Despite being a popular sport worldwide, there's currently only one PS4 tennis game. Originally released on PS2 in 2007, Hot Shots Tennis (originally called Everybody's Tennis in Europe) was re-released with updated 1080p graphics and trophy support in 2016, but is essentially the same sports game as the PS2 original.
Join the tennis games PS4 debate
Apart from that, there's only three other tennis videogame in development for PS4. First up is VR Tennis Online, and it's still unclear whether COLOPL's PlayStation VR tennis game will ever be released outside of Japan. Next up is Tennis World Tour, a simulation of the popular sport was is due to be released in 2018.
According to the first details release, Tennis World Tour will feature 30 top players from men’s and women’s tennis. What’s exciting about this tennis game is that it’s being created by some of the same team that worked on Top Spin 4. You can check it out in action below:
And thirdly, we have AO tennis in development by Big Ant Studios. It’s based on the Australian Open which begins on January 15, 2018. It’s the officially licensed game of the Australian Open and includes a career mode and motion captures of the real-life tennis players in action. You can also expect tons of customization options. Bad news though, it’s only been confirmed for release in Australia and New Zealand on January 16.
So, at least tennis fans have something to look forward to, but what other games in the sporting sub-genre would you like to see make it to PS4?
Well, there's really only four contenders who look likely to make this happen, those being EA Sports, 2K Sports, SEGA and Sony, though all four publishers have not yet confirmed any plans.
Here are four tennis games that could make fans of the sport very happy indeed.
Top Spin 5
The last tennis game in the Top Spin franchise was 2K Sports' Top Spin 4 way back in 2011 for PS3. Featuring the likes of Federer, Nadal and Andy Murray alongside licensed courts and tournaments, it boasted some great visuals, a smooth control scheme and delivered a great balance between accessibility and depth to deliver a solid tennis simulation. With the enhanced technology of PS4 and PS4 Pro, and faster framerates, Top Spin 5 would be the perfect tennis game for Sony's latest console.
Virtua Tennis 5
Sega's Virtua Tennis series has a long history, having started off as a much-loved arcade game before progressing to Sega Dreamcast, PS2, PS3 and other platforms. The last console game in the series was Virtua Tennis 4, which was released on PS3, Vita and other platforms. Though we'd rate Top Spin 4 as the greatest tennis game ever made, Virtua Tennis 4 plumped for an arcade-type experience rather than the sim-like Top Spin, which appealed to certain types of player. Virtua Tennis 5 could survive quite nicely alongside Top Spin 5, offering tennis fans the option between arcade or simulation.
Grand Slam Tennis 3
EA Sports has a great pedigree for creating some of the best sports titles, including FIFA and Madden, so the studio has definitely got the ability to create a fantastic tennis game. The last Grand Slam game from EA Canada was Grand Slam Tennis 2 for PS3 in 2012, and although the experience wasn't anywhere near as good or in-depth as the Top Spin series, it received some decent reviews, despite it being nowhere near as in-depth as Top Spin 4 or as fun as Virtua Tennis 4. Still, EA has also changed a lot in the five years since its release and could surely now do great justice to the series during PS4's life-cycle. Can you imagine the multiplayer options?
Hot Shots Tennis 2
The only other tennis game for PS4 that could be resurrected is a new Hot Shots Tennis game. Perhaps the developer was testing the water with the re-release of its PS2 title on PS4 last year to see if there was any interest? There's the new Hot Shots Golf releasing at some point this year, so there's certainly a fan-base who likes the simplicity of the Hot Shots series control scheme and arcade-style.
It does seem bizarre that we haven't seen a PS4 tennis game this generation, but maybe the audience for such a game isn't big enough to warrant such a grand investment from publishers. If it does ever happen, Top Spin 5 is at the top of our wish list.