Service Mind Games
Advanced Tips & Tricks for Mario Tennis Aces
Applicable: Standard and Simple modes
Before the ball even hits your racket, the match has already begun, and you can get an early read on your opponent. When you are about to serve, take note of the opponent’s stance. Advanced players will typically move forward to press the issue and claim momentum, while timid beginners will frequently hang back.
If you are returning, get used to two things: knowing where the ball will land so that you can get on it early (but not so early that you concede the point by hitting it before the bounce), and the shot counter system: top spin (red) counters slices (blue) and vice versa, whereas flats (purple) are countered by a flat in return. If you don’t apply these counters correctly, you will get pushed back further and further on each volley, and this is especially true on ‘nice’ serves that are hit at the highest point of the toss.
A quick – albeit cheap – method to slow returners that approach the net is to simply fake the serve. Remarkably, there is no penalty for throwing the ball into the air and not hitting it. Do you have a feeling that the opponent is set up perfectly to return it? Fake the serve, reposition yourself and force them to do the same. You probably won’t be winning any friends with this kind of tomfoolery, but you’re here to win a tennis match, dammit.
