Virtua Tennis Strategy Guide Version 1.0 7/8/01 Author: DreThug E-Mail: DreThug@hotmail.com Sections: 1: Introduction 2: Update History 2: Basic Controls 3: Move Definitions 4: Game Modes 5: Offensive/Defensive Singles Strategy 6: Offensive/Defensive Doubles Strategy 7: World Circuit Mode 8: Secret Characters/Outfits 9: Player Profiles 10: Top 5 Players 11: Court Profiles 12: Frequently Asked Questions 13: Before You E-mail Me 14: Final Thoughts --------------------------------- 1: Introduction --------------------------------- Welcome to my Virtua Tennis strategy guide for Dreamcast. Being the only tennis game for Dreamcast, Virtua Tennis appeals to fans of its genre. The only thing is, that Virtua Tennis is so fun that people who don't like tennis can pick it up and have a blast with it also. In this strategy guide I will help you improve your game, explain how to beat the world circuit mode, and a lot of other stuff that you can't find anywhere else. Hopefully, after reading this strategy guide, you will come out with a lot of knowledge and have a much better game experience. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions feel free to e-mail me at DreThug@hotmail.com. Thank you and enjoy! --------------------------------- 2: Update History --------------------------------- June 29 2001 - This is basically completed. If anyone sends in anything for me to put in then I'll update but I'm pretty sure this is the one and only version. --------------------------------- 3: Basic Controls --------------------------------- The controls in Virtua Tennis can not be anymore basic. Here I have listed the controls of the game. Offensive Controls A................................Shoot X................................Lob B................................Lob Y................................Change Camera Angle L................................Change Computer Strategy (Doubles) R................................Change Computer Strategy (Doubles) D-Pad............................Move Player, Direct Ball Analog...........................Move Player, Direct Ball --------------------------------- 4: Move Definitions --------------------------------- In the Basic Controls Section I listed all of the controls and what they do. Now I will tell you what each means. Shoot - This is pretty straight forward. By pressing "A" you will swing the racket and hit the ball. This is just a basic shot. You can position where the ball goes by pressing either left, right, up, or down on the analog pad. Lob - A different kind of shot in tennis is the lob. A lob is not a powerful shot but more like a high weak shot. Just like the other shot you can do in Virtua Tennis, you can position where your the ball goes by pressing either left, right, up, or down on the analog pad. Change Camera Angle - Only used in 1st player mode, changing the camera angle makes you have a different view on the ball. I wouldn't recommend you using this, but it's cool to see. Change Computer Strategy - When playing with the computer in doubles, your computer partner can have three different positions. He can be playing normal, up close, or far back. During the match, you can change what position he is in. Move Player - This lets you move your player around the court by using either the analog or the d-pad. Direct Ball - By using either the analog or d-pad you can position where you want your ball to be hit. --------------------------------- 5: Game Modes --------------------------------- Virtua Tennis has many modes of play to keep you busy. Here I have listed each mode of play with a brief description of what it's about. Arcade Mode Just like in the Arcades here you can choose a player and go through five rounds of play. You're allowed to change outfits here but you can't pick what court you're going to play on. If you win, you beat the game. You can play either singles or doubles in this mode of play. Exhibition Mode Up to four players can play in this mode of play. Here you choose what court you want to play on, what outfit you want to wear, and who you want to play as your opponent. You can play either singles or doubles in this mode of play. World Circuit Mode Want to be ranked #1 in tennis? Then have fun going through the whole circuit mode. Only one player can play this mode of play. Compete in single matches, make a contract with another partner and play in double matches, play training modes, buy secret characters and courses at shops, and unlock different uniforms. Options Change difficulty, game length, etc. --------------------------------- 6: Offensive/Defensive Singles Strategy --------------------------------- Being a pro at Virtua Tennis I feel that it is my duty to post my own strategy when playing. I use the same strategy on the computer as I do on my friends. Hopefully, after reading this, you'll get some tips so you can be one of the best. When playing, 75 percent of the time I will hit regular shots. This means that I'm not doing any types of lobs. The only time I use lobs is when my opponent is standing up by the net. If he doesn't know a lob is coming, he'll have no time to get back to hit the lob when I decide to hit one. Also, putting different direction on the ball is essential to winning. Say your opponent plays conversatively and likes to play from the back court. All you have to do is hit the ball softly and short on an angle making him rush for the ball. If he's a good player, he'll make a dive for the ball and either lob it out of bounds or right to you. If he lobs it right to you, then you'll have any easy smash hit on him. While playing, I usually like to stand by the middle line. This gives me enough time to react to the shot plus a far enough distance that a lob can't get over my head. When playing defense, you must anticipate the shot of your opponent. If your opponent is running one way, he will usually hit the ball the same way. The best way that I score off people is hitting the ball either to the far right of the court or the far left. This usually makes your opponent dive for the ball, giving you an easy smash shot. If he doesn't dive for the ball and gets a clean hit on you, then all you need to do is hit a weakly hit ball to the other side of the court. This works on both your friends and the computer. --------------------------------- 7: Offensive/Defensive Doubles Strategy --------------------------------- For this section of my strategy guide, I have decided to divide it in two parts. When playing doubles with the computer you play a lot different when playing with a friend on your side. Here I have listed both strategies of playing doubles. --------------------------------- With The Computer On Your Team --------------------------------- Doubles with the computer can always be fun if you know what you are doing. When playing doubles, you can always expect long rallies if you're good enough to keep up with the computer on very hard. The main reason people lose to the computer is that they don't stay on their side of the court. This is a key element when playing with a computer player on your team. If you go dive for a ball on his side of the court and the computer hits it to your side after you dove, they'll be no one to cover that side giving the computer an easy point. Don't get discouraged if the computer takes a lot of the shots. If you are playing on the difficulty set to Very Hard, your computer player will make few mistakes. When I get the ball hit to me, I usually try to hit the ball to the farthest side of the court. This makes one computer player go run for the ball, leaving his other side of the court open. If the other computer player decided to cover it, it will leave his side wide open for an easy point. One thing I highly suggest you don't use is lobs in doubles. Even if one player is playing up on the net, the person's teammate can always run up and get to the ball if you lob it over the other's guy head. It's not a smart move to lob in doubles, which is a mistake that many people make. Also, you have an option to let your computer play in three different formations. I usually keep the computer in the normal formation, it's the safest. --------------------------------- With A Friend --------------------------------- My brother and I came up with a good strategy when playing on a team. I usually guard the net, so I can get cheap shots in if any balls come to me. He plays directly behind me, at the very back of the court. This works out great because he has enough time to get to both sides of the court if I miss the ball, plus he can get smash hits if people lob the shots over my head. We don't really have a strategy to win, we just let the balls come to us and then hit them the opposite way. It may take a while getting used to, but it works a whole lot better than one person playing on each side of the court. --------------------------------- 8: World Circuit Mode --------------------------------- The best part of Virtua Tennis has to be the World Circuit Mode. Here I have listed everything about the World Circuit Mode. Having trouble beating a stage? Well then you came to the right place. I have listed my strategy on beating everything you need to beat to become #1. For each stage, I have rated it on a 1-5 scale. A 1 means that this stage shouldn't take more than 3 times to complete while a 5 means you'll be playing it a lot. Take some notes, this may take a while. --------------------------------- Rating Key --------------------------------- Here's the Rating Key I use for each event. Make sure you read this thoroughly before scrolling down. 1................................Very Easy level, shouldn't take more than 3 times to complete. 2................................You may have some difficulty with this stage, but after 10 times you should complete this level. 3................................Make sure you have some free time before trying to beat this level. A 3 means that you'll log at least a good 20 minutes before beating it. 4................................Impossible for beginners. A 4 means you'll need to practice a lot. You'll be playing for at least 30 minutes before you complete the level. 5................................You'll be trying to beat a level that is rated 5 for a long time. Your hands will be tired, the controller will be sweaty, and your eyes will hurt before beating this type of level. --------------------------------- Shops --------------------------------- After beating some training levels shops will be unlocked. There are five shops total in the World Circuit Mode. Here I have listed what each shop is and everything you can buy there. At shops you can buy players that will become unlocked in arcade/exhibition mode, courses that will become unlocked in arcade/exhibition mode, different outfits your players can wear, sign a contract with partners for double matches, and buy new strings and recovery drinks for the road ahead. ------------------ Asia ------------------ Players You Can Buy: Ventera................................$100,000 Courts You Can Unlock: Sweden.................................$100,000 Tennis Wear Wear No. 13............................$10,000 Top: Blue/White Shorts: Blue Wear No. 14............................$10,000 Top: Gray/Black Shorts: White Wear No. 15............................$10,000 Top: Green/Black Shorts: Black Wear No. 16............................$10,000 Top: Blue/Teal Shorts: White Partners: Tesia..................................$20,000 Euler..................................$40,000 Etc. New Strings............................$1,000 Recovery Drink.........................$1,000 ------------------ Cape ------------------ Players You Can Buy: Singth.................................$100,000 Costa..................................$100,000 Courts You Can Unlock: Russia.................................$100,000 Tennis Wear Wear No. 09............................$10,000 Top: White Shorts: White Wear No. 10............................$10,000 Top: Blue/White Shorts: Blue Wear No. 11............................$10,000 Top: Gray/White Shorts: Purple Wear No. 12............................$10,000 Top: Beige Shorts: Black/Red Partners: Inoue..................................$20,000 Ahman..................................$40,000 Etc. New Strings............................$2,000 Recovery Drink.........................$2,000 ------------------ South ------------------ Players You Can Buy: Tesia.................................$100,000 Altman................................$100,000 Courts You Can Unlock: Germany...............................$100,000 Tennis Wear Wear No. 05...........................$10,000 Top: Yellow Shorts: Black Wear No. 06...........................$10,000 Top: Red Shorts: White/Black Wear No. 07...........................$10,000 Top: Green/White Shorts: Black Wear No. 08...........................$10,000 Top: Blue/White Shorts: Blue Partners: Tinbergen..............................$20,000 Costa..................................$40,000 Etc. New Strings............................$3,000 Recovery Drink.........................$3,000 ------------------ North ------------------ Players You Can Buy: Tinbergen..............................$100,000 Euler..................................$100,000 Courts You Can Unlock: Spain..................................$100,000 Tennis Wear Wear No. 01............................$10,000 Top: Green/Blue Shorts: White Wear No. 02............................$10,000 Top: White/Green Shorts: Black Wear No. 03............................$10,000 Top: White/Red Shorts: Purple Wear No. 04............................$10,000 Top: White/Orange Shorts: Black Partners: Ventera................................$20,000 Etc. New Strings............................$4,000 Recovery Drink.........................$4,000 ------------------ Pacific ------------------ Players You Can Buy: Inoue.................................$100,000 Courts You Can Unlock: Japan.................................$100,000 Tennis Wear Wear No. 17............................$10,000 Top: Green Shorts: Black Wear No. 18............................$10,000 Top: White/Checkered Shorts: Black Wear No. 19............................$10,000 Top: Blue/Gray Shorts: Navy Blue Wear No. 20............................$10,000 Top: Blue Shorts: White Checkered Partners: Singth.................................$80,000 Etc. New Strings............................$10,000 Recovery Drink.........................$10,000 --------------------------------- Training Missions --------------------------------- In Virtua Tennis there are many different training missions. Here I have listed a short description and my strategy of how to beat each of them. --------------------------------- Big Wall --------------------------------- For Big Wall all you have to do is turn over all the panels. Training #1 - Level 1 - 35 Seconds This is very easy. Stand behind the back line to hit the 1-5 panels by using a lob. The bottom ones are very easy to hit by using a regular shot. Rating - 1 Training #2 - Level 2 - 30 Seconds This time around you have 5 seconds less to hit the targets. The only catch is that the targets are smaller. Use the same strategy as you did for Training #1. Rating - 1 Training #3 - Level 3 - 25 Seconds This time around the targets are even smaller than they were in Training #2. Also, you have only 25 seconds on the clock. It may take you a few turns to beat but it's not that hard. Use the same strategy as you did for Training #1 and #2. Rating - 2 --------------------------------- Drum Shooter --------------------------------- For Drum Shooter all you have to do is lob the balls in to the buckets. Training #1 - Level 1 - 40 Seconds This is very easy. All you have to do is lob the balls from the white middle line. This shouldn't take more than two turns to figure out how to do. Rating - 1 Training #2 - Level 2 - 35 Seconds For the close cans lob the balls from the back line to get them in to the buckets. Make sure you press back on the analog when lobbing the balls. For the cans far away lob the balls from the white middle line. This may take a few times to master. Rating - 3 Training #3 - Level 3 - 30 Seconds This time the buckets are lined up in a backwards "V" shape. Training #3 is a lot easier than Training #2 but still it's hard. Try to shoot all the balls from behind the white middle line. It takes some time to feel how far you should push the analog forward/back to make it go in to the bucket. Try getting the first bucket on the left first and work your way up that way. Rating - 3 --------------------------------- Return Ace --------------------------------- For Return Ace all you have to do is return the balls and hit the boxes. Training #1 - Level 1 - Balls 10 This is probably the easiest training level there is. All you have to do is hit the big boxes. You should be able to complete this training level on your first turn. Rating - 1 Training #2 - Level 2 - Balls 10 This is exactly like Training #1 but with another set of boxes to knock down. Still, this is very easy. Rating - 1 Training #3 - Level 3 - Balls 10 This is exactly like Training #2 but with another set of boxes to knock down. Still, this is very easy. Rating - 1 --------------------------------- Smash Box --------------------------------- For Smash Box all you have to do is knock the boxes off the court. Training #1 - Level 1 - 35 Seconds You have 35 seconds to knock the boxes off the court. Make sure you use smash hits to hit the boxes down. This is extremely easy and shouldn't take more than a couple turns. Rating - 1 Training #2 - Level 2 - 30 Seconds This is exactly the same as Training #1 except with 5 seconds less and some more boxes. Still, this is very easy to master and shouldn't take more than 3 turns to complete. Rating - 1 Training #3 - Level 3 - 25 Seconds There are 12 boxes now that you must knock off. Although this is the hardest level for Smash Box, you can still master it in a few tries. Try using deflections from other boxes so that the boxes you hit will hit other boxes. Rating - 2 --------------------------------- Bull's Eye --------------------------------- For Bull's Eye all you have to do is aim for the bulleye and get the points needed to move on. Training #1 - Level 1 - Balls 20 - Score: 3,000 This is an extremely easy training mission. Just go to the middle white line and hit lobs toward the 500 bulleye. You should beat this on your first try. Rating - 1 Training #2 - Level 2 - Balls 20 - Score: 4,500 Do the same thing as you did for Training #1. The only hard thing is that you need to hit mostly 250s the whole time. Make sure you only use lobs. Rating - 2 Training #3 - Level 3 - Balls 20 - Score: 5,500 Have fun with this one, it will take a lot of time to master. For every shot you take, it must hit atleast a 250 pointer. Use the same strategy and just hope that some will hit the 500 point bulleye. Rating - 3 --------------------------------- Pin Crasher --------------------------------- For Pin Crasher all you have to do is knock down the pins with a serve. Training #1 - Level 1 - 5 Frames - Score 60 Use regular hits to try knocking down the pins. It works best when you get your serve to max power. Use the white vertical center line to help you line up your shot. This may take a while to master but after a while you'll be hitting spares and strikes every time. Rating - 1 Training #2 - Level 2 - 5 Frames - Score 80 This is a bit tough and will take a lot of practice. Just follow my directions for Training #1 and hope that you get some lucky breaks. Remember, you're allowed to hit pins that are already down to hit pins that are standing up. Rating - 2 Training #3 - Level 3 - 5 Frames - Score 100 Arguably the hardest training mission in the game. This will take a whole lot of practice to master. Have fun staying up late trying to beat this training mission. Rating - 4 --------------------------------- Cannon Ball --------------------------------- For Cannon Ball all you have to do is hit all the machines with yellow tennis balls. Training #1 - Level 1 - 40 Seconds This is a very easy training mission. Just use a regular hit to turn off the machines by hitting only the yellow balls. If any of the red balls hit you a machine turns back on. Rating - 1 Training #2 - Level 2 - 35 Seconds This is exactly the same as Training #1 but with 5 seconds less. You shouldn't have any trouble beating this training mission. Rating - 1 Training #3 - Level 3 - 30 Seconds In this training mission the cannons are lined up in different places. It may take a few rounds to get use to the new positions but after that you'll have no problem beating this training mission. Rating - 2 --------------------------------- Giant Ball --------------------------------- For Giant Ball all you have to do is push the giant balls past the baseline. Training #1 - Level 1 - 25 Seconds This is an extremely easy training mission. All you have to do is knock the balls off the court. Rating - 1 Training #2 - Level 2 - 25 Seconds This is exactly like training #1 except with one more ball. Still, this is a very easy training mission. Rating - 1 Training #3 - Level 3 - 25 Seconds There's 6 balls to knock off the court in this training mission. It might take a few turns to beat but it's not that hard. Rating - 2 --------------------------------- Matches --------------------------------- Russia Singles/2 Games Trial - Level 1 Trial Shot: Serve This is extremely easy. Just hit the ball to the opposite sides of the court each time. Rating - 1 Russia Singles/4 Games Trial - Level 2 Trial Shot: Serve This is just like Level 1 except a bit longer. Just use opposite sides of the court and use short shots because you're playing on carpet. This level may take a few turns to beat. Rating - 2 Australia Doubles/2 Games Trial - Level 1 Trial Shot: Smash This is your first doubles match so it may take a while to get use to the setup. Make sure you sign a contract with the player who costs more money. This isn't a hard level so you'll probably complete it in your 2nd try. Rating - 1 Australia Doubles/3 Games Trial - Level 2 Trial Shot: Smash This is completely like Level 1 except with one more game to win. Not hard at all. Rating - 1 Australia Doubles/4 Games Trial - Level 3 Trial Shot: Smash This is your first hard match of the circuit. Expect long rallies when trying to beat the computers in this level. My only suggestion on beating the computer is try to hit the ball to the farthest right part of the court making the computer dive for the ball. This will give you an opportunity to smash the ball. Don't get discouraged, this level may take a while. Rating - 3 Sweden Doubles/2 Games Trial - Level 1 Trial Shot: Smash This may possibly be the easiest Level in the game. You should easily when in straight sets. No competition. Rating - 1 Sweden Singles/4 Games Trial - Level 2 Trial Shot: Smash Not hard at all. Just hit the ball from one side of the court to the other and you should have no problem beating this guy. He never lobs the ball so you can stand right in front of the net. Rating - 1 England Singles/2 Games Trial - Level 1 Trial Shot: Serve This is also a very easy level. You should be able to beat this guy in straight sets. Like most of the guys you play, this guy never lobs so feel free to be right in front of the net. Rating - 1 England Singles/3 Games Trial - Level 2 Trial Shot: Serve This is exactly like Level 1 except that you must win one more game. This isn't hard at all and you should complete it on your first try. Rating - 1 England Singles/4 Games Trial - Level 3 Trial Shot: Serve Exactly like Level 1 and 2, Level 3 shouldn't take long to beat. The only difference about Level 3 is that there is one more game to win and the computer likes to rally a lot. This shouldn't take you more than 2 tries to complete. Rating - 1 Germany Singles/2 Games Trial - Level 1 Trial Shot: Volley This is a very easy level. This shouldn't take more than 2 tries to complete it. Rating - 1 Germany Doubles/4 Games Trial - Level 2 Trial Shot: Volley Have fun with this level, you'll be playing it a lot. Quite possibly one of the hardest levels in the game, the two men you are playing are quite impossible. Try going at the weaker one by hitting the ball to either the far right or far left making the player dive. This lets you have a clear shot at the court with your opponent on the ground. Make sure you have at least a good 30 minutes on your hands before trying to complete this level. Rating - 4 French Doubles/2 Games Trial - Level 1 Trial Shot: Stroke Quite possible the easiest level in the game. You should have NO problem winning in straight sets Match point - love. Rating - 1 French Singles/3 Games Trial - Level 2 Trail Shot: Stroke This is exactly like Level 1 except you're only playing against one person. You should have no trouble beating this level. Rating - 1 French Doubles/4 Games Trial - Level 3 Trial Shot: Stroke Had fun with Germany? Now you can have fun with France. This is one of the hardest matches in the game. Expect rallies up to 5 minutes long before outlasting the computers. Go from one side to the other working only on one guy. Make sure not get caught up in front of the net. Have fun, it will take a good 30 minutes to win. Rating - 4 Spain Doubles/2 Games Trial - Level 1 Trial Shot: Stroke This level is extremely easy. It shouldn't take more than 2 tries to complete it. Rating - 1 Spain Doubles/4 Games Trial - Level 2 Trial Shot: Stroke This is exactly like Level 1 except that you must win 2 extra games to beat the level. Not hard at all, just may take some time. Rating - 1 US Super Tennis Singles/2 Games Trial - Level 1 Trial Shot: Volley Your opponent loves to rally a lot. Expect a long match from him. He's not that hard, he just makes you earn the victory. Rating - 2 US Super Tennis Singles/3 Games Trial - Level 2 Trial Shot: Volley For some reason, Level 1 was harder than this one. You should have no problem winning on your first turn. Rating - 1 US Super Tennis Singles/4 Games Trial - Level 3 Trial Shot: Volley Don't get discouraged, this is your first VERY HARD singles match up. Don't get caught up on trying to beat him fast, try playing conversatively. Make sure you don't get caught up near the net or he'll kill you. Have fun with this one, it will take a while. Rating - 4 Sega Grand Match Doubles/1 Set Trial - Level 4 Trial Shot: Smash Think you're good cause you got this far? Well, think again. Now you're playing doubles against Master and KING the two best players in the game. Make sure you sign Singth for a contract or you'll surely lose. I found that MASTER was a better rallier than KING so I hit to KING most of the time. To win, try hitting the ball on the right line. This will usually make King dive or at least reach for the ball letting you have an open shot down the middle line. The only problem is that Master then hits the ball so you/or your computer must then hit the ball to Master's side where no one is. I found this to work most of the time, but this level still took a good hour before I could complete it. Rating - 5 SPT Masters Singles/1 Set Trial - Level 4 Trial Shot: Smash To tell you the truth, I found this match a bit easier than the match I had against KING and MASTER. In this match, you're facing KING one on one. He's a very tough player to beat but he's not impossible. Let him play the offensive for a while until you see an opening where you can get him. I went from side to side and then from one side to the same side trying to trick him out. It doesn't work all the time but sometimes you'll get lucky and it will. Have fun beating KING that is if you can... Rating - 5 --------------------------------- 9: Secret Characters/Outfits --------------------------------- There are 2 secret characters and 8 different outfits that you can unlock in Virtua Tennis that you can't buy. Here I have listed how to unlock each one and rated how hard it is to do so. Unlocking KING You can unlock KING, the perfect player, by beating the entire world circuit mode. It shouldn't take you more than two days to beat the circuit mode but there are some hard parts to it. Rating - 5 Unlocking MASTER You can unlock MASTER, by beating the arcade mode on a difficulty of normal or higher. The only major catch is that you can't lose one set. It's not as hard as the circuit mode, but it is still very tough. A good way to cheat is by pressing start with another controller anytime you think you're going to lose a set. Then just beat yourself and start from the level you were at before. This makes it so you don't have to start from the start over again. Rating - 4 Number 21 Outfit On the training mission, Smash Box, you need to win with two hits. I couldn't do it, so I'm not exactly sure what you win. How do I know that you need to do it with 2 hits? Because I did it with 3 and nothing happened. Top: UNKNOWN Shorts: UNKNOWN Racket: UNKNOWN Number 22 Outfit On the training mission, Big Wall, you must beat the level with 5 or more seconds remaining on the clock. I beat it with 7 seconds remaing. It took a while but it's not that hard to do. Top: Hawaiian Shirt Shorts: Blue Racket: Sun Flower Rating - 4 Number 23 Outfit On the training mission, Bulls Eye, you need to get atleast 7,000 points. I got 7,150 points after playing for about a hour. Don't get discouraged, some of the missions are even harder. Top: Orange/Red/Yellow Stripes Shorts: Orange/Red/Yellow Stripes Racket: Tambourine Rating - 5 Number 24 Outfit On the training mission, Cannon Ball, you need to win with atleast 10 seconds remaining on the clock. I completed it with 16.1 seconds left after a few tries. Top: Camouflage Shorts: Camouflage Racket: Walky Talky Rating - 3 Number 25 Outfit On the training mission, Return Ace, you have to win with atleast 10 seconds left on the clock. Luckily, I won with 10.23 seconds on the clock after playing for a good 15 minutes. This is one of the easier levels. Top: Zebra (or something like that) Shorts: Zebra (or something like that) Racket: Zebra Head (or something like that) Rating - 3 Number 26 Outfit On the training mission, Drum Shooter, you have to win with atleast 10 seconds left on the clock. I won with 10.13 seconds on the clock after playing for a good half a hour. Top: Leopard Shorts: White Racket: Horns Rating - 4 Number 27 Outfit On the training mission, Pin Crasher, you must get a perfect score. That means you need to get strikes everytime. I couldn't do this so I'm not exactly sure what you win. Top: UNKNOWN Shorts: UNKNOWN Racket: UNKNOWN Rating - 5 Number 28 Outfit On the training mission, Giant Ball, you need to win with 10 seconds or more on the clock. Surpisingly, I won with 10.48 seconds after playing for over a hour. Nearly impossible to win. Top: Fire Shorts: Fire Racket: Fire Rating - 5 --------------------------------- 10: Player Profiles --------------------------------- There are 18 players in Virtua Tennis. Here I have listed the name of each player, where he's from and what kind of player he is. Name: Jim Courier Location: USA Type: Various Shots Name: Cedric Pioline Location: France Type: All-Around Player Name: Tim Henman Location: England Type: Volley Master Name: Tommy Haas Location: Germany Type: Strong Forehand Name: Mark Phillippoussis Location: Australia Type: Big Server Name: Carlos Moya Location: Spain Type: Powerful Stroke Name: Thomas Johansson Location: Sweden Type: Fast Runner Name: Yevgeny Kafelnikov Location: Russia Type: Strong Backhand Name: Pieter Tinbergen Location: Netherlands Type: Server and Volley Name: Rolf Euler Location: Switzerland Type: Volley Virtuoso Name: Davor Tesla Location: Croatia Type: Wide-Angle Shots Name: Gilles Altman Location: Canada Type: Big Server Name: Shyam Singth Location: India Type: All Around Player Name: Bruno Costa Location: Brazil Type: Strong Forehand Name: Raf Ventura Location: Italy Type: Hard Hitter Name: Masyuki Inoue Location: Japan Type: Quick Mover Name: KING Type: Perfect Player Name: MASTER Type: High Performer --------------------------------- 11: Top 5 Players --------------------------------- Out of 18 players in the game, there are 5 of them that outshine the rest. Here I have listed the top 5 players in my opinion. Number #5 - Mark Phillippoussis Maybe it's just me but I ran through the World Circuit Mode with Mark making him #5 on the list. He's a good beginner player to start off with because he has a nice serve and he's mobile. Number #4 - Jim Courier Jim Courier is a great player in the game. While he's not the best in any category he's a very good overall preformer. He's also a very good player to start off with when purchasing this game. Number #3 - Shyam Singth How Can you not like Shyam Singth? Possibly the best player in the game that you can buy in the circuit mode. He's a good person to play with but it's not as fun because he's too skilled. Number #2 - KING KING is arguably the best player in Virtua Tennis. He's a so-called Perfect Player with everything including speed, a powerful swing, and a good recovery time when falling down. If you're a pro at the game, let your friend play with him so you have atleast a little competition. Number #1 - MASTER This was a VERY tough choice but I ended up going with MASTER over KING. Although KING is ranked better in the game, I feel that MASTER is the better player overall. If you ever have trouble winning any matches, just put in MASTER and you should have no problem. --------------------------------- 12: Court Profiles --------------------------------- There are 10 different courts that you can play on in Virtua Tennis. Here I have listed each of the courts with a brief description of how they are. Name: Australia Challenge Location: Melbourne, Australia Capacity: 21,000 Surface: Hard Comments: A nice court that plays like cement. The balls bounce like you would expect them to. The court itself is a little bland looking though. Name: French Cup Location: Paris, France Capacity: 15,000 Surface: Clay Comments: My favorite court of the game that plays roughly like the court in Australia. For me, clay seems the easiest to play on. Name: US Super Tennis Location: New York, USA Capacity: 22,000 Surface: Hard Comments: Exactly like the court in Australia, US Super Tennis is made of a hard surface. A nice court to play on but looks very unattractive. Name: The Old England Championship Location: London, England Capacity: 13,000 Surface: Grass Comments: Grass courts are terrible to play on. The ball doesn't bounce as high making short shots easy to score off of. The court looks extremely nice but I wouldn't recommend playing on it. Name: Sega Grand Match Location: Los Angeles, USA Capacity: 19,5000 Surface: Carpet Comments: Carpet, my worse nightmare to play on. Carpet reminds me of grass except that the ball bounces in weird directions. This court is terrible to play on but looks rather nice. Name: Sweden Grand Prix Location: Stockholm, Sweden Capacity: 18,000 Surface: Hard Comments: Nothing fancy about the Sweden Court. I usually don't play on it. Name: Germany Mens Indoor Location: Berlin, Germany Capacity: 18,000 Surface: Hard Comments: Another court that I rarely play on. This court feels and looks nice but I rather play on clay surfaces then hard. Name: Russian Tennis Classic Location: Moscow, Russia Capacity: 14,500 Surface: Carpet Comments: Don't you just love a full pink court? Well, the first time I played on it I loved it. Then after I found out how different carpet is to other courts I hated it. It's a nice change from all the other courts because it's pink, but it's not that fun to play on. Name: Spain International Location: Barcelona, Spain Capacity: 16,000 Surface: Clay Comments: Another nice court to play on. Although this court doesn't look as nice as the other clay court, I enjoy playing on it a lot. Name: SPT Masters Location: Tokyo, Japan Capacity: 18,000 Surface: Grass Comments: This grass course plays a little nicer than the other grass court in London. Although it's a bit bland, it's not a bad court to play on. --------------------------------- 13: Frequently Asked Questions --------------------------------- Question: Does Virtua Tennis have any relationship to Virtua Striker 2? Answer: Yes, both Virtua games first came out in the arcades and then got ported to Dreamcast. Both titles are made by Sega Sports Arcade. Question: Is there any girls in the game? Answer: Sadly no, I know that all of us wished to play with Ana Kornichova. Question: How many players are in the game? Answer: 18. Question: Are real tennis players in the game? Answer: Yes. None of the real big superstars like Pete Sampras are in the game, but Virtua Tennis does have some players that are actually not no-namers. Also, there are some fake hidden characters in the game. Question: I'm not a huge tennis fan. Should I still pick this game up? Answer: Absolutely. I have some friends who never watch tennis and still love to play the game. You don't even have to know what tennis is to pick up this game and play. It's so fun. Question: I heard that there are different types of surfaces you can play on. Is that true? Answer: Yes and each surface plays differently. Question: How many different courts can you play on? Answer: 10. Question: How many players can play at once in this game? Answer: You can play with up to 4 people at a time. Question: Can you go online with Virtua Tennis? Answer: Nope, Sega didn't include net play. Question: I can't find Virtua Tennis anywhere. What's going on? Answer: Well, surprisingly this game sold more than Sega thought it would. Don't worry, there are more coming to a store near you. --------------------------------- 13: Before You E-mail Me --------------------------------- Please don't e-mail me asking stupid questions or I won't respond. When I use to write strategy guides under a different name I would get 100's of e-mails asking the same question which I already answered in my FAQ. Don't think I'm being mean if I don't respond to your e-mail, it's just that I have many other FAQs and I get tons of e-mail a day. Also, if you want to e-mail me about the game please put in the Subject of the email Virtua Tennis so I know what game I'm getting e-mailed about. If I just see hey or something like that, I might think it's porn and just delete it. Now if you write an educated e-mail to me, then for sure you will get a response. Thanks. --------------------------------- 14: Final Thoughts --------------------------------- Well all good things must come to an end. After reading through this guide, I hope you got some good hints on how to play the game better. If you have any suggestions or questions feel free to e-mail me at DreThug@hotmail.com. I will respond to your e-mail as soon as I can. Thanks for reading this strategy guide, it was a pleasure writing it.