And while the game’s animations are improved, there are still times where they’re not particularly impressive. Finally, you’ll find the game’s character creator to be a let-down too; in career mode, be prepared to play as, and against, lots of unfortunate-looking souls.

Ultimately, Tennis World Tour 2 ‘s new timing-based shot system ruins what could have been a decent or even good tennis game. It makes gameplay so unpredictable, and not in a good way. If you plan on buying Tennis World Tour 2 just to play exhibition matches as your favourite professional players, you might get some fun out of it thanks to their boosted stats making things more lenient. But career mode will be unbearable for most, requiring either an obscene amount of skill or an inhuman amount of patience. AO Tennis 2 remains the best tennis game available right now, so just stick to that.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

Tennis World Tour 2 is available on PS4, Xbox One and PC. We reviewed it on Xbox One X with a code provided by the game’s publisher.

Buy Tennis World Tour 2 on Amazon

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

Tennis World Tour 2

The Best Tennis Games on Xbox One & Xbox Series X/S

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

The Best Tennis Games on Nintendo Switch (2022)

Tennis World Tour 2 (1)

The Best Tennis Games on PS4

Tennis World Tour 2

The Best Tennis Games on PS5

Ps Plus August 2021

Here’s What’s Coming to PS Plus in August

Tennis World Tour 2 2

Tennis World Tour 2 Review (PS5)

Connect with gamespew.

YouTube logo leading to GameSpew's YouTube page

Latest News

Humanity screenshot

“Surreal and brilliant” puzzle game Humanity is coming to Xbox next month

F1 24

Get your first look at F1 24 gameplay in this new trailer

Jackbox Naughty Pack key art

Jackbox is going M-rated with the upcoming adults-only Naughty Pack

Stellar Blade

Stellar Blade has highest Metacritic user score of any Sony-published game on PS5

Popular this week.

TopSpin 2K25 review 1

TopSpin 2K25 review – The best tennis game in years

Games to play while we wait for Fallout season 2

The best post-apocalyptic games to play while you wait for Season 2 of Amazon’s Fallout

Pools review header

Pools review – A liminal hidden gem

video game cookbooks

The ridiculous trend of video game cookbooks is perplexing

  • Privacy Notice and Cookies

Tennis World Tour 2 PS4 Review

Alan Strawbridge / September 22, 2020

tennis-world-tour-2-ps4-review

I’m confused. Nacon is the publishers behind both of the tennis series on PS4 – the risible Tennis World Tour and the more competent AO Tennis . Slightly strange considering both titles are pitching for the same audience. The first AO Tennis was patched out of mediocrity by developer, Big Ant Studios , who then delivered a far superior sequel in 2020. Meanwhile, Nacon booted out Breakpoint who had fluffed the original Tennis World Tour. So, who could produce a follow up to Tennis World Tour? Nacon decided that the best developer to produce a rival sequel to their own game was the developer of the rival game AO Tennis 2 , namely Big Ant Studios.

It’s mighty strange to think that one of the most popular sports in the world has only appeared on the most popular console in the world three times before, courtesy of Nacon on all counts. Back in the day, PS3 owners were spoilt for choice with the immense Top Spin 4 going up against the equally superb but more arcade-styled Virtua Tennis 4 . And these games are both superior to anything since, which poses the questions where the hell have 2K Czech and Sega been for the last nine years, and have Big Ant managed to polish the turd that was Tennis World Tour?

Tweakable Chins

Well, Tennis World Tour 2 is conspicuous in its absence from Big Ant’s website which doesn’t bode well. The character creation tool when you start the career also does not bode well. Neither the option to create a monster nor the option to model anything which resembles a top player or yourself is present. Merely a meagre selection of last-gen photofits with tweakable chins and noses. Absolutely no fun whatsoever and whatever bland lump you choose, you are forced to wear a hideous 80s style mosaic t-shirt for umpteen games until you level up and can buy something slightly less ugly.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

After that, you’re thrown into the deep end (surely the career could have guided me through the training first?!) with a tournament match against another newbie player. The first thing that struck me was just how long I had to wait while the CPU opponent bounced the ball before each serve. It was almost like he was mocking me by doing it for that much longer. After the bouncing, he served and faulted. I waited again. He served and faulted. Oh well. Perhaps the next serve will be better? More bouncing of the ball. The tension was negligible. He served and I finally attempted a shot which was “Too late” and sailed off the side of the court. The rest of the game was equally dismal so I quit to the main menu in disbelief at how little had been learned from classic tennis titles of yore and how incredibly irritating this game appeared.

The Coach Without A Face And Civil Service

I put down the controller and decided to come back later once I had stopped despairing. When I returned, I decided to find the tutorials and work out how to play as well as possible when I was finally allowed to take a shot, as clearly the career mode wouldn’t give me the opportunity to learn by simply playing.

The tutorials are simplistic yet uninformative hosted by a faceless coach who trots out the same bland congratulatory line every time. Each short lesson is bookended by a slightly overlong loading screen to add to the tedium. Still, at least I had a vague idea of how I was supposed to play the game.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

The service technique involves two-timing presses of the chosen shot button which works well and is tricky enough to feel satisfying. Return shots can be played safe with a tap, or built up with power which involves anticipation in order to time the strike perfectly. A good system in theory. R1 and square combined enables drop shots, the Circle button for topspin, Triangle for a lob and the Cross button is a straight shot without spin.

Back in the career mode, the gameplay was marginally less turgid, but each game still involved little in the way of flowing rallies. Unforced errors were the name of the game, with little discernible difference between “too early” and “too late” and even playing safe, directing the shots led to a call of “Out!” before too long. Deeply unsatisfying and imbibing the player with little sense of control over the course of the rallies.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

Non-Descript Tournaments

The trajectory of your career is also non-existent, merely an endless slog through various non-descript tournaments, exhibition matches, and charity matches, peppered with options to rest, do promotion for advertising, and hiring and firing managers, trainers and agents. It’s all so paper-thin, levelling up hardly seems worth the time.

Outside of the career, playing an exhibition match with Nadal or Federer produces a more flowing sense of actual tennis, suggesting that anyone who perseveres with the career mode will eventually be rewarded with better gameplay. But it really isn’t worth the bother, particularly as it’s impossible to create someone truly individual or original to play with. There will be far too many hours of dire matches to follow before things get mildly interesting.

Skill cards playable before service which boost your stats (or reduce your opponents) are an attempt to throw in something interesting, but they’re all so arbitrary in how they affect the gameplay, I ended up ignoring them as the pointless distraction that they are.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

No Troubles With Doubles

The sketchy gameplay is more tolerable in doubles matches, which relies more on reaction times than pinpoint button presses and often the matches were quite exhilarating, which suggests that perhaps the game only works well as a couch multiplayer game or, providing the servers are eventually populated, for online doubles matches.

On the upside, the player animation is realistic and convincing, and the audience is animated and lively enough to conjure some sense of occasion in the mainly fictitious arenas. John McEnroe’s commentary has been ditched from the previous game, leaving mainly silent match build-ups which pail in comparison to AO Tennis’ atmospheric events. In fact, it’s hard to believe that the same development team was behind both games.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

No Reason To Buy

Unfortunately, the main issue with Tennis World Tour 2 is there’s never much feeling of honing your playing style as there was in Top Spin, as the control system is lacking nuance and depth and never feels satisfying even after mastering the painfully specific shot timing. As a result, the matches feel stilted and completely lacking in all of the facets which made the best tennis games from the last generation so enjoyable.

One gets the feeling that Big Ant was brought on board to try and salvage something presentable at the last minute as the game isn’t significantly different from the previous release. Which is bad news as there’s really no reason that anyone should buy this game over AO Tennis 2. Why this has even been commissioned is a mystery, unless Nacon has already paid for the licenced players in advance, or it’s a tax write off. Or both.

Either way, don’t bother with this and treat yourself to a PS3 on eBay and a second-hand copy of Top Spin 4. Or grab AO Tennis 2 once the price comes down.

Tennis World Tour 2 is out now on PS4.

Review code kindly supplied by publisher.

The Final Word

A highly unsatisfying and directionless tennis game, with an abysmal character creator and career mode. Steer well clear and buy AO Tennis 2, bizarrely made by the exact same team responsible for this monstrosity.

Facebook

Review: Tennis World Tour 2 – A Decent Tennis Experience Backed by Great Visuals and Animations

Tennis World Tour 2 Next-Gen

Tennis World Tour 2 is the next title in the series developed by Big Ant Studios and published by Nacon. Nacon has switched over the controls of development from Breakpoint to Big Ant Studios, who have previously worked on another tennis title called AO Tennis and AO Tennis 2. After the first game was nothing short of a disappointment among fans, Tennis World Tour 2 returns to the gaming world of tennis with many promises of improved gameplay with fast-paced actions, more animations, and more realism to add to the experience of tennis fans. This is my review for the PC version of Tennis World Tour 2, which comes after quite a wait after it was announced earlier this year.

Before we dive into the comparison of Tennis World Tour 2 with its predecessor, let’s look at what the game has to offer right from the get-go. The main menu of the game has a lot of things to choose from, but doesn’t feel clustered nor does it feel like it will overwhelm new players. Of course, you can jump straight into the action and start an Exhibition match by playing as or against world-class tennis superstars of the current tennis generation. If you are wondering, yes you can play as Rafael Nadal against Roger Federer within the first 2 minutes from starting the game.

For the uninitiated, there is a Tennis School mode that explains the basic gameplay of Tennis World Tour 2, which includes how to aim, return the ball, moving and aiming for a certain spot on the court. Moreover, it also teaches movement and sprinting, charging for a precise shot, and most importantly, how to serve. Besides the basics, you also have advanced training options that bring things up a notch. Advanced tutorial in the Tennis School contains most of the gameplay features and mechanics that you can learn and better understand before heading out to play a tennis match. From Baseline Shots that teach to you the topspin or the slice shot, to more advanced shots like the drop shot and lob shot that allows you to mix up your shots in a rally.

Another gameplay feature that is also explained quite well in the Tennis School tutorial mode is the Skill Cards. These are special moves or effects that you can strategically use to gain an advantage against your opponent. Depending on the type of Skill card, you can either apply the advantageous effect of the card on yourself or apply an effect to your opponent that gives you the upper hand over them. Skills Cards are best reserved for the right time, allowing you to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. There are all sorts of Skill Cards that you can purchase with the in-game money, and purchase the ones you think would suit your playstyle. You don’t have to worry about microtransactions as there are none. Any Skill Cards you are looking to purchase can be bought with coins, which you earn by completing challenges, matches, and tournaments.

The first mode in the game is the Exhibition, which cuts to the chase and lets you start a match within a few seconds. Here you can also check out all the current legends of tennis which include Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Ash Barty, Nick Kyrgios, and many more. Nacon also promises that there will more tennis players that will be added later into the game. Now you might be wondering why I haven’t mentioned Novak Djokovic, well it seems like the number one seed is not going to be a part of the new game, just like its predecessor. Nontheless, there are 38 real-world licensed players that you can play as or against in a quick match. This list of licensed players is likely going to increase as the game receives future updates over the course of the year or the next.

Another big addition to the new game is the Doubles exhibition match. Doubles is where instead of the standard two players, you have 4 tennis players divided in a team of two, and playing against each other with slightly different ground rules. Though this may not seem like a surprise if you are new to the Tennis World Tour series, Doubles is a new addition to the game which quite frankly was lacking in the previous game. Considering how Tennis World Tour had a rocky launch and how rushed and incomplete it felt, it came as no surprise that the game didn’t include a Doubles match option. The new title in the series, however, feels more polished and brings the content that was completely missing from the previous title.

Moving on to some of the other modes in the game, the Career mode returns to Tennis World Tour 2 with its own exhibition matches, training, agent meeting, and tournament. All the game modes inside the Career mode allow you to engage in several matches against different opponents and in different stadiums and grounds. The goal however is simple, which is to win games and level up your character to increase their ranking and being capable enough to face the current legends of the game. The Career Mode also has the Calendar that gives you a view of all the Tournaments available to you in the current season of your Career. Here you can choose from several different tournaments from all around the world. Whether you want to head down under to participate in The Melbourne Millennium tournament or you want to go to the hot and humid city of Dubai for the Oasis Trophy. You have a plethora of tournament options to choose from.

Now let’s talk about the gameplay visuals and animations of Tennis World Tour 2, and everything else that the new game brings to the table. There is absolutely no denying that Big Ant Studios has done a really good job with the animations and how seamless they seem in fast-paced action. Apart from the facial features of the real world licensed which can be better, players like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal look quite genuine in the gameplay during rallies. If you have grown up watching both the legends and their playstyle, their swings, and even the grunts they make while swinging, you will immediately notice these details in the game.

The gameplay itself in my opinion can still be better as the opponents still feel quite unpredictable with their shots. At times, my character was pretty slow in responding to the opponent’s serve, while the crowd already started to cheer before the ball even crossed me. It was only when I could return the serve where I actually felt in control. Another big factor of the game is all about timing. Your shots and their timings are displayed on the screen after you have hit the ball. The timing of the shots again felt unpredictable at times, but it wasn’t something that I couldn’t get over.

Rallies in the new game don’t feel slow anymore and actually get the matches going at a good pace. There is always a gray area when you have to merge realistic animations into a fast-paced game, but Tennis World Tour 2 does this pretty well without forcing the player to force a mistake or struggle to keep a hold of your character. Your character is pretty responsive all throughout the rally if you can successfully return the opponent’s service and get the timings right with every shot that follows.

Final Verdict: Tennis World Tour 2 is a big leap ahead than what the previous game was. The new developer has brought in a complete game that does not feel unfinished, while their workings on the new animations and mechanics are quite apparent and well done. The licensed real world players look quite real in the gameplay side of the things even if they don’t look accurate on close up visuals and replays. The gameplay mechanic are slightly better than the previous game, but new players might struggle with the shot timing being too slow or having played too early. Although the shot timing feature is important for the gameplay, I feel it could be further polished for a more consistent playing experience. Tennis World Tour 2 is a great achievement from its predecessor, thanks to Big Ant Studios and the new game engine. I would highly recommend Tennis World Tour 2 to all tennis fans, whether you play it on consoles or your PC. 8/10

You May Also Like

Review Ready Steady Ship

Review: Ready, Steady, Ship! – Unleash Your Shipping Skills

Review Sticky Business

Review: Sticky Business – Where Every Sticker Tells a Tale!

Review Construction Simulator Liebherr Pack

Review: Construction Simulator – Liebherr Pack – Another Great Addition to the Construction Fleet

Piczle Cross: Story of Seasons Review

Review: Piczle Cross: Story of Seasons – A Wholesome Yet Challenging Nonogram Puzzle Game

Review Quadroids

Review: Quadroids – A Challenging Platformer That Tickles Your Psychomotor Skills

Review: Cat and Ghostly Road

Review: Cat and Ghostly Road – Purr-fectly Haunting

' src=

About the Author: Salik Shah

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Privacy Policy

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

Tennis World Tour 2: Complete Edition Review — A Mid-Level Contender

Image of Dylan Webb

Big Ant Studios found their audience with niche sporting simulators this last decade. Between Ashes Cricket and Rugby League Live , recent years have seen a greater focus on tennis, with the team offering the enjoyable AO Tennis 2 early last year.

In September 2020, they were back at it, this time launching Tennis World Tour 2 in collaboration with Nacon. Releasing to mixed reviews , Tour 2’s found a second lease on life with a next-gen “Complete Edition” for PS5 and Xbox Series X, which makes for a vast improvement over the original release, even if that improvement is relative.

Tennis World Tour 2: Complete Edition Review — A Mid-Level Contender

If you’re simply after a quick tennis fix, Exhibition Mode is your go-to here, letting you play with up to three other players locally in singles and doubles matches. In this mode, there are 48 different Tennis players to choose from, including Grand Slam winners Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Maria Sharapova. Sadly, a few notable icons, like the Williams sisters and Novak Djokovic, are missing, but the line-up remains impressive despite their absences.

Online multiplayer is also available, as are several pre-set and player-hosted tournaments. There’s also Tennis School, a training area filled with tests to keep your skills sharp.

However, the real focus lies in Career Mode, creating an original character in your journey to win a Grand Slam. You complete different events – including exhibition matches and tournaments. Those come with an entry fee, and higher fees mean higher winnings, should you succeed.

Gradually, you increase your career level, building up a reputation and signing with new agents, who offer performance buffs like greater strength or increased XP. Just be careful of your fatigue meter, which builds up after taking on events and impacts performance. Taking timely breaks to keep yourself in peak condition is a must.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

Once you’re on the court, you have two shot options: precision and power. Providing you’re near the ball, racket swings occur automatically, but a good precision shot requires tapping a button as the ball gets closer. For power, you must hold that button down, releasing at the right moment for a devastating volley.

It sounds straightforward, but Tour 2 gets surprisingly challenging, and that difficulty can spike between matches. Even if you force your opponent into errors, moving them to the other side of the court, misjudging your shot timing can undo your hard work. Those seconds are key to taking a point or landing out of bounds.

That’s not to understate the surprisingly technical level of gameplay depth here, a depth that forces you to consider your strategy seriously. It’s not as arcade-like as more notable games like Mario Tennis – and it replicates real tennis to a decent extent.

Of course, that precise, realistic approach won’t sit well with everyone. To help you out, Tour 2 also includes a Cards system, allowing you to boost your own skills during matches – improving endurance, power, precision, and agility, for example – or reduce an opponent’s. You can hold five cards at once and save preset decks, buying them from a Card Shop for coins earned in career mode. Cards can even be sold for extra currency.

Since they’re best used in a pinch, they add a good layer of strategy to the gameplay.

Tennis World Tour 2: Complete Edition — The Bottom Line

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

  • Captures the feeling of tennis well.
  • Plenty of players and courts to choose from.
  • Smooth performance.
  • Numerous upgrades over the previous edition.
  • Difficulty level is uneven.
  • Some character models need improvements.
  • Gameplay is quite technical.

As for next-gen improvements, Nacon has done an impressive job, and owners of last-gen’s Ace Edition can upgrade to the Complete Edition for free. Running at 60 frames-per-second in 4K, the Complete Edition also benefits from faster loading times, ray tracing, and enhanced particle effects.

It looks great, and that presentation’s only let down by a few off-base character models, which could’ve used some extra detail. Otherwise, all previous DLC is included with six new characters (including Murray and Sharapova), four additional stadiums, new cosmetics, and additional animations, too.

If you weren’t sold on Tennis World Tour 2 previously, Nacon’s next-gen upgrade won’t change your mind, but there’s an enjoyable simulator here and the Complete Edition is the best way to play. If you’re a serious tennis fan, this one comes recommended.

[Note: Nacon provided the copy of Tennis World Tour 2 used for this review.]

duck sitting on sea shore in duckside

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

ENTER THE COURT

Play as the world's top players, master each surface, perfect your game and strive to dominate the world circuit. Choose from multiple game modes, with singles and doubles games, local and online.

Available for

Choose your edition

Standard edition.

☑ Base game

✕ Annual pass, includes:

  • The OFFICIAL TOURNAMENTS and STADIA pack with the Roland-Garros tournament, the Tie Break Tens tournament, the Madrid Open and the Halle Open.
  • The SOFIA KENIN & KAROLINA PLISKOVA pack.
  • The JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO & VICTORIA AZARENKA pack.
  • The CHAMPIONS pack with the ATP Cup, the players ANDY MURRAY, DONNA VEKIC, MARIN CILIC, JUSTINE HENIN, MARIA SHARAPOVA and DIEGO SCHWARTZMAN, and additional official equipment and outfits.

✕ Legends pack DLC

Available now

Ace Edition

☑ Annual pass, includes:

✕ Legends pack DLC

Most popular

Complete Edition

☑ Legends pack DLC

About this game

Play as the world's top players or create your own player to try and dominate the world rankings. Faster paced, with more animations and more realism: experience the true sensations of tennis, in singles or doubles games, and challenge your friends locally or online.

THE REAL LIFE OF A TENNIS PRO

Your player, your decisions. In Career mode, you manage your season, your staff, your equipment and your sponsors. And if you are up to the challenge, you can become the new star of world tennis.

DESIGNED FOR TENNIS FANS

Master the timing of your strokes, the new serve mechanics and all the moves to dominate your opponent, just for fun or to win in Ranked mode.

THE THRILL OF THE COURT

More animations, more strokes, a faster pace… Experience dynamic, realistic and precise gameplay that puts you in the heart of legendary rallies.

System requirements

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

Windows 10 x64

Intel Core i3-3210 / AMD Athlon II X4 555

Intel Core i5-650, 3.2 GHz | AMD Phenom II X4 965, 3.2 GHz

Radeon HD 6670 or NVIDIA Geforce GT710 with Min 2GB Memory

Nvidia GeForce GTX 650, 1 GB | AMD Radeon HD 7770, 1 GB

11 GB available space

Problems with delivery? 

In case you have any issues with the delivery (item not received, item is damaged, etc) or any further inquiries about the delivery process, please contact [email protected]

Can the Standard Edition be shipped anywhere in the world?

For logistics reasons, we can ship the physical edition of the Standard Edition to these countries: Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Poland, Switzerland, Greece, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey, Israel, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Iceland, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Oman, Slovakia, Malta, Cyprus.

If you have further questions, please contact our customer service at [email protected]

When will I receive my game after ordering?

You will receive your product within 5 to 10 business days from the date of your purchase.

I bought one of the PC versions directly from your platform but I didn't receive a confirmation email. What should I do?

Check your spam folder in your email client. If you still can't find the confirmation email with your game code, please contact our retailer's customer support on the following website: help.xsolla.com

  • EA Sports College Football 25
  • MLB The Show 24
  • Madden NFL 24
  • EA Sports FC 24
  • PGA Tour 2K23
  • EA Sports PGA TOUR

tennis world tour 2 review

Tennis World Tour 2 Review - What the Original Should Have Been

Image of Kevin Scott

Sometimes low expectations are the best thing that can happen to a game. Consider Tennis World Tour 2, for example, the follow-up to the disappointing original that can’t help but benefit from avoiding any comparison to that sub-par release. With a new developer on board in Big Ant Studios (oddly enough, the same studio behind the gaming world’s other big tennis title, AO Tennis 2 ), it has to be considered monumental progress that TWT2 simply feels like a finished game this time around.

Aside from that, the improved graphics and mechanics on the court — alongside a renewed focus on making online play an enjoyable experience — leads to the game being a respectable, if not exactly superlative, entry for all fans of the sport.

With that said, let’s venture into the weeds a bit more in this Tennis World Tour 2 review and take a closer look at what aspects of the game are winners and which others sail wide of the boundaries.

Tennis World Tour 2 Review – What I Like

Tennis school.

For anyone who recalls my initial impressions piece on Tennis World Tour 2 after spending some time with a preview build of the game, my opinions couldn’t help but be heavily influenced by the fact that there was no tutorial available to help explain how to actually, you know, play the game. This predictably led to a lot of confusion about how to hit the ball as much of it didn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason.

Thankfully, access to the tennis school that’s included in the game clarified most, though not quite everything, about how to swing a racket. Without question, the biggest aspect of the game that was completely lost on me (because, again, it wasn’t explained) before tennis school is that there are precision shots, which you use by tapping a button, and power shots, which you use by holding down a button for longer. I had no idea precision shots even existed when playing the preview build, which goes a long way towards explaining why I didn’t feel like I had all that much control of any of my shots.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

The tennis school does a nice job of walking you through the various controls by having you hit the ball at targets on the other side of the court. It did still take a little while to grasp how to properly direct your shots, which is partially a byproduct of having to use the left stick to both run for the ball and select where to hit — something that can feel like a bit of a conflict of interest at times.

There also isn’t a great explanation within tennis school of a fundamental component of the game, which is how to properly time your shots. With every ball you hit, there will be a message on the screen displaying feedback for your timing on a spectrum ranging from “too soon” to “good” to “perfect” to “too late.” But the tennis school doesn’t ever really tell you when is the ideal time to release a button, whether it’s a precision or power shot, leading to a lot of trial and error. (Hint: get yourself in position to hit the ball first and then release a button right around the time your player starts winding up.)

How to serve has been completely reworked in TWT2 , and the new system is an adequate mini-game that’s mildly challenging and allows for myriad outcomes. Consisting of the toss and then the actual contact with the ball, both components involve properly timing a button push or release to achieve the best possible power and accuracy. It can be a little tricky to pinpoint where you want the ball to go as holding down any direction too long is likely to end up as a fault. For the second serve, it’s usually best to stick to a safe serve by tapping a button instead of holding it down, which will sacrifice some power but at least won’t cost you a point with a double fault.

tennis world tour 2 review

Depending on your input, you can see balls get painted down the lines, go long and wide or into the net (even lets that strike the net and land in the service zone), and it feels rewarding when you do deliver a serve exactly how you desired. But even when I’ve been able to unleash a serve with maximum power right on a line, I’ve still yet to get an ace against a CPU opponent. It’s unclear whether this means the AI is perhaps just not quite tuned properly (they also do tend to hit the ball out a lot) or there’s another layer of serving that’s still eluding me.

Graphics & Presentation

With the likenesses of so many professional tennis players in the game (nearly 40 at launch), they all resemble their real-life counterparts closely enough for the most part, but they do tend to get a little waxy in close-ups. Still, it’s nice to see how they can get expressive after points, whether in celebration or disgust. And the differences between the skills of elite players like Federer and Nadal and the lower-ranked players are evident on the court.

tennis world tour 2 review

One of the biggest reasons that the gameplay in TWT was so mediocre was that there were a limited number of animations, and it was not uncommon to have the wrong animation trigger — or even no animation trigger at all — when you went to hit a shot. Thankfully, the animations in this game are more fluid across the board, but there are still some awkward moments here and there where players warp to the ball a bit or contort themselves strangely while returning a ball.

The environments and stadiums in the game with all of their various surfaces and conditions allow for plenty of variety, and they are immersive enough without being spectacularly detailed re-creations or anything. The addition of disputes adds another enjoyable element — where the flyover camera reveals whether a ball was in or out — and I find myself challenging calls that were obvious just for the fun of using this new feature.

Online Play

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

Anyone who played TWT remembers how the developers touted online play prior to release, only to not be able to deliver on that promise until well after the game had come out. Even when it finally was implemented, the game was a frustrating mess in online matches thanks to unavoidable and unplayable lag bogging down every attempt.

Thankfully, this follow-up has vastly improved the online play to the point where there was no noticeable lag in the matches that I played. In fact, the game even plays pretty well when going head-to-head against someone, especially when you become engaged in a long rally against the opponent who can see you sprinting from one side of the court to the other, or to the net to retrieve a drop shot before the ball bounces a second time.

tennis world tour 2 review

However, there are still a few noticeable bugs in online matches. I’ve seen multiple shots from opponents that looked way out but were somehow called in, and then they were awarded the point when I didn’t play it back.

It must say something about the matchmaking that for my very first online match I was pitted against the player who was at the very top of the leaderboards. This probably isn’t exactly the best way to initiate people into the online experience. For what it’s worth, I may have been beaten pretty soundly by the top-ranked player in the video game equivalent of Federer facing off against a 10-year-old child, but I did get a couple of points against said player and was still able to get involved in a number of fun rallies.

There’s also the new option of being able to play doubles both locally and online, which is nice if you’re hanging out at home with someone and want to take on other duos, but it can’t help but limit potential matchups when you’re only able to team up locally and not online with a partner.

Career Mode

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

It probably should be said up front that the career mode in TWT2 isn’t all that different than the one in TWT , but it does an admirable job of giving you a variety of things to do over the course of a year while you grind away at improving your player’s attributes during your climb to be the best in the world.

The main thing that you’ll probably want to do is enter and play in tournaments where you’ll face off against CPU opponents and attempt to proceed through the bracket to the finals. It’s nice to see that as a scrub just starting out you’re not necessarily expected to go toe-to-toe against the elite players of the world. Instead, you can test your mettle against lesser players with similar attributes as yours until you’ve become a little more established.

It’s hard to beat the allure of hoisting some sort of trophy, but there are other things to do besides compete in events and there are times when the best thing to do might be nothing at all in order to recover your stamina. There are charity and exhibition matches that can generate you some coins, training that gives you some fun challenges to complete in exchange for XP, or you can hire and fire your coaches and agents if you feel like different ones can give you bonuses that align more with your priorities.

As you do various activities, you’ll be able to level up and decide how you want to spend your attribute points and all of the coins you’ve accumulated. By choosing how you want to allocate those attribute points, you essentially are deciding what you want the strengths and weaknesses of your character to be. As for the coins, you can put those towards equipment and clothes or on packs of cards (more on that shortly).

Tennis World Tour 2 Review – What I Don’t Like

tennis world tour 2 review

Card System

In theory, there’s perhaps some merit to how the card system works in TWT2 , but in execution it kind of feels like it belongs in more of an arcade game and is at odds with the tennis simulation this game is attempting to be elsewhere. The worst part is that you’ll need to regularly spend your coins in order replenish your hand of five cards that can be played because they all have a limited duration, whether that’s one match, one set, one game or even one point.

This wouldn’t be so bad if the cards actually gave better upgrades and if so many of them were not so lame. While you might have a somewhat useful Support card that can help you for a full match and give your player a boost on something like your precision volley, the majority of the cards you get from packs will instead give a small decrease to something like your opponent’s underhand serve ability for a game, which they’ll probably never use in a whole match (let alone a whole game).

Though there was some attempt in the preview event to argue that the cards are meant to simulate moments of a match when a player is particularly locked in, this doesn’t really hold up under closer scrutiny. It’s not all realistic to think that players can get themselves into some sort of mysterious zone where they’re really seeing the ball well but only when their opponent is serving ball underhand to them. Even then, how is it that someone’s own abilities somehow transfer to making your opponent worse instead of simply making you better?

Suffice to say, there’s a lot here that doesn’t have much logic to it. Perhaps there’s a way to make a card system like this work but it would need a pretty substantial overhaul in order to make it feel more organic.

Creation Suite

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

Once again, the creation suite for your player in TWT2 might initially look decent but that’s only because the one in TWT was so atrocious. Where you previously had to choose between a handful of pre-made characters so that you’d invariably end up playing against your doppelganger, at least you can create someone who looks unique now.

However, it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed when comparing the creation suite to similar games like NBA 2K or even the recent PGA Tour 2K21 . Rather than feel like you’re sculpting the features of your player to look exactly how you want, it’s more as if you’re only able to choose between a handful of options, swapping out different mouths and noses as if your player was some sort of human Mr. Potato Head.

This is progress to be sure, but it still needs more customization to belong in the same conversation as other modern sports games.

Bottom Line

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

It’s true that the bar may have been set pretty low by TWT, but TWT2 still deserves plenty of credit for righting the course of this franchise and pointing it towards potentially becoming a top-notch tennis simulation. Still, it’s not quite there yet because the developers need to either refine — or lose entirely — the bonuses of its card system and allow for more individuality from its creation suite.

Regardless, when you’re engaged in long rallies against opponents online and trying to outfox them with the variety of shots at your disposal, it all begins to feel like real tennis in a way that was sorely lacking the first time around, particularly online.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

Tennis

The Grand Slams, ATP and WTA all want to control tennis. Do they have the power?

The Grand Slams, ATP and WTA all want to control tennis. Do they have the power?

A grand struggle for power lies at the heart of every tennis match. Right now, it’s also at the heart of the sport itself.

Here at the Madrid Open, the moment that had all the insiders buzzing happened earlier this week, not on a dusty red court, but in the players’ lounge.

There, in plain sight — not cloistered in an office or luxury suite — the de facto leaders of the two competing visions for the future of tennis sat just a few feet from each other, making their cases to whomever they could get to listen: players and agents; tournament directors and owners.

Advertisement

On one side is the proposal from the Grand Slams for a streamlined elite tennis tour . On the other is the push f rom the existing ATP and WTA tours to maintain something like the status quo, only more of it, with one more big tournament and some more money, thanks to a significant investment from Saudi Arabia .

As the leaders of the biggest tournaments go back and forth with their counterparts about who controls tennis moving forward, there is an odd truth that neither side wants to talk about: what ultimately happens, and who ultimately ends up holding the power, isn’t really up to them.

In reality, the two camps are staging a kind of beauty contest, whose judges are also in two camps.

One: a handful of executives and organizations who control the biggest tournaments outside the four Grand Slams of Wimbledon and the U.S., French and Australian Opens. Two: a couple of dozen players whose participation drives the sport.

That’s why Craig Tiley, the chief executive of Tennis Australia and one of the prime movers for the Grand Slams’ effort to create an elite premium tour, arrived early in Madrid to meet with players and the managers, lawyers and agents who represent them, knowing full well how badly many of them want reform , especially when it comes to the length of their schedule.

It let him impress on them that what the leader of the ATP tour, Andrea Gaudenzi, has been pushing moves them further away from what they want — although, much of what Tiley was discussing wasn’t about the premium tour, but how an additional tournament would mess up their off-seasons and wreck his Australian season of tennis.

They are the two men sitting 30 feet apart that got people’s attention.

For his part, Gaudenzi, an Italian former tennis pro, held his board meetings, ploughing ahead with the process of adding that additional tournament — and likely the Saudi money — to the tour coffers.

Polite and decorous as it might look on the surface, tennis is a brutal sport, and so, too, is the business of running it.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

Two days later, despite Tiley’s efforts, word was spreading via an Italian tennis website that the ATP had reached a deal with Saudi Arabia to hold another mandatory top-level event that will start the season in the coming years. That would threaten the viability of Australian Open tuneups in Australia and New Zealand and the United Cup, a mixed event, also in Australia, that the ATP organizes with Tiley’s Tennis Australia and the WTA. It offers $10million (£8m) in prize money, making it one of the biggest pay weeks for female players.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

By late afternoon, the ATP had put out a message on X, formerly Twitter, that it had not made any decision on the tournament. Final bids for the event were due Wednesday. “We would like to clarify that these reports are inaccurate,” the ATP stated. “No decisions have been made and any updates will be communicated at the appropriate time.”

Welcome to the corridors of tennis power: a fractured hall of mirrors where nothing is quite as it seems.

go-deeper

More prize money, less tennis, equal pay: Grand Slams launch premium tour offensive

As in most sports, there are three forces which drive tennis: money, fame, and inertia, and they are pretty evenly divided among the players and the eight entities that run the sport.

The Grand Slams and the nine largest other tournaments which aren’t Grand Slams, known as the “Masters 1000s”, basically control the money, accounting for something like 80 per cent or more of the revenues in tennis by some estimates. It’s hard to calculate, since plenty of tournaments do not make their finances public, not even with players.

Players control most of the fame. They are the stars of the show, the boldface names who pull fans into the sport, their images plastered onto billboards in major cities all across the world throughout the year.

“Try having a tournament without players,” Stefano Vukov, coach to women’s world No 4 Elena Rybakina, said Friday afternoon. “You can’t do it. I promise you.”

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

At this Madrid Open, the players have been trying to go about their business while confused about what the future holds.

Once they get locked into an important event, they try to actively ignore everything that isn’t their next match. Some also need to be cautious because of the incestuous nature of the sport: their agents often work for companies that own tournaments. Some players who delve into the politics of tennis soon pull back if they sense it is distracting them from trying to win.

go-deeper

Tennis’ top women say the sport is broken. This is why

Iga Swiatek, the women’s world No 1, ticks all three of those boxes, since she is represented by the sports and entertainment conglomerate IMG, which owns the tournament currently ongoing in the Spanish capital and also the Miami Open, played recently in the U.S. Still, she could not hide her ongoing frustration at how the sport operates, with only a limited formal role for player input. 

“I’ve been really involved, last year, especially with all this, politics and sports a little bit, and I feel now I need to kind of focus on myself,” Swiatek said after winning her opening match Thursday night. “But I want to speak out when I feel like it’s important and it’s going to do something.”

“I just really, really hope that it’s going to change and we will have a say, or at least we’re going to be informed much, much earlier of changes.”

Ons Jabeur, the two-time Wimbledon finalist, sounded a similar note about the ongoing battle.

“For me as a player, it’s like a movie,” Jabeur said, following her opening triumph. “I’m watching them fighting it out there. But I feel like whatever is going to happen, the players need to be involved.”

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

The WTA, the men’s game’s ATP — and to a lesser extent the International Tennis Federation — have inertia on their side.

They license and sanction more than 100 other tournaments around the Grand Slams and also help sell some of the media and sponsorship for the tour. They set up a schedule that largely guarantees a professional tennis match is taking place somewhere nearly every day for roughly 11 months. They collect the revenue: media payments, sponsorships and other licensing agreements. Players end up with roughly a quarter of it, with the rest going to overheads and administration.

All that makes the tours seem like the sport’s alpha dogs, which is just what they want.

It might seem like that means they have the power, but the tours don’t control the players. The players are independent contractors, free to play tennis wherever they want if they can find someone to pay them — the way some of the world’s top golfers found a willing partner in Saudi Arabia .

That is especially true at the moment, because the Grand Slams have yet to renew the agreement that obligates them to organize their draws based on the ATP and WTA rankings, which the tours oversee. For now, it’s a detail because Grand Slams are still acting as though the deal is still in place. But there is an implicit threat in their refusal to sign a new agreement; a message that they could use some other rankings systems that ignore the tours, which would allow players into their tournaments whether the tours like it or not.

Still, a great tennis player does not have many alternatives for making millions of dollars from playing the sport without the platform and the competitions the tours offer.

go-deeper

Saudi Arabia's new $1billion proposal and the battle to control tennis

It also might seem like the tours have total control over the tournaments to which they have sold licenses, granting them the ability to operate as official events. But the only important tournaments they actually own are the season-ending tour finals.

They also have the least amount of control over the most important and lucrative tournaments on their tours, those Masters 1000 events that function as the sport’s gilded breakaway republic: Indian Wells, Miami and Cincinnati in the U.S., Monte Carlo in the south of France, Madrid, Rome in Italy, Montreal and Toronto in Canada, China’s Shanghai and Paris.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

Many of these are storied events, such as Indian Wells, known as the “Fifth Slam ”, and the Italian Open. Those tournaments got together and decided to sell their media rights as a separate package, through a separate company called ATP Media. The actual ATP? It has about a 10 per cent stake in that company. In most realms, the people who control the most money hold the most power, and here and overall, tennis is no different.

This is why the battle to control the sport has become a beauty contest between rival proposals from the Grand Slams and the existing tours about how to fix tennis .

Those Masters 1000 events already have some financial separation from the existing tours, though lawyers would have their work cut out trying to undo existing contracts. And pro tennis can’t exist without the best players, who can choose where to take their power and who to bless with it.

Those are each contestant’s top attributes.

What exactly do the judges in this contest want?

Beyond the dreams of winning the biggest titles, most players who have the levels required to play an event such as the Madrid Open want two basic things from their tennis careers. They want an opportunity to make a good living and they want to be able to play in the events they grew up watching on television.

Those are mostly the Grand Slams, maybe their home country’s Masters 1000 if there is one, or the tournament that takes place closest to their hometown. Frances Tiafoe, who grew up in the U.S. state of Maryland, has said he only cares about two tournaments, the U.S. Open and the Citi Open in nearby Washington, D.C.; Swiatek doesn’t miss the WTA event in Poland’s capital Warsaw, her hometown.

In this light, the Masters 1000 tournaments want to be seen as premium events — if not on par with the Grand Slams, then as close as possible to them.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

For the Grand Slams, the key to being able to create a premium tour may come down to convincing a critical mass of the Masters 1000s events to at least threaten to break with the existing tours.

Instead of being closely associated with a score of random tournaments everywhere from Antwerp in Belgium to Houston in Texas, they could be part of an elite group of events that includes Wimbledon, the most historic and important tournament in the sport. Implicit in that is the idea that tennis’ geographic reach is an albatross rather than a calling card, which many figures in all four groups — and many more fans — would dispute.

The Grand Slams will also have to convince the players, especially the stars who hold the most sway over everyone else, they are better off playing on a premium tour which the Slams say will pay them more money for doing less work.

The concept, according to the proposal from the Grand Slams, will double prize money for the top 300 men and nearly quadruple prize money for the top 300 women, who will from inception receive the same prize money as the men on the premium tour, instead of waiting until 2027 for that to happen under the ATP and WTA.

Those players won’t have to spend the year chasing rankings points and feeling like they are losing ground every time they want to take a week or two off between more important events to rest or train. And they will get a six-to-eight-week off-season as well.

Lower-ranked players have been promised more money too, and if their tour is set up properly, with regional circuits and promotion and relegation, they will have to spend less on travel and get more clarity on how they can make the step up.

go-deeper

How to fix tennis

Where would that leave the existing ATP and WTA? Those organizations would likely have a role in helping to govern that premium tour and making sure money from it filters down to the smaller tournaments, on that so-called “Contender Tour”, for the players vying to make the big show and top players seeking extra matches and appearance fees.

tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

For the tours, winning the beauty contest means convincing the Masters 1000s they don’t need the Grand Slams, that they already exist as a premium tour, and that being the highest quality events on the men’s and women’s tours is better than being the poor relations of the Grand Slams, especially given the litigation they would likely face if they tried to break away.

They have also dangled a windfall of roughly a billion dollars in front of the Masters 1000s and the players, which will arrive in full when they add an additional top-level event as soon as 2026, though it’s not clear they can deliver on that figure. Advocates for players say it’s more like $500m at the moment, and once it filters through the system, there won’t be much left over for them.

It’s a contest that should go on for a while, with moves and countermoves, back and forth, surges and lead changes.

Not unlike a tennis match.

(Top photos: Adrian Denis/AFP; Tim Clayton/Corbis; Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Get all-access to exclusive stories.

Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.

Matthew Futterman

Matthew Futterman is an award-winning veteran sports journalist and the author of two books, “Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed” and “Players: How Sports Became a Business.”Before coming to The Athletic in 2023, he worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Star-Ledger of New Jersey and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is currently writing a book about tennis, "The Cruelest Game: Agony, Ecstasy and Near Death Experiences on the Pro Tennis Tour," to be published by Doubleday in 2026. Follow Matthew on Twitter @ mattfutterman

IMAGES

  1. Tennis World Tour 2 vs AO Tennis 2 Gameplay Comparison

    tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

  2. Tennis World Tour 2

    tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

  3. Tennis World Tour 2: Complete Edition (2021)

    tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

  4. Tennis World Tour 2 Review

    tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

  5. Comparison of Tennis World Tour 2 vs AO Tennis 2

    tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

  6. AO Tennis 2 vs Tennis World Tour Gameplay Comparison

    tennis world tour or ao tennis 2

VIDEO

  1. The NEW AO champion 2024 🏆

  2. Svitolina vs Swiatek

  3. Thrilling match Djokovic Vs Nadal

  4. Fix your serve and more with these 5 tips: Beginners Tennis World Tour 2

  5. Tennis World Tour 2: Endlich ein gutes Tennisspiel?

  6. AO Tennis 2

COMMENTS

  1. Giant Comparison of AO2, TWT2, Matchpoint : r/AOTennisII

    A place to share anything you want about AO Tennis 2,a video game released in January 9th 2020 by Big Ant Studios and Bigben on PS4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch and PC. ... TWT2 also has a few semi-annoying challenges that don't feel connected to real-world tennis, like "Don't use a flat shot this entire game." AO2 has, by far, the best career mode ...

  2. Which is better AO tennis 2 or Tennis World Tour 2?

    AO Tennis 2 is a faster-paced game that is more suitable for players of all skill levels, while Tennis World Tour 2 is more realistic and emphasizes strategy and timing. In the end, it comes down to personal preference. Overview Tennis is one of the most popular sports on the planet. It's a great way to exercise, stay fit, and have fun.

  3. Tennis World Tour 2 vs. AO Tennis 2

    You can get both games at a reduced price from my partner MMOGA https://www.mmoga.de/gaetanoverdiIn this video, I will compare Tennis World Tour 2 vs. AO Ten...

  4. Comparison of Tennis World Tour 2 vs AO Tennis 2

    Tennis World Tour 2 & AO Tennis 2 has a nice career mode. Tennis World Tour 2 has a well detailed career mode in which gamer manage season, staff, equipment & sponsors. In AO Tennis 2, gamer has the option to either develop a player or either choose a professional star & start a journey.

  5. Review: 'Tennis World Tour 2' Is A Big Step Back For Big Ant

    Compared to AO Tennis 2, Tennis World Tour 2's core career mode is incredibly pared down. Character creation takes the early brunt of this simpler approach: you're restricted to preset facial ...

  6. Tennis World Tour 2 Review: The Good, The Bad, And The Bottom Line

    Tennis World Tour 2 follows up the original, which was developed by Breakpoint, and switches studios to go with BigAnt for the sequel. BigAnt's moderate success with AO Tennis likely encouraged ...

  7. Tennis World Tour 2 Review

    At least on paper, anyway. Big Ant Studios was brought in to develop this sequel, and its last title, AO Tennis 2, actually impressed us a fair bit. Tennis World Tour 2, however, seems like a step ...

  8. AO Tennis 2 vs Tennis World Tour 2

    Note: watch the intro for some useful information before watching the comparisons ***** This video is a extended comparison between Ao Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2, bringing you footage of both games, featuring all players and all courts in action, as well as game settings, available cameras, racquets, side by side comparisons, and more.

  9. Tennis World Tour 2 Review (PS4)

    Tennis World Tour 2, a much-improved sequel from the developer of this year's AO Tennis 2, captures the flow of the sport better than ever before - at the expense of accessibility for those ...

  10. Tennis World Tour 2 PS4 Review

    A highly unsatisfying and directionless tennis game, with an abysmal character creator and career mode. Steer well clear and buy AO Tennis 2, bizarrely made by the exact same team responsible for ...

  11. TWT2 vs AO Tennis 2(thoughts) : r/TennisWorldTour2

    AO 2 has a better career, Amazing creation modes and cool details like the point reactions and a large number of personal player animations. TWT 2 has the better gameplay, much stronger roster, better depth and a very cool Tie Break Tens mode. If you want the feeling of tennis and pretty satisfying gameplay- TWT 2; if you like customizing ...

  12. Tennis World Tour 2 Review (Switch)

    The first entry in the Tennis World Tour franchise, released back in 2018, was a rather woeful affair that was easily bested by its nearest competitor, the AO Tennis series, and although what's ...

  13. Tennis World Tour 2 vs AO Tennis 2

    *****Note: watch the intro for some useful information before watching the c...

  14. Review: Tennis World Tour 2

    Tennis World Tour 2 is the next title in the series developed by Big Ant Studios and published by Nacon. Nacon has switched over the controls of development from Breakpoint to Big Ant Studios, who have previously worked on another tennis title called AO Tennis and AO Tennis 2. After the first game was nothing short of a disappointment among ...

  15. AO tennis vs TWT vs Match point from a new casual tennis fans ...

    AO Tennis 2 is by far the best game. They actually just updated it alittle while back and it plays a lot better. ... Generally, like in TWT2, the meter will turn green at about the time you would start your swing in real-world tennis, but, in my experience, there's more inconsistency in AO2 in terms of lining up with a real-world analogue ...

  16. Tennis World Tour 2: Complete Edition Review

    In September 2020, they were back at it, this time launching Tennis World Tour 2 in collaboration with Nacon. Releasing to mixed reviews, Tour 2's found a second lease on life with a next-gen "Complete Edition" for PS5 and Xbox Series X, which makes for a vast improvement over the original release, even if that improvement is relative.

  17. AO Tennis 2 Review

    Verdict. While the original AO Tennis may have launched with enough squandered potential to make even Nick Kyrgios shake his head, AO Tennis 2 has taken a major stride forward to more closely ...

  18. Tennis World Tour 2

    About this game. Play as the world's top players or create your own player to try and dominate the world rankings. Faster paced, with more animations and more realism: experience the true sensations of tennis, in singles or doubles games, and challenge your friends locally or online.

  19. Tennis World Tour 2 Review

    Sometimes low expectations are the best thing that can happen to a game. Consider Tennis World Tour 2, for example, the follow-up to the disappointing original that can't help but benefit from avoiding any comparison to that sub-par release. With a new developer on board in Big Ant Studios (oddly enough, the same studio behind the gaming world's other big tennis title, AO Tennis 2), it has ...

  20. Tennis World Tour 2 vs AO Tennis 2 Gameplay Comparison

    Tennis World Tour 2 vs AO Tennis 2 Gameplay Comparison PC.Music - Papaya by tubebackr https://soundcloud.com/tubebackrCreative Commons — Attribution-NoDerivs...

  21. Tennis World Tour 2

    Steer well clear and buy AO Tennis 2, bizarrely made by the exact same team responsible for this monstrosity. Read More FULL REVIEW PlayStation 4 30. Screen Rant ... Tennis World Tour 2 feels like a game that is a few months away from pre-alpha and the fact Sony considered this would be an ok addition to PS+ is an insult to PlayStation players.

  22. ATP Live Rankings

    Official PIF ATP Live Rankings (Singles) showing a list of top players in men's tennis rankings on the ATP Tour, featuring Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and more. EN. EN; ES ... 102 +2 --439-13; K. Edmund Savannah Lost to A.Gea in the Q2. 101-8 --440: 1;

  23. Inspiring brighter futures: the Australian Tennis Foundation's impact

    Australia , 23 April 2024 | Australian Tenns Federation. Looking back on the thrilling Australian Open, the Australian Tennis Foundation (ATF) ha s much to celebrate; specifically, reflecting on a series of impactful events and programs that left a lasting impression on both participants and spectators alike.. One of the highlights was the ATF lottery, which saw over 10,000 tickets sold, with ...

  24. The Grand Slams, ATP and WTA all want to control tennis. Do they have

    On one side is the proposal from the Grand Slams for a streamlined elite tennis tour.On the other is the push from the existing ATP and WTA tours to maintain something like the status quo, only ...

  25. AO Tennis 2 vs Tennis World Tour 2

    Note: watch the intro for some useful information before watching the comparisons ***** This video is a extended comparison between Ao Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2, bringing you footage of both games, featuring all players and all courts in action, as well as game settings, available cameras, racquets, side by side comparisons, and more.

  26. How close can Sinner move to Djokovic in battle for World No. 1?

    Sinner did not compete at the ATP Masters 1000 event last year, so every match will be an opportunity to inch closer to his Serbian rival. He will begin his tournament against countryman Lorenzo Sonego in the second round.. The World No. 2 owns a 25-2 record in 2024, a season in which he claimed his first major title at the Australian Open, a Masters 1000 crown in Miami and a crown in Rotterdam.

  27. AO Tennis 2 or Tennis World Tour 2??? Please help!

    I prefer AO 2 so far. I personally prefer AO Tennis 2,in this game you can download any venue and any player you want from the Academy and you don't have to buy annual pass to have it,you can always update sponsors of stadiums and player looks and clothing,everything for free.That is just a personal opinion though,both games are pretty decent ...

  28. Junior ranking movers: Five Australians inside the world's top 10

    Australia, 30 April 2024 | Leigh Rogers. Junior girls. Emerson Jones remains the the top-ranked Australian in the latest ITF World Tennis Tour junior girls' rankings, sitting at a career-high world No.3.. The 15-year-old from the Gold Coast is the highest-ranked Australian junior girl since Ash Barty, who was also 15 at the time, peaked at world No.2 in 2011.

  29. 2024 ATP Tour

    The 2024 ATP Tour is the global elite men's professional tennis circuit organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for the 2024 tennis season. The 2024 ATP Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments, supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the ATP Finals, the ATP Masters 1000, the United Cup (organized with the WTA), the ATP 500 series and the ATP 250 ...

  30. Melbourne mates accomplish new world record with 82-hour marathon

    Nestled in between at the National Tennis Centre, a crowd had also gathered at Court 18 to marvel at the endurance of two Melbourne mates attempting to set a new tennis world record. Shortly after 4pm, following more than a gruelling 80 hours and 48 minutes on court, Glenn Pope and Jamie Blair achieved their goal of contesting the world's ...