Tennis Elbow 4

I've played topspin 4, and at first glance it may seem like this isn't as good due to the slightly wonky animations. But this is by far the best tennis game on the market for a tennis purist - the gameplay mechanics make it so that you will have to focus on every single shot you play. Footwork actually really matters in this game unlike other games, and even on the easiest points you will still have to focus to ensure you can win the point instead of shanking the ball. And with the XKT mod, the depth with regards to players, licensed courts and the world tour is incomparable. By far the best tennis sim out there.

EDIT: I forgot to add, to me this is very reminiscent of caliber of game like NFL 2k5 or MVP Baseball 2005. In saying that I mean that it provides an excellent simulation whilst also a meaningful skill gap in gameplay. It truly tests your patience, but if you pass that test and are able to finally get a hang of the controls you will find the rewarding feeling of it more than worth it.

yeah this game rocks 9.5/10 *I explored and got more comfortable with the career and the interface, elements etc. with helpful dev comments and It seems a lot better now and I feel better playing it now!

I have gotten this now on Steam and Xbox Series X. A bit of my time was on console, but now with some really helpful tips from the dev (awesome communication honestly) I will be diving back in on PC more.

I am enjoying the game so far. Here seems to be a dev who does really understands real life tennis and tries to work that into the game. Mainly this is noticable in footwork and positioning being super important. If you are not in the right position when the ball comes, you will make mistakes. Nice that there are plenty of aids that help the player out, especially useful in the beginning when you might struggle to understand how you need to position or are not yet able to judge where balls will land on the court. Luckily these aids can also be switched off to make the game more challenging.

Best tennis game ever! Recommend it!

The bots keep beating the shit out of me, but it is so much fun :D

This is the sleeper hit of Tennis games.
All the stadiums, players, even specific player animations are there with the right mods.

Cant reccomend enough if you´re a tennis fan.

Simply put: the best Tennis simulator ever made.

I haven't played much of the game, but it was enough to see that the developer knows what they're doing and genuinely loves the sport. Just by reading the responses to other reviews here, you can clearly see how much this developer cares about what they're putting out into the market. I can't even begin to express how much success I wish for this person—we truly need more devs like this.

At first i thought the prize was a steep to pricy but the game has got me addicted for real. i especially love the career mode. making your own player and then climbing the ranks is too addictive. im contemplating turning pro or dominating the junior tour. i think ill win the calendar slam first tbh. if you love tennis you`ll surely love this game

good game

The most realistic tennis game that ever existed. No other game comes close to it yet.
100 % recommended for tennis enthusiasts.

One of the best, and I've played them all (most to full completion)

Mechanics are good, you can do well after a bit

Feels just like real tennis - my new favourite tennis game! Highly recommend if you play tennis in real life and are looking for the closest thing. Game is even better with mods on. As a programmer, I'm super impressed this was developed by one person only. Thank you for such an awesome game!

Truly one of the best sports games of all time. There is certainly a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, there is no other tennis game that comes close to the level of depth and realism present here. With the XKT mod the career mode is just unmatched. Every match feels unique, and you'll have to adapt your play style to try and outsmart your opponent. The ball physics and flow of the matches feels pretty spot on to real tennis. Sure there is some jank with the menu UI and the character animations at times, but I think it more than makes up for it in the match gameplay itself. If you're a serious tennis fan, you won't find anything better.

It's challenging to learn. I'm still a long way from a complete game after 119 hours. There is a lot of options to consider and play with. It's a lot of fun to play. The developer is also open to feedback and comments. What more can you ask for?

The physics are pretty realistic, there's a lot of fun to be had playing in the style of many past greats of the game, and overall the game play is enjoyable. However, the accompanying "commentary" is just terrible, most of the time it completely jars with the action that precedes it, which gets to be real annoying. It's a shame the developers didn't spend more time working on more realistic commentary.

Best tennis simulation you can find on the market. The graphics and animation may be somewhat lacking compared to big names like Tiebreak or Top Spin 2k25, but the gameplay, the soul of tennis, put AAAs titles to shame. It's crazy how a single developer can create such faithful tennis experience while the full studios cannot achieve. Every rally in TE4 is a battle of strategy and skill, and every point won feels rewarding and thrilling.

Go to the mod manager in game and install XKT mod. It adds tremendous amount of realism to the game including courts, tournaments, sounds, player database, etc. You have then the full "license" of everything in Tennis pro tour.

Such a great game! Good tennis mechanics and ball striking.

Having played 2013 version for quite some time now, I decided to upgrade with this one here after waiting for 3 years until there are mods to go with it.

There are still some rough edges like still no hawkeyes, no tweeners, and merely nitpick, no stance animation yet (XKT patch specificallly), but overall the experience is a lot better compared to 2013, and 2013 is already a good tennis game by itself.

Oh and I can do return winners more regularly now.

Buggy controls (not because it's supposed to be a "simulation", just purely buggy) and unintuitive menus. I really wanted to like this but I just don't.

Edit: It's nice the developer tried to reach out after this review to try and figure out what happened. Sadly I lack the free time to troubleshoot the details of my issues with the game right now, but I will change my review to a positive one since I do appreciate the developer's willingness to take feedback and work on the game. I'll try to revisit the game later on once I have more time to come up with a more detailed description on why I didn't enjoy the game at its current state

If you're fine with an arcade, there are plenty of other options out there.

But if you have played the real thing and want the game to be as close to it as possible, TE4 is the option. Add to that a delightful career mode, and it's the last tennis game you'll ever need.

best, most accurate, and realist feel tennis game ive ever played

Really focuses on footwork and positioning, which is probably the most realistic thing to try and simulate in a video game.

makes a lot of fun.. and realistic moves... close to real tennis

dark souls of sports games

most realistic feeling tennis game

The game is excellent with a lot of depth and realism, and it gives me a lot to do. However, I am disappointed at the sheer lack of women's serves in the game, especially after three years. I mainly play with the male players for that exact reason, because it doesn't make sense for them have a male serve. I get that it might not be a major or serious thing, and/or that modding and development is still a one man operation, and that takes time, but I would really love to see this changed. It adds robustness and uniqueness in customization and really gives the players authenticity, and makes playing with the WTA a lot more immersive and fun.

Super impressed by all the details that go into making this game realistic! Great choice for big tennis fans

great

Hello,

This games is pretty good

Kind Regards
CuzzyJai

One of the most realistic tennis sims around. Great variety of game play and difficulties to get into the game. Player progression in season mode is excellent. Online community is also great, if you want to engage with them and do realistic tournaments throughout the year. Highly recommend for any tennis fan!

The best Tennis Game of all time (With mods)

Best Tennis game i have ever played and do not worry about official players and courts game comes with free XKT Mod that contains every official player and courts !

i love the xkt mod its so good

An outstanding tennis game with the must-have XKT mod.

I'm an OG Super/Virtua/TopSpin player from the distant past, and thought I could scratch the old tennis itch with TopSpin 2K25. TopSpin looks great, and I don't hate it, but after 50+ hours of uninspiring gameplay that never felt like proper tennis, I decided to give TE4 a shot. I went from doubtful to completely addicted in a matter of hours. The gameplay feels like real, exciting, dynamic, no nonsense tennis. The AI players have their own distinct 'personalities'/playstyles and are a work of art.

There are more comprehensive reviews already available here. I'm just adding to the pile. If you have doubts based on the graphics/animations, do yourself a favor --- Set them aside, dedicate a couple of hours to figuring out how TE4 works, and immerse yourself in a remarkable tennis experience where you end up holding real grudges against AI players, and startle your wife/cats when you finally face and beat the GOAT Novak Djokovic on Master difficulty with your own Pro.

great tennis game

Best tennis game out there, so fun to play. Especially career mode with a mod.

I imagine not that many people are looking for a realistic tennis sim, but if you are, this is easily the best option. The graphics aren't going to wow you, but they are good enough. More importantly the gameplay is fun with so many great details and stats in the career mode. Different playing surfaces and different players feel adequately different. The main thing I wish was better was running backwards with the ability to do a tweener shot. The ability to alter the difficulty to such a precise degree is amazing as that's often a huge flaw in other sports sims. It probably takes some time to get used to the controls, but they feel good to me now.

Goated

Fun and addictive.
The rallies are so satisfying.

Best tennis game ever experienced.

The Career mode is fascinating.

Optimization has a little problem, the computer heat dissipation is not in place easy to drop frames.

best tennis there is hands down. tried all of them and this is the only simulator which is hard to master but a breeze when you are on top of it.

Im a big fan of tennis, I played Top Spin 2k25, Tiebreak (which I was enjoying a lot before the updates) but I was feeling that something was missing.
I read and saw a lot of this game being the best simulator of tennis, but I was a little esceptical about the graphics and man, was I so wrong.

The gameplay is MAJESTIC, a real SIMULATOR, the physics of the ball are trully AWESOME, and all this together brings the MAYOR SATISFACTION OF A TENNIS GAME.

Is a little hard in the beginning but slowly you understand how its played, and jesus, its THE REAL DEAL.

If you love tennis, if you see tennis, THIS IS YOUR GAME, trust me, overpass the graphics, you will not encounter any game of tennis better than this.


One developer did this game... ONE, and I just want to say thank you, you really understand about tennis, keep going, this (if not now) gonna be a MASTERPIECE.

Best gameplay ever

Such an excellent tennis simulator that is nearly untouchable, except for Full Ace. The ball physics are real, the running is realistic where you can't get from one side to the other in an instant like other games, the competition is difficult, until you truly learn the controls, and there's a learning curve to this game. I have had so much fun with this game more than any other tennis games, like Top Spin.

This is probably the best tennis game out to date. Works great on steam deck.

With XKT Mod is one of the greatest sports sim games ever. Do the tennis school and start on lower difficulty while working your way up

Elbow Tennis is a great example of an indie product beating money-ball with passion and hard work.

No flashy graphics, no licensed music, no sponsors or ads.
Just great gameplay, deep customization and insane modding community. You can import IRL players, kits and stadiums with a couple of clicks and a bit of waiting for installation completion.

Best game on the market for the tennis enthusiasts.