The Original Top Spin 4 Superguide: Top Spin 4, Top Spin 3, Top Spin 2, Top Spin, Grand Slam Tennis, Virtua Tennis 3 FAQ & Strategy Guides; Tips, Strategies, Hints, Advice, Xbox Live play, Walkthrough, Top Spin League, Top Spin Tournaments, & more!

The Original Top Spin 4 Superguide

Creation date: March 15, 2011, Completion Date: July 23, 2011

Below you will find yet another addition to my highly successful series of Original Top Spin Superguides .

If you were a regular visitor during the evolution of my three previous Top Spin Superguides, you can expect much of the same with this one in terms of updates and organization. For those of you who are relatively new to the format of my 'Guides, what you see now for Top Spins 1-3 were written from experience after creating 18+ custom characters (18+ times through the offline career modes) and over 1,000 online matches which equates to several month's worth of research and experience for each game. The Original Top Spin Superguides are the most complete source for Top Spin information anywhere.

If you have any questions about Top Spin 4, please feel free to ask. The inquiries for Top Spins 1-3 helped make my original guides a better, more complete source for Top Spin information as I was able to identify what was on people's minds (i.e. the noted FAQs). Any new questions or suggestions pertaining to Top Spin 4 would undoubtedly improve this Superguide as well. While this particular Superguide was completed on 7/23/2011, I will continue to maintain it up through March 2012 with minor updates and additional content from time to time. I will also continue to answer questions and offer support for Top Spin 4 through 2012.

Please note: DLC patches and game updates after the noted guide completion date may affect the accuracy of some items discussed in this Top Spin 4 walkthrough, particularly attribute ranges (Section H) and coach bonuses (Section C).

Thanks for all of the positive feedback and support! It is very much appreciated!

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All content found in the "Original Top Spin FAQ & Strategy Guides" (aka The Original Top Spin Superguides) is completely original work by the noted author(s).
Content is owned by TheXBFL.com and protected by copyright law. It is not to be reproduced or redistributed in part or in whole without the expressed written consent of the XBFL.

Intro:

Top Spin 4 is the fourth installment of arguably the best tennis video game series to date. The original Top Spin was a unique game in that it appealed to both the tennis enthusiast and the casual fan with its easy-to-learn controls, and excellent replay value when experienced over Xbox Live. TS2 was released in March 2006 after four significant delays, and surprising to some, by a new publisher (2K Sports). Aside from the better models being available to create more realistic custom players and the obviously improved roster of new pros to choose from, TS2 had other revisions which made it quite a bit different from its predecessor: the risk shot had been modified considerably, and more tactical shot making was available to gamers who chose to use it. Despite the changes (and noted improvements) however, TS2 failed to capture and maintain its fan-base the way the original Top Spin did. Critics widely acknowledged that TS2 lacked the "X factor" that made the original so fun, as well panning the reality flaws that could be exploited unfairly in ranked online match play. When Top Spin 3 came along, it was billed as a "tennis sim" - and with the breadth of new options available to gamers in terms of shot selection and advanced tactics - 2K Sports was clearly aiming high. Unfortunately, many hard-core players discovered early on that key attributes could be overlooked in favor of stacking their power and groundstroke skills, making for unrealistic game play and ruining the online experience for sim and casual gamers. While the offline mode was much improved, the online component of Top Spin 3 was viewed as a setback to many gamers.

Top Spin returned to the marketplace on March 15th, 2011 without too much fan-fare other than some company press releases and a few interviews with newly added tennis legend Andre Agassi. Despite the lack of fanfare, it was clear that 2K Czech wanted the series' fourth installment to capture the attention of both sports and general gaming enthusiasts with the easily approachable control scheme and identifiable legends of the game.

Will the relatively easy learning curve, improved roster, and revised gameplay mechanics be a hit with both casual and hardcore gamers? The jury is still out, but I will offer my opinion at the conclusion of this FAQ & Strategy Guide.

Below, you find my in-depth instruction to playing through Top Spin 4 both offline and online, as well as many extra bits of information that should enhance your overall experience with this game. Please note that the basic advice noted throughout this Superguide is based on the Xbox 360 version of Top Spin 4 at the NORMAL difficulty setting. There are places throughout this guide that will also highlight elements of the game played on the HARD difficulty setting as well.

Top Spin 4 Superguide Table of Contents:

** Topics are anchored to their respective places on this page. Simply click on the topic heading to advance to that particular portion of this Superguide. **

1 - Court basics and Face Buttons
Court terminology
Groundstrokes
Serves
Volleys

2 - Terminology

A - Creating a Player
Attributes
Player Types
Custom Creations
Creating "Specialized" Players

B - What the Pros Use
Clothing
Sneakers
Racquets

C - Career Mode Walkthrough
Career Mode Overview
Difficulty Modes Described
Career Summary
Career Tips
Coaches
Skills Descriptions

C2 - Career Schedule & Path
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4 Summary

D- Player Scouting Reports
Scrubs from Season 3
Pros from Season 3
Legends / Dream Matches

E - Offline Strategies
Assigning XP
Hitting Approach Shots
Returning Serves
Baseline Exchanges
Chasing Down Lobs
Offline Cheats

F - Xbox Live Gamer Achievements

G - Xbox Live! Play
Exhibition (Player) Matches
2K Tour (Pro) Matches
Pro Player Rankings
World Tour (Custom Player) Matches

H - Online Strategies
Be Patient, Play When Ready
Strengths & Weaknesses
Battling the Power Game (1)
Battling the Power Game (2)
Battling Slice
Control vs. Power

H2 - Playing Out Points with Strategy
When Serving
When Returning
Baseline Rallies
Attacking the Serve & Volley
Attacking the Net
Mix It Up!
A Few Final Tips

I - Cheesy Online Gameplay
Drop Shotting
Wide-Angled Serving
Short Slicing
Hacked accounts

J - Sim-Tennis For Dummies

K - XBL Updates, Patches, and DLC

L - FAQs

M - Top Spin 4 Game Review

N - Improvements Over Top Spin 3?

O - Suggestions for 2K Czech

P - Reality Flaws In TS4

Q - Wrap Up (conclusion)

R - Miscellaneous Links

S - The Author

T - Custom Roster

Video
- Classic Serve & Volley Player in Action
- Classic Baseline Player In Action
- Classic Defensive Player In Action
- Classic All-Court Player In Action
- Acing Federer
- Lendl's Return of Service
- Effective Returns & Passes Against Rafter
- Making An Effective Approach Shot
- Getting Back Into The Point When On The Run
- Approach Shot Cheat

* Special Notice Key:

- Pro Tactic: a technique I developed to improve a scenario found in the game, or, an alternative (and original) way of winning points.

- Pro Strategy: strategy I developed to increase the chances of winning a point.

- Pro Insight: an issue or thought that I felt was important enough to make mention of; could pertain to offline career planning, or online gaming.

- Glitch! an in-game glitch or anomaly that I discovered during my experience with Top Spin 4

- Fun Fact: an identified part of the game that really holds no perceived value, but is entertaining/amusing nonetheless

- FAQ: questions posed to me by gamers that share a similar theme

- Note: an observation worth noting. It could be further explanation of an aspect of the game, or simply something in the game that I thought was worth sharing.

1 - Court Basics and Face Buttons:
- Section 1: Court Basics
- Section 2: Groundstrokes
- Section 3: Serves
- Section 4: Volleys
- Section 5: Terminology

Throughout this FAQ, I will use terms like deuce court, ad-court, baseline, etc. These terms may or may not be familiar to everyone. Below are simple illustrations depicting these areas of the court.

Court Basics : Details various parts of a tennis court: baseline, singles and doubles lines, service boxes, and doubles alley.

Court Basics 2 : Illustrates the ad and deuce courts as well as "no man's land." For the purposes of Top Spin 4, the term "deuce court" will refer to the right side of the court and "ad court" refers to the left side of the court.

Pro Strategy: Using the Face Buttons
One thing I've noticed in the past when playing people online is that they get too comfortable with one type of shot/button and use it throughout most of the match, particularly the power shot. In Top Spin 4, there are a number of significant advantages to incorporating control shots and different button selections into your game play.

Using different shot types can help you win some easy points, and on occasion, get you out of a jam. Here are some examples of when to use the different face buttons:

Groundstrokes	Tap (Control)	Hold (Power)
"A" Flat Shot	It's a flat ground stroke that generates a relatively safe and controlled trajectory. If you are low on stamina, this is a good shot to use. It is also particularly good to use if: - Your opponent is leaving very little court open and you need to place a shot close to a sideline. - You are being run from side to side, but still having adequate time to reach the ball. This is a higher percentage shot to make when on the run. - You are returning a serve that has moderate or heavy pace. A perfect return of serve by tapping the A button can yield a very desirable shot, especially if made down the nearest sideline.	This is your power shot. The pace of your shot will vary depending on how full your power meter is prior to the initial swing. Timing is more critical with the power shot, particularly when you are on the run. Utilizing power shots when you are low on stamina will likely result in unforced errors.
"B" Top Spin	The B button remains as the default button for top spin shots. The ball will have a lot of forward spin causing it to bounce shorter than the A shot. The drawback to heavy top spin is that it's a bit slower than the safe shot, thus allowing your opponent a better opportunity of reaching the ball in time. The advantage of using top spin however is that you can produce greater angles with it. The top spin shot is best used when: - You are trying to open the court up by forcing your opponent to one side. - You want to vary the depth of your shot in hopes of forcing your opponent to make an error. Pressing UP or DOWN on the analog stick can change where the ball makes its first bounce on the court. If your opponent is deep behind the baseline, short bounces may cause him to shovel the ball if he is out of position. - You are on the run, and you want to create an opportunity to recover. Sometimes, if hit just right when on the run, you can create a wicked angle that may surprise your opponent. - Pro Insight: if you are playing against an opponent who makes frequent use of heavy power shots, the light top spin shot (tapping B) should be avoided. If used in this situation, you may find that your top spin shot will be slow and land short in your opponent's court, setting him up for an easy put-away. - Pro Tactic: If your opponent has you on the run and you still have stamina remaining in your meter, hit a controlled top spin shot deep into the opposite corner of the court. The resulting shot will be a high, arcing ball that should buy you a split second to recover, as well as making the return more challenging for your opponent to hit with both power and precision.	A powerful top spin shot can be used as a weapon on the court, particularly if you have a player who has a solid forehand or backhand and power (e.g. Rafael Nadal). The powered top spin shot is most effective when: - You find yourself in a neutral rally where neither player has a distinct advantage over the other, the top spin shot can be a nice change of pace and may surprise your opponent. - You wish to create extreme angles that drive your opponent off the court, thus opening up passing lanes for you to hit your next shot to. - Pro Insight: In Top Spin 4, the power top spin shot (B) is the most prone to resulting in unforced errors, particularly when hitting it on the run or when stamina is low.
"X" Slice	Slice is an extremely underrated shot, and one that I favored heavily in Top Spin 1 (especially when playing cheesy gamers who hit the risk shot all the time). Slice creates underspin which causes the ball to plane, as opposed to arcing over the net. Due to the back spin, the ball bounces very low. It is best used when: - You are facing a big server like Andy Roddick. When timed correctly, slice takes all the speed off your opponent's ball and returns it back to them low and slow. - If your opponent is at the net, a slice can be a very effective passing shot. Not only does it affect your opponent's timing (they are likely expecting a harder shot), but the reverse spin makes it difficult for them to hit a powerful volley. - If you are on the run from side to side, and need to recover. The most effective shot in this situation is to hit a cross-court slice since it will have a longer flight time before your opponent can hit it if they are at the baseline. It should allow you an extra second to hopefully capture better defensive court positioning. - You are facing an opponent who has heavy ground strokes or fast serves. The slice is the most efficient way to return powerful shots if you can't match their power using A or B. Similar to returning a hard serve with slice, timing the use of your X button takes power off your opponent's shot and returns it back to them. - Your opponent is out of position or deep behind the baseline, slice can be an effective shot as it has a low bounce, and can be hit with a decent angle. - If you are a volleyer, a well placed slice is the best shot to hit prior to attacking the net. You may have heard the term "chip and charge." A player will chip (slice) the ball where it travels much slower than a typical shot and with reverse spin (to create a low bounce), and they follow right behind it to the net. In theory, the low bounce should make it difficult for your opponent to hit a clean passing shot. The slowness of your shot should also allow you more time to get to the net. Don't forget to use the "RB" button when charging the net!	A powerful slice can be effective when hit both short or deep into your opponent's court. It is a particularly good shot to use when: - Your opponent is trying to rush the net, as it makes forceful volleys more difficult to execute. Please note that this works best when your opponent is more or less at the service line coming in towards the net, and not actually at the net. - When you are on the run with ample stamina remaining, a hard cross-court slice can buy you time to get back into position. Make sure you press up on the left analog stick to push that slice back deep into your opponent's back court. - When your opponent is playing deep behind the baseline, a hard slice to the shallow part of the court (around the service box areas) can make it difficult for your opponent to hit anything but a weak reply. - Pro Insight: In Top Spin 4, the slice (X) is the most reliable and consistent shot in your arsenal. Even when your stamina meter is low or you are on the run, slicing the ball is the safest shot (in terms of reliability) that you can hit. Just be sure that your timing is at least "good."
"Y" Lob	Defensive lob, which is a ball hit high into the air with little or no spin. The purpose of this shot is to allow you to regain court position if you are being run all over the place. The best defensive lobs are hit high and deep. While still not quite distinctive in Top Spin 4, tapping the Y button offers more of a defensive-type lob.	Top spin lob. Top spin lobs are offensive lobs that are hit with tremendous spin so that the ball flies over your opponent's head and arcs back down deep into the court, and just inside the baseline. Due to the heavy forward spin, the ball will take off towards the back court after its initial bounce, thus making it very difficult to chase after. Again, in Top Spin 4, there really is no offensive or defensive lob, however, holding Y makes the lob move faster which is more of a top spin lob than if you just tapped Y.

Pro Strategy - Lobs are most useful in the two following scenarios:

- If your opponent is attacking the net, a lob not only can turn into an outright winner by traveling over their head and bouncing near the baseline, but it also sends a message to your opponent: Think again before attacking the net against me! Always remember though, lobs can be chased down in Top Spin 4, so be sure to rush the net as soon as you hit one just in case your opponent reaches it. If they do reach it, any shot they hit will be a weak one, allowing you to put it away with an easy volley!

- If you are on the run back and forth and the outlook is not very good that you will recover, throw up a deep lob to allow your self time to regain a decent court position. Of course, you are risking the possibility that your opponent could smash it for a winner, but it will not only help save some stamina, but it also gives you a better chance than what you had when running around the baseline. It may also give your opponent second thoughts about rushing the net the next time he or she has you on the run again. If you do try this, make an effort to avoid placing it near the sidelines as you will increase your chances of hitting it out of bounds.

Serve Types

A (Standard): This is a standard flat serve along the lines of a "second serve". Simply press and hold the "A" button until the apex of the ball toss, and then release to maximize the effect of this particular kind of serve.

B (Top Spin): This is a standard top spin/kicker serve. While relatively slow, you can achieve some fairly good angles when utilizing the left stick to place the ball. This can also produce some mis-hits by your opponent.

X (Slice): This is the standard slice serve. While slow, the curve of the ball can be deceptive to your opponent. Slice serves are most effective when they curve away from your opponent either down the center line or to the outside line of the service boxes.

Right Analog Up (Advanced Flat): This is your hard, flat first serve. It is executed by pulling down the right analog stick to initiate the toss, and then to strike the ball, quickly press up on the stick at the apex of the toss.

Right Analog NW (Advanced Slice): This is a fast slice serve that can be a very potent weapon in your arsenal, especially in doubles play. Similar to the motion described for the flat advanced serve, instead of pressing up on the right analog stick to initiate the swing, you will be pressing up and slightly to the left (almost North West assuming directly up is North) to execute this particular serve. Another way to put it is to imagine pressing up on the right analog stick to the 10 o'clock position after the toss.

Right Analog NE (Advanced Top Spin): This is a faster version of the top spin serve executed with the "B" button. Similar to the Advanced Slice serve, on the up-press of the right analog stick, you will now be directing it to the 2 o'clock position to pull off this kicker serve.

Volleys
"A" (or "Y"): Flat/Standard	The normal volley is nothing more than blocking the ball back before it bounces. The speed of the volley will likely depend on the speed of the incoming ball in addition to your skill level with this shot type. Because you would be doing nothing more than re-directing the ball over the net, it is not really considered an offensive shot. It is best to use this volley when: - You are not in ideal position to hit an effective volley for a winner, but want to at least get it over the net safely. - If your opponent is way out of position, and you fear missing the "easy put away," this type of volley into the open court is your best choice. - If your opponent has heavy ground strokes (i.e. lots of power).
"B": Top Spin/Aggressive	If you are in good position to hit a volley, this is arguably your best shot when at the net. The power volley enables you to drive the ball over the net with force and angle (if desired). If you have a relatively small zone on the court to hit a winner, this is a good choice too. Be careful if you use the left analog stick to angle your shot though, it doesn't take much movement to hit a ball out of bounds. This is best used if you have more than 60 XP assigned to your volley attribute.
"X": Slice/Safe	A slice volley is a good choice when you are trying to take some pace off your opponent's shot, or, you have a very week volley skill. It is considered to be a controlled shot, and reduces unforced errors when at the net. It's also a good option when you want the ball to bounce low and to a specific area of the court. Like the power volley, it doesn't take much movement of the left analog stick to knock one of these volleys wide of the singles lines. Exercise caution when hitting this shot.
X+LT: Drop Volley	Drop volleys are very effective if you are up at the net and your opponent is behind the baseline. Depending how well skilled you are with the left analog stick, you can hit a drop volley so that it just clears the net, lands well short of the service line, and to where it hardly bounces. You can also hit angles with drop volleys, though it takes a lot of practice to master. Cross-court droppers are my favorite. As with the power volley and slice volley, be careful when trying to hit too much angle. You could either send it far wide, or, it may not clear your side of the net. Drop volleys are easier to execute the closer you are to the net. It is ill-advised to try and hit one when you are at or behind the baseline.

2 - Terminology

Throughout this FAQ & Strategy Guide, I use some gaming terms that some people may be unfamiliar with. Below, I've provided some definitions to explain their meanings:

2K Sports: The publisher of Top Spin 2, Top Spin 3 and Top Spin 4.

Cheesy Gamers: Gamers who resort to exploitations of reality flaws, cheats and unsportsmanlike gameplay in order to gain an unfair competitive edge over their opponents. The play-styles of these gamers usually do not mimic the behaviors seen in the activities their respective games are based upon. For American football games (e.g. Madden), cheesy gamers will make frequent 4th down conversion attempts, they will move specialized players out of their natural positions, they will frequently run "money plays" (i.e. plays that erroneously have high success rates), they will exploit glitches, etc. In Top Spin 3, cheesy gamers would resort to exploiting reality flaws such as the super wide-angled serve, excessive risk shots (including risk shot returns of serve), stacking players with three or more red zone skills (e.g. 90+ power, 90+ serve, 90+ forehand & backhand), and inducing lag.

Sim-Community: A collective group of gamers who abide by the codes of sim-gaming. These individuals play honest and fair games, without resorting to exploitations of cheats, glitches, reality flaws, or loopholes.

Sim-Gaming: Simulation gaming. This refers to the act of playing a game similar to that of the real life activity that it is based upon. Sim-gaming does not make use of exploitations of cheats, glitches, reality flaws, or loopholes to gain an unfair advantage over other competitors.

Sim-Tennis: Simulation tennis. The act of playing a tennis videogame where the style of gameplay mimics the real life sport, and "reality flaws" and glitches aren't used, abused or exploited.

Stacking [Players]: A Top Spin 3 term I came up with for gamers who apply 90+ points to multiple skill areas of their custom players. Many gamers opted for 100 power and 90+ level forehand and backhands. They typically do this at the expense of two to three other key areas (typically 30 stamina and 30 volley, but sometimes serve or service return). While there is nothing wrong with forgoing stamina or volley, utilizing red level skills (90+) in more than two areas is frowned upon by the sim-community because the player gains the ability to overwhelm anyone with a diversified character regardless of their skill level. Most cheesy gamers make frequent use of the wide-angled serve in addition to having a stacked player; they will serve out wide, expect a semi-weak return, and then pummel the ball down the near sideline for a winner on every point, and their opponent wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Reality Flaws: Parts of a game that are embellished (or inaccurate) when compared to the real life activity to which it is based upon. These are elements of a game that are typically exploited by cheesy gamers. A few examples would be the Top Spin 1 risk shot (forehand or backhand) which I measured to be in excess of 120 mph, and the Top Spin 1 kicker serve that would literally bounce over the return man's head. Risk shots in TS3 were still considered reality flaws due to the fact that they could still reach or exceed 120mph, and could be used frequently.

A - First Things First, Creating a Player:
Section 1: Attributes
Section 2: Player Types
Section 3: Custom Character Creation
Section 4: Best "Specialized" Players

1) Attributes:

I won't spend too much time here other than highlighting a few key points with regard to creating your character:

Similar to Top Spin 3, Top Spin 4 has eight key attributes your custom player will develop over the course of his or her career. It is very important to focus on where you assign XP because it will be instrumental in your quest to reach the status of World-Class Competitor.

By assigning your XP points earned through wins at various tournaments, practice sessions, exhibitions, and online play, you can improve your player's abilities in the following categories:

- Forehand: increases the accuracy, power and consistency of forehand shots
- Backhand: increases the accuracy, power and consistency of backhand shots
- Service: increases the accuracy, power and consistency of serves
- Power: improves overall power of all your shots
- Volley: increases the accuracy, power and consistency of volleys
- Speed: allows you to react quicker, run faster and change direction more quickly.
- Stamina: maintains accuracy and speed during long points (or matches)
- Reflexes: improves timing and accuracy on a variety of shots (particularly useful with volleys, service returns, and in the rare event your opponent smashes a ball that you can get your racquet on)

Note: Gone is the "Service Return" attribute from TS3. It has been replaced with "Reflexes."

Note: When upgrading your player, you will receive 5 bonus points to be added to your forehand or backhand on Level Up turns #4, 9, 14, & 19.

- Pro Insight: The first thing I recommend you do is put together an idea of what you want your character to be: A baseliner? Serve and volley player? A defensive player? Power hitter? Speedster? You should have a general idea of what you want your character before you start career mode because you will be accumulating XP points very quickly during your first year of Career Mode.

- Pro Insight: For your first character, I'd recommend creating an "all court" type player and setting a goal of having a minimum of 50 points at each skill. From there begin to shape your custom character to the style of play that suits you best. Unlike past versions of Top Spin that allowed you to shape your player on an attribute-by-attribute basis, TS4 adds a bit of a challenge at first as it groups several attributes together that pertain to a specific play-style that you select. So, any player evolutions that you do will affect a number of attributes at once.

2 - Player Types:

For reference, here are my thoughts on player types and general ranges for each:

Player Type	Description	Recommended Attribute Ranges
All Court	With all-court players, they have reasonable balance in their weapons of forehand, backhand, serve and volley, with one standing out slightly more than the others (e.g. Sampras' volleys). They have decent quickness around the court, good use of spins and angles, and are above average with their consistency and stamina.	- Forehand range: 62-75 - Backhand range: 62-75 - Service range: 65-80 - Volley range: 55-75 - Power range: 60-75 - Speed range: 65-75 - Stamina range: 65-75 - Reflexes range: 60-75
Defensive	Strong stamina and consistency with groundstrokes is key to being a good defensive player. A defensive player has no real weaknesses other than lack of firepower on offense. He'd be one of strong mental focus and excellent consistency with shot making. Speed around the court is also essential. A good defensive player gets into the head of his opponent and causes them to make unforced errors as they try to produce winners. While today's defensive player model is drastically different than that of only 10 years ago, the recommended ranges to the right best suit the "classic defensive player" model. Brad Gilbert was a classic defensive player 20+ years ago. Today, Rafael Nadal is the new standard.	- Forehand range: 75-85 + - Backhand range: 75-85 + - Service range: 60-75 - Power range: 55-70 - - Volley range: 40-60 - Speed range: 75-85 + - Stamina range: 75-85 + - Reflexes range: 60-75
Power Hitter (Baseliner)	Groundstrokes (backhand/forehand) should have plenty of XP as should their power rating. They should also have moderate levels of stamina. Serves are adequate, but typically not exceptional. Volleys are below average to average at best. In today's game, Rafael Nadal is arguably the best pure baseline player, but often categorized as a defensive player. His combination of speed, power and top spin shots make him very difficult to play. The likes of Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, and almost anyone who graduated from the Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy back in the '80s and early '90s were solid power hitters/baseliners.	- Forehand range: 70-85 + - Backhand range: 70-85 + - Service range: 55-70 - Power range: 70-80+ - Volley range: 25-40 - - Speed range: 65-75 - Stamina range: 65-75 - Reflexes range: 55-70 +
Serve & Volley	Serve and volleyers are a dying breed in tennis as it takes an exceptional amount of skill and talent these days to succeed with this style of play. Part of this has to do with the ultra high-fitness levels of today's players (i.e. much more strength and power). The other part has to do with how racquet technology has turned tennis into a power game that can be dominated from the baseline. In Top Spin 1, in nearly 800 online matches, I experienced less than a half dozen net aggressors - and none of them were ranked very high. I will go on record here and say that I was the highest ranking serve and volleyer in Top Spin 1, and had modest success in doing so. If you choose this route, make sure you have an effective serve (first serve consistently at 128mph+), a strong ability to volley, and very good court speed and reflexes. The trade-off is that you won't have firepower from the forehand or backhand side (i.e. power attribute), but your shot making should at least be precise (i.e. forehand and backhand attributes). The best volleys are made after setting up a solid approach shot where your opponent's return won't be very effective. Taylor Dent was one of the last pure serve and volleyers on the pro tour, but there are still a few others out there. Pete Sampras, John MacEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, and Patrick Rafter were among the best the game has ever seen.	- Forehand range: 60-75 - Backhand range: 60-75 - Service range: 80+ - Power range: 65-75 - Volley range: 85+ - Speed range: 55-75 - Stamina range: 55-70 - Reflexes range: 65-80 +

3 - Custom Character Creation:

If you are creating a character in your likeness, make note of three things:

1) What you see in zoom mode (close facial picture) is likely not what you will see when you save and back out to the clothing/equipment screens, or even during actual match play. You may need to repeatedly toggle back and forth between the facial editor screens and the entire player body model screens to see how your true progress is coming along. The player editor feature in Top Spin 4 is a disappointment in that it is a step back from what Top Spin 3 offered.

2) The default eye options are horrendous, most of what look to be unnatural; almost alien-like. Pay careful attention to detail when selecting the eyes of your character if you have a special look in mind. The eye shape has the potential to adversely affect the entire look of your character.

3) When you name your player, you may not want to use your real name. Whatever first and last name you give your custom-player will appear to those you play over Xbox Live. It would have been nice to be able to put your real name in for your player, but then have an alternate ID for your custom player that would be visible to others when playing online.

Height and weight: Weight is affected by both the height and muscle mass of your player. I wanted a player around 175-180lbs., and therefore I had to play around a bit with the muscle mass to get him right where I wanted him. Height can be directly modified.

If you have questions with regard to a good height/weight for a custom player, please refer to the Original Top Spin FAQ & Strategy Guide under the same category heading. I would assume much of the same would still apply here.

When creating your custom character, you will be able to choose from a series of animations for various movements to be seen on the court. They are as follows:

Service Motions:

Service Motion 1: Average/traditional service motion.
Service Motion 2: Routine begins with ball bouncing similar to what Novak Djokovic does.

Right hand or left handed:

Whichever suits you best. Right handers are more common in pro tennis, but lefties have their own advantage with contrasting spins.

Forehand Motions:

Forehand Motion 1: Whippy follow through over the head, similar to Rafael Nadal.
Forehand Motion 2: Large looping backswing with deep knee bend.
Forehand Motion 3: Features a western grip with a slightly less looping backswing when compared to Motion 2.
Forehand Motion 4: Traditional forehand with strong follow through over the shoulder. Feet leave ground on impact.

Single or two-handed backhand:

Unlike Top Spin 1, TS4 does not have any obvious drawbacks due to glitches when using a two-handed backhand. It's simply a matter of preference. In real life, there are advantages and disadvantages to both styles (reach vs. control).

Two-Handed Backhand Motions:

Backhand Motion 1: Similar to Rafael Nadal's motion.
Backhand Motion 2: Rapid follow through where the player's back foot leaves the ground ("kick") on impact.
Backhand Motion 3: Straight back and level swing motion with the follow-through directed over the shoulder.

One-Handed Backhand Motions:

Backhand Motion 1: Swing motion is low to high.
Backhand Motion 2: Back swing motion is high to low before follow through concluding with a wrist flick at the end. Somewhat similar to Federer's motion.

Service Return Rituals:

Return Ritual 1: Traditional stance where player twirls racquet in hands before returning serve.
Return Ritual 2: Similar to Rafael Nada's pre-return stance (which is wider than average).
Return Ritual 3: Player rocks back and forth prior to returning serve.

Voice Frequency:

Quite simply (in my opinion):

Always On = very annoying
Effort Only = good
Never = silence is golden

Note - You may be investing between around 15-25 hours in offline career mode (depending on your objectives). You will undoubtedly grow tired of your character's grunts after a short period of time if you choose "always on."

4 - Creating "Specialized" Characters

If you are looking for a pure offensive baseliner or a top-notch serve and volleyer, here are a few suggested formulas to try. If you have a custom player setup you would like to share with others, please submit it along with your gamertag so that appropriate credit will be given!

Play Style	# of Times Level-Upped	Recommended Coach(es)	Comments:
Serve & Volley	S&V: 11 OB: 8 DB: 1	Jennifer Egan	Jennifer Egan becomes available after having both eight Serve and Volley and eight Offensive Baseline upgrades. Add a single Defensive Baseline upgrade on your final level-up (20) to slightly boost your forehand and backhand capabilities. Stamina and power are your weaknesses with ratings of 57 and 58 respectively, though your serve (87) should allow you to place the ball anywhere you want. Your volley score (75) will allow you to put away most balls at the net. Jennifer also provides "Spin Serve Master" and "Spectacular Volley" skill bonuses which should significantly improve your serve and volley results. I chose to add two of my 5-point FH/BH bonuses to my forehand so that they ended up being 62 and 67 respectively (see note). Reflexes are a very effective 83 which should help you execute at least "good" timing on your return of serves. I've heard from a few people who preferred to max out their S&V styles with 20, and going with Michael Kelly as their coach. This is also a viable option for those who want to have a more-than-competent S&V custom player. My only apprehension with going this route is the lack of power (40) that this set-up provides. That said, serves are a solid 85 and volleys are maxed out at 100. Reflexes are fantastic with 90, and groundstrokes are merely below average with 65 a piece if you balance out the five point bonuses you receive during the course of your custom player upgrades.
Offensive Baseline	S&V: 1 OB: 13 DB: 6	Sahy Rabari, Roman Neuwirth, Matthew Grody, Makayla Brown, Ben Fillion, Ahmed Meoki, Jan Zamecik	In order to have the choice of selecting any of the coaches to the left, I would advise upgrading in the following order as I know this is one way that they will all appear: 1) 10 consecutive offensive baseline upgrades 2) 1 serve and volley upgrade 3) 5 consecutive defensive baseline upgrades 4) 2 consecutive offensive baseline upgrades 5) 1 defensive baseline upgrade 6) 1 offensive baseline upgrade All attributes associated with an offensive-type game are well accounted for with this setup. Aside from a poor volley score, reflexes (which are important) are likely to be the second lowest point total. So, practice your timing! Note: I gave my player one extra +5 point bonus to forehand so that it was was slightly stronger than my backhand. You may wish to set up your player as balanced, or offset differently. I liked Sahy Rabari as my coach with this setup.
Defensive Baseline	S&V: 1 OB: 3 DB: 16	Jon Samala, Lydia Jara, Jorge Berrero, Andres Quiroga	There are a few ways to get some of these coaches, but I've found only one way (so far) to get *all* of the coaches seen to the left with this listed setup. The process is as as follows: 1) 5 consecutive defensive baseline upgrades 2) 3 consecutive offensive baseline upgrades 3) 1 serve and volley upgrade 4) 11 consecutive defensive baseline upgrades I balanced my forehand and backhand bonuses so that by default (i.e. no coaching bonuses), they were both rated at 69. Coaching bonuses applied, the forehand can reach as high as 82 (Jon Samala). Jon Samala and Lydia Jara are my coaches of choice for this particular setup.
All Court	S&V: 2 OB: 12 DB: 6	Matthew Grody, Roman Neuwirth, Ben Fillion, Makayla Brown, Masaki Moryia, Jan Zamecnik	To have a choice of the listed coaches to the left, follow the steps below with your upgrades: 1) 5 consecutive offensive baseline upgrades 2) 5 consecutive defensive baseline upgrades 3) 2 consecutive serve and volley upgrades. 4) 5 consecutive offensive baseline upgrades 5) 1 defensive baseline upgrade 6) 2 consecutive offensive baseline upgrades. Matthew Grody may arguably be the best "all court" coach here as he balances out so many attributes with this setup, though some gamers may prefer some of the bonuses that Masaki Moryia offers.

B - What the Pros Use: Clothing and Racquets
- Section 1: Clothing
- Section 2: Shoes
- Section 3: Racquets

Due to the number of clothing items and equipment available in Top Spin 4, I have intentionally skipped certain items that are not used by more notable pro players as well as the various colorways for the exact same item. With regard to the shoes listed below, the listed players have worn variations of these styles; maybe not the specific one found in the game. So, what I've listed may be as accurate as you can get considering the options available in Top Spin 4.

Clothing

Adidas Barricade Tee	Marcos Baghdatis, Ernests Gulbis, Mikail Youzhny
Adidas Barricade Polo	Andy Murray
Fila Esenza Sleeveless Tank	James Blake
Fila M. Hertage Jersey Crew	Janko Tipsarevic wears the "Heritage Print Crew" style.
K-Swiss Stripe Crew	Mardy Fish, Gaiel Monfils, Sam Querrey

- Fun Fact: Looking for hats sporting manufacturer's headwear? Go to your player's locker area and choose "Tennis Caps" under the top Hairstyle option box. Go down to the second box from the bottom and chose "All the Brands." In the bottom box labeled "Accessories," you will find all of the Nike, Adidas, K-Swiss, Fila, etc. hats available to wear.

Shoes

Adidas Barricade VI	Andy Murray
Adidas CC Feather IV	Paul-Henri Mathieu
Babolat Andy Roddick Shoe	The actual name for these shoes are the "Propulse 2"
Fila Alfa II Syn Mesh	Janko Tipsarevic
Fila Blake Shoe	See Fun Fact Below
K-Swiss Jim Courier Shoes	This shoe's actual name is the "Defier-miSOUL Tech"
K-Swiss Shoes 1	Manufacturer calls them "Glaciator"
K-Swiss Shoes 3	Manufacturer calls them "Stabilor"
Nike Air Max Court Ballistic 1.3	Rafael Nadal and John Isner wear the Ballistic 3.3
Nike Air Zoom Vapor VI Tour	Roger Federer wears the Vapor 8 Tour

- Fun Fact: In 2010, James Blake had custom Fila shoes made for him, but after his performance failed to improve (and the fact that he didn't like the shoes), he returned to wearing Nike Breathe Cage IIs with tape covering the Swoosh and other branding logos found on the shoe.

Racquets:

Babolat AeroPro Drive	Rafael Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Francesca Schiavone use the AeroPro Drive GT
Babolat Pure Drive Roddick	Andy Roddick uses the Pure Drive GT Roddick. Kim Clijsters and Li Na use the Pure Drive GT
Babolat Pure Storm GT	Fernando Gonzalez, Samantha Stosur. Pete Sampras now uses a variation of the Pure Storm GT
Babolat Wozniacki Racquet	This is supposed to be an AeroPro Drive. In 2011, Caroline switched to the Yonex V Core 100 S.
Head Microgel Prestige MP	Robin Soderling, Gileles Simon and Tommy Haas uses the Youtek Prestige.
Head Youtek Speed Pro	Novak Djokovic (Youtek IG Speed)
Head Xtreme Pro	Ivan Ljubicic, Mikhail Youzhny, Svetlana Kuznetsova & Victoria Azarenka use the Youtek IG Extreme Pro.
Prince EXO3 Black	John Isner, Vera Zvonareva
Prince EXO3 Ignite 95	Bob and Mike Bryan use the EXO3 Ignite Team 95
Prince EXO3 Rebel 93	Gael Monfils uses the EXO3 Rebel 95
Yonex RQiS 1 Tour	Maria Kirilenko plays with the RQiS 2 Tour
Yonex RDiS 100	David Nalbandian
Yonex RDS 300	Jie Zheng

- Note: If you are unfamiliar with some of the terminology associated with the racquets found in Top Spin 4, here's a quick summary as well as an observation I made when looking over the frames available:

MP: Mid-Plus. This represents the head size of the racquet. Mid-Plus frames are typically 94-105 square inches. OS frames are usually 106-110.
93 (95): The number represents the head-size in square inches. 95 = 95 sq. in.
Some of the racquet names used in TS4 are not necessarily their marketed names here in the United States.

C - Career Mode Walkthrough (Max Out Your XP & Finish Pro Circuit At #1)
Career Mode Overview
Career Summary
Career Mode Tips
Coaches
  - Gold
  - Silver
  - Bronze
The Schedule & Career Path
  - Season 1
  - Season 2
  - Season 3
Player Scouting Reports

Career Mode Overview:

Similar to Top Spin 3, Top Spin 4 provides a narrow pathway to character development, however coaches have returned this time around and are a significant part of the game. Top Spin 4 utilizes XP which can be accumulated through the monthly sparring opportunities, exhibition events, tournaments, and basically any use of your custom character in non-career mode matchplay (e.g. Xbox Live). Distribution of XP in TS4 comes from selecting one of three types of player style: Serve and Volley, Offensive Baseliner and Defensive Baseliner. By carefully selecting certain coaches throughout your career, you will find that many offer XP bonus rates for finishing matches and will boost certain attributes provided you complete their specified challenges. Also important to note, you will receive 5 bonus points on Level-Up turns #4, 9, 14, & 19 to add to your forehand or backhand.

Both the silver and gold level coaches will provide you specific skills that will dramatically improve your game. The highest level your player can attain is Level 20 - - which is a first time in the Top Spin franchise that a custom player can be on equal terms (with regard to level status) with professional players. That said, custom players can only acquire two special skills while most pro players have three, and custom players max out at 550 attribute points (with bonuses) where nine pros have higher totals ranging between 555 and 566.

In addition to earning XP throughout your career, you will have numerous opportunities to unlock clothing packs by winning tournaments. Unlike any of the previous Top Spin games, there is no money-system in Top Spin 4. If the clothing and equipment is available in your locker, it is yours to use as you wish. There are also opportunities to unlock special options within Top Spin 4 such as the "Hyper Tie Break" and the ability to advance additional custom players to Level 20 without leaving the Player Evolution screen.

For more skilled players, the earliest you can attain the #1 ranking and "Legend" status is in Season 3. If you wish to simply reach Level 20, you can do that in the second half of Season 2. Less than 10 hours of game time is required to max out each custom character, however the notion of unlocking additional coaches and acquiring additional achievement points and clothing for winning "Dream Matches" will likely extend your career through Year 4 which is when you can achieve "The Greatest" achievement (aka the "Secret Achievement").

Please note that the following guide is subject to revisions as I go through career mode with multiple characters. New/better ways may be found, but what I have written so far is a decent way of making it through with your first character. I have included a several original strategy tips as well as some ways to score "cheap" points on your service and return games. As expected, they were posted here FIRST! Furthermore, let me emphasize that the following schedule is one of the best routes to take for completing career mode on the default "normal" difficulty setting. That being said, you may or may not find this path easy - - but hopefully my tips and tricks will help you overcome any challenges that await you! If you are bold and choose the hard difficulty setting, I will be offering advice for that as well.

Difficulty Modes Described:

Very Easy: Quite simply, don't waste your time playing on Very Easy. You will learn nothing about the game at this difficulty level, and I can only assume it's there for children around the age of six who want to give Top Spin 4 a try.

Easy: A.I. is virtually non-responsive and opponents deliver very weak serves throughout. Scrub players have zombie-like behavior, and pro players do not play anywhere near the ability they should truly represent. This mode should be used only for people who have coordination problems or have difficulty getting used to the control scheme of the game.

Normal: A.I. is generally non-responsive when playing in minor-tournaments during the first few seasons. Scrub players pose no challenge, and pro players only present a challenge during the semi-final and final rounds of Grand Slam tournaments. The rise in difficulty from early round Grand Slam matches to the semifinal rounds is easily noticeable. Also noteworthy, a pro player in the final of a Masters Tournament plays a lot easier (and different in terms of gameplay) than the same pro player in a final (or semifinal) of a Grand Slam event. This is the default difficulty mode, and is expected to be utilized by most gamers at least the first time through (or through the first few seasons). This difficulty level is recommended for all gamers playing Top Spin 4 for the first time, and for at least the initial three seasons of their first campaign.

Hard: Hard is a solid choice for seasoned veterans of the Top Spin franchise. Scrubs are a little more "aware" and track the ball a bit better, and pros play more like their real life counterparts. "Intelligence" gets a little suspect in the semifinal and final rounds of Grand Slams as opposing CPU pro players become 'too aware' at times, and often get boosts to their listed attributes (e.g. Andy Roddick moves like he has a 70 speed rather than his listed 59). It is also evident that CPU opponent's (pros in the semi-final and final rounds of Grand Slams) have the ability to change direction more quickly than they should, regardless of the court surface. "Hard" is recommended for skilled veteran players of the Top Spin series, or, for those that are winning their "Normal" matches much too easily (including the Grand Slam semifinal and final rounds).

Very Hard: Scrub players are actually fun to play at this level. Pros pose a challenge at every event. A very one-sided custom-player is recommended (i.e. high power levels) if you play at this difficulty. CPU A.I. for pro players in the final two rounds of Grand Slams is very suspect: I've determined through an insane amount of play testing that at the Very Hard difficulty, that CPU Pro players respond to button presses as opposed to calculated percentages in shot selection and court coverage. In otherwords, if you press "RB" to begin running to a side of the court, the CPU will detect the "RB" being used and immediately try to wrong foot you. It's rather ridiculous to see improbable shot making as a result of this. Furthermore, on surfaces such as clay, pro players in the final two rounds of the French Open will have their slides reduced dramatically to where they have nearly no traction loss at all (quite contrary to your custom player who will still slide a fair amount). Additionally, these pro-players will also exhibit "boosted stats" to an even more extreme. Using the same case of Andy Roddick and his speed as mentioned above, he will now be even faster than a 70 speed despite having a listed 59 rating. I've also noticed that despite my custom players having more stamina than say, Novak Djokovic, and the fact that I often have him doing a lot more running than I - - my custom player will become exhausted well before he does. On more than a dozen occasions, I've had pro players on "Very Hard" maintain one sliver of stamina left and still manage to run the baseline for 10+ shots before finally losing (or winning) the point. Your opponent's will often times get lucky (clipping the net more often), and your timing for "perfect" and "good" shots demands a bit more precise timing with your button presses. This difficulty level is recommended for more advanced players.

Expert: Expert difficulty is not one of the standard choices at the start of the game, but can be unlocked by winning a Grand Slam event on "Very Hard." Much like "Very Hard" during the semifinal and final rounds of Grand Slam events, the CPU reacts to button presses rather than programmed "intelligence." Additionally, the aforementioned statistical "boosts" continue to benefit the A.I. professional players on Expert difficulty, and even slightly moreso than "Very Hard." In order to succeed on Expert, you really need to know your CPU opponent's tendencies and also have a capable player at your disposal. This difficulty level is recommended for only the most advanced players.

Career Mode Summary:

The Schedule: Your career will start off with you entering the pro tour as a Newcomer. From the "Play Screen," you will see a calendar of events with each month being divided into two sections: The first section is designed to improve your player through practice sessions or exhibitions. The second section is actual tournament play, and as you progress through the game, more advanced tournaments will become available. These events can be further defined as:

Sparring Matches: Play against others who specialize in the areas of baseline defensive, baseline control, volley player, and all arounder. The special objectives your coach has for you can be accomplished in any form of play, including sparring. That said, your coach will also offer bonus XP for accomplishing a specific task in the second service game of your three game sparring match. If your match is extended as a result of a close score, you may be offered a second challenge for bonus XP. If you play on the "hard" difficulty setting, you will from time to time play pros like James Blake, Stanislas Wawrinka and others.
Special Events: These exhibitions are a good way to earn XP and/or new fans quickly. Some of these events also have you playing doubles tennis or using unique scoring formats.
Tournaments: The more popular or prestigious the event, the more fans you will acquire if you win. If you are paired with a coach who offers an XP incentive bonus (e.g. 20% increase), your XP values will improve exponentially for winning.

For most of your first season, you will be spending your time sparring against other players during the first part of each month and competing in tie-breakers in minor tournaments. Only in the latter part of the first season will exhibitions be made available to you, and it will be up to you to weigh the pros and cons of forgoing a sparring session in favor of an exhibition/special event. Additionally, major tournaments will become available to you around the final quarter of the first season. Success at these events will not only boost your fan base, but will enable you to level up much more quickly should you be paired with the right coach.

Provided you follow the path I have outlined below, and share similar success, you should be able to play several major tournaments in Season 2 which will rapidly accelerate the development of your custom player, leading into Season 3 in which you will qualify for all Top Spin Tour events including the Grand Slams. Season 3 is where you will have the opportunity to attain the number 1 ranking and achieve "Legend" Status.

Below is the course of action I took through my first career mode on the default (Normal) difficulty - with the goal of creating a quality "All Court" player. Following my steps, you will max out at Level 20 around September of Season 2 (assuming no XP was acquired in other gaming modes). More info on reaching Level 20 with your first custom character can be found in the next section titled Career Mode Tips. Advice on defeating certain players on both Normal and Hard difficulties can be found at the end of Section C in this here Superguide.

Career Mode Tips:

- If your primary goal is to reach Level 20 as quickly as possible, then I would highly advise that you stay with coaches that offer 20% XP end-of-match bonuses and possibly ramp up the difficulty to "hard." Several silver-level coaches offer the 20% XP bonus too.

- By playing on hard, your rallies will often be longer which will allow you to meet more shot making objectives in less time. On "normal" difficulty, all coaching objectives can be reasonably met in two tournaments. "Coach hopping" is fun and unlocks a number of new skills worth trying out. The drawback is that switching coaches often may delay your player's ability to reach Level 20 by a month or two.

- At the end of each season, if your player has the highest number of victories in a given series of tournaments (i.e. U.S., Europe, Grass, Carpet, Clay, etc.), you will earn bonus XP. Knowing this, always monitor the series' standings after each tournament you participate in, and keep in mind how many tournaments you have left in the year. Proper tournament selection is critical if you want to maximize your custom player in the least amount of time. This is particularly crucial in the first season of your career, but not so much for subsequent seasons. If you see that you are tied with a CPU player for the lead in a certain series, but one win behind in another - - that latter series should be your priority until you at least match the leader. At seasons' end, even if you are tied for the lead with a CPU player, you will be awarded XP as if you were the title holder. For the second and third seasons, simply play the most presigious tournaments.

- It is important to read your email after each event because information regarding the exhibitions will be sent to you from time to time. Not only should you be attentive to the accumulation of XP, but you will need to steadily grow your fan-base as well. In order to unlock various tournaments, you must reach certain status levels in addition to being a popular player (as indicated by the number of fans you acquire). Simply put, don't discount the importance of your fans!

- Be sure to always check your status window on the right side of the "Play" menu screen. This will list your progress with regard to meeting the objectives necessary to advance to the next status level. Also, the "Event Info" box will detail important information regarding the XP payouts for winning.

- If you wish to level-up your player as quickly as possible, you will have to modify your style of play to meet your coachs' objectives. Do not blast through tournaments hoping to win points in two or three shots, but instead play methodically with specific goals and objectives in mind. In some cases, you will need to stretch out points to achieve your assigned objectives. Over time and through experience, you will figure out what is required of you and what you need to do in order to achieve your goals.

- Carefully review the coaching options that become available to you. In the Career Path section of this guide, I outlined the coaches I selected throughout my offline career mode, but perhaps they are not best suited for your style of play. That said, coaches are of tremendous value in Top Spin 4, and it pays to spend a little time reviewing your options.

Coaches:

Coaches are an instrumental part of your custom player's development as they are responsible for providing additional XP for your player through sparring and tournament matches, offering skill bonuses that are obtained by completing specified objectives, and improvements to certain attributes of your player.

Coaches are classified into three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. The lower the level, the easier and less intensive the coach's objectives are. That said, most Gold-level coaches can have their objectives met in two tournaments provided you pay close attention to how you are adjusting your style of play to meet those goals.

It is important to note that whatever skills your coach imparts onto you (e.g. Diesel Serve, Shot Counter, etc.), they will also apply to your player when used online. This makes for fun experimentation when competing online against different styles of play.

The charts below outline the coach's name, their skill bonuses, attribute bonuses and the minimum requirement (in white) to make them appear as an option to choose in Career Mode*.

Key:

Alex Bicham <---Name
Volley Shot Artist, <---Skill 1
Drop Shot Artist <--- Skill 2
+15 FH, +10 BH, +15 Vol, +10 Ref <---Attribute Bonuses. "Best in class" bonuses appear in red.
6 Serve & Volley, 6 Offensive, 6 Defensive <---Minimum Upgrade Requirements to Appear*

* Keep in mind that simply meeting the listed minimum level-up requirements may not be enough for certain coaches to appear as order of selected upgrades is also a determining factor.

Note: Take note of when each class of coach appears below (e.g. Gold begin at Level 15). If a Silver Coach requires you to level up Offensive Baseline 13 times in order to appear, you must be sure to do so 13 out of your first 14 upgrades because on your 15th level-up, Silver Coaches will cease to appear as Gold will take over.

Gold Coaches
Appear between levels 15-20

Ahmed Meoki Crushing Passing Shot, Diesel Server +12 BH, +13 Srv, +5 Pwr, +5 Spd 4 Offensive, 4 Defensive	Aja Golakov Volley Shots Artist, Monster Defense +3 BH, +10 Srv, +13 Vol, +6 Spd, +8 Ref 15 Serve & Volley	Alba Loureiro Passing Shot Sniper, Highly Flammable +15 FH, +15 BH, +5 Stam, +5 Spd,+10 Ref 18 Offensive	Alex Bicham Volley Shot Artist, Drop Shot Artist +15 FH, +10 BH, +15 Vol, +10 Ref 6 Serve & Volley, 6 Offensive, 6 Defensive	Andres Quiroga Diesel Returner, Amazing First Volley +5 Srv, +10 Vol, +5 Pwr,+10 Spd, +10 Ref 12 Defensive	Axel Mignolet Serve Stick Berserker, Brutal Volley +15 Srv, +15 Vol, +15 Pwr, +5 Ref 8 Serve & Volley, 8 Defensive
Ben Fillion Inside Out Master, Diesel Server +13 Srv, +12 Pwr, +5 Sta, +10 Spd 6 Offensive, 6 Defensive	Carine Jiquelle Serve Stick Berserker, Brutal Volley +5 FH, +15 Srv, +10 Vol, +15 Pwr, +5 Spd 17 Serve & Volley	Chedy Raissi Brutal Volley, Diesel Hard Hitter +13 BH, +9 Srv, +13 Pwr 8 Serve & Volley	Claire Roberts Low Volley Specialist, Spectactular Volleys +5 BH, +5 Srv, +10 Vol, +15 Spd, +15 Ref 18 Serve & Volley	Damian Salazar Diesel Server, Crushing Passing Shot +7 FH, +7 BH, +11 Srv, +12 Pwr, +3 Sta 5 Serve & Volley, 5 Defensive	David Gallo Inside Out Master, Diesel Hard Hitter +15 FH, +6 BH, +15 Pwr, +8 Stam 17 Offensive
Dilan Cordero Serve Stick Berserker, Focus Service +5 FH, +12 Srv, +5 Vol, +13 Pwr 4 Serve & Volley, 4 Offensive	Drew Welch Drop Shot Artist, Smell of Blood +15 FH, +15 BH, +10 Srv, +5 Pwr, +5 Stam 18 Defense	Elvir Christen Slice Invasion, Approach Shot Expert +10 FH, +10 BH, +5 Srv, +5 Vol, +5 Ref 6 Serve & Volley	Farah Lum Poisoned Slices, Smell of Blood +13 FH, +12 BH, +5 Pwr, +5 Sta,+5 Spd,+5 Ref 5 Serve & Volley, 5 Offensive, 5 Defensive	Ian Moore Wrong Foot Expert, Approach Shot Expert +10 FH, +10 BH, +10 Srv, +10 Ref 6 Serve & Volley, 6 Defense	Jack Landcraft Semi-Volley King, Spectacular Volleys +10 Srv, +12 Vol, +5 Spd, +13 Ref 12 Serve & Volley
Jan Chalupa Top Spin Invastion, Longer, Better! +12 BH, +5 Srv, +5 Pwr, +13 Stam 6 Offensive	Jan Zajic Fatality, Passing Shot Sniper +12 FH, +8 Srv, +7 Stam, +13 Spd, +5 Ref 15 Offensive	Jan Zamecnik Diesel Server, Wrong Foot Expert +13 Srv, +7 Pwr, +10 Stam, +5 Spd 6 Defense	Jennifer Egan Spin Serve Master, Spectactular Volleys +15 BH, +5 Srv, +10 Vol, +5 Spd, +15 Ref 8 Serve & Volley, 8 Offensive	Joe Samala Instant Rocket, Monster Defense +13 FH, +5 BH, +5 Srv, +13 Pwr, +9 Stam 15 Defensive	Jorge Barrero Slice Invasion, Reach Swings Expert +5 FH, +5 BH, +12 Sta, +13 Spd, +10 Ref 13 Defensive
Julio Demorales Longer, Better!, Highly Flammable +9 FH, +6 BH, +5 Pwr, +15 Stam, +15 Spd 8 Serve & Volley, 8 Defensive	Juraj Durech Inside Out Master, Reach Swings Expert +15 FH, +15 BH, +5 Pwr, +15 Spd 8 Serve & Volley, 8 Offensive	Liseth Aguilar Volley Shots Artist, Slice Invasion +12 FH, +12 Vol, +8 Spd, +8 Ref 8 Serve & Volley, 8 Offensive	Luka Novak Top Spin Invsion, Inside Out Master +13 FH, +3 BH, +8 Vol, +8 Pwr, +13 Stam 13 Serve & Volley	Luka Skippetrov Spin Serve Master, Approach Shots Expert +15 Srv, +15 Vol, +10 Spd, +10 Ref 18 Offensive	Lydia Jara Spin Serve Berserker, Shot Counter +3 FH, +3 BH, +13 Srv, +13 Pwr, +13 Ref 15 Defensive
Magnus Golgolja Amazing First Volley, Approach Shot Expert +12 Srv, +13 Vol, +13 Spd, +7 Ref 5 Serve & Volley, 5 Offensive, 5 Defensive	Magnus Karlson Longer, Better!, Amazing First Volley +5 Vol, +5 Pwr, +12 Stam, +13 Spd, +10 Ref 15 Serve & Volley	Makayla Brown Spin Serve Master, Approach Shot Expert +5 FH, +13 Srv, +5 Vol, +12 Spd, +5 Ref 12 Offensive	Mario Dipesa Return Serve Counter, Fatality +5 FH, +12 BH, +6 Pwr, +5 Spd, +12 Ref 10 Defensive	Martin Gobbi Crushing Passing Shot, Instant Rocket +5 FH, +5 BH, +5 Srv, +15 Pwr,+15 Sta,+5 Ref 6 Serve & Volley, 6 Offensive, 6 Defensive	Martin Kozak Diesel Returner, Low Volley Specialist +5 Vol, +4 Pwr, +13 Spd, +13 Ref 4 Serve & Volley, 4 Defensive
Masaki Moriya Slice Invasion, Wrong Foot Expert +10 FH, +10 BH, +10 Srv, +5 Pwr 8 Offensive	Matthew Grody Diesel Hard Hitter, Volley Shots Artist +10 FH, + 12 Vol, +11 Pwr, +7 Ref 5 Offensive, 5 Defensive	Mi Cha Seol Return Serve Counter, Spectacular Volleys +15 BH, + 9 Vol, +4 Sta, +7 Spd, +15 Ref 8 Serve & Volley, 8 Defensvie	Michael Kelly Volley Shots Artist, Smell of Blood +15 FH, +15 BH, +15 Vol, +5 Ref 18 Serve & Volley	Paval Dlouhy Return Serve Counter, Shot Counter +12 FH, +5 BH, +8 Pwr, +3 Spd, +12 Ref 4 Serve & Volley, 4 Offensive, 4 Defensive	Pei Jing Quah Top Spin Invasion, Monster Defense +6 FH, +8 BH, +9 Srv, +5 Vol, +7 Pwr, +7 Sta, +4 Spd, +4 Ref 8 Offensive, 8 Defensive
Peto Chesire Top Spin Invsion, Poisoned Slices +10 FH, +10 BH, +5 Pwr, +5 Sta, +5 Spd 8 Defensive	Remi Ercolani Longer, Better!, Poisoned Slices +5 BH, +5 Pwr, +15 Sta, +15 Spd, +10 Ref 18 Defensive	Roman Neuwirth Semi-Volley King, Shot Counter +10 FH, +15 Pwr, +5 Spd, +10 Ref 10 Offensive	Sahy Rabari Brutal Volley, Instant Rocket +5 FH, +10 BH, +6 Srv, +13 Pwr, +8 Sta, +3 Ref 13 Offensive	Snezlana Slavina Reach Swings Expert, Passing Shot Sniper +10 FH, +10 BH, +15 Spd, +15 Ref 17 Defensive	Stephan Schiemer Low Volley Specialist, Diesel Server +15 Srv, +15 Vol, +10 Pwr, +10 Sta 8 Serve & Volley, 8 Offensive
Stephen Babb Serve Stick Berserker, Focus Service +6 FH, +6 BH, +13 Srv, +13 Pwr, +7 Sta 15 Offensive	Stevan Boskovic Reach Swings Expert, Highly Flammable +7 FH, +8 BH, +15 Sta, +15 Spd, +5 Ref 8 Offensive, 8 Defensive	Steve Hyde Reach Swings Expert, Highly Flammable +13 Srv, +5 Vol, +4 Stam, +13 Spd, +5 Ref 10 Serve & Volley	Toby Allen Diesel Returner, Fatality +3 BH, +5 Vol, +11 Sta, +11 Spd, +10 Ref 5 Serve & Volley, 5 Offensive	Tomas Madr Shot Counter, Longer, Better! +5 FH, +5 Vol, +10 Pwr, +10 Sta, +5 Spd, +15 Ref 8 Offensive, 8 Defensive

Gold Coach Summary:

20 Gold Coaches offer 50 bonus points to attributes (noted in red). 10 offer 45 point bonuses, 14 offer 40 and nine offer 35.
The highest bonus value for any single attribute is 15 points. Alba Loureiro, Drew Welch, Juraj Durech and Michael Kelly are the only coaches to offer 15 bonus points to BOTH forehand and backhand.
For a printable list of the Gold Coaches, click the icon below. PDF chart courtesy of Tsodjo.

- Note: Updates to coaches (via DLC patch) have been made since these grids were completed, therefore some of the information above may no longer be accurate.

Silver Coaches
Appear between levels 8-14

Abran Betancur Reach Swings Expert +10 Sta, +10 Spd, +5 Ref 1 winner at baseline = 3 bonus XP 4 Defensive	Adam Biganovski Volley Shots Artist +3 FH, +12 Vol, +5 Pwr, +10 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20%. 4 Serve & Volley, 4 Offensive, 4 Defensive	Alonzo Di Maria Top Spin Invasion +10 FH, +5 Srv, +5 Pwr, +10 Stam Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10% 10 Offensive	Angelo Silva Shot Counter +2 FH, +2 BH, +11 Srv, +7 Pwr, +13 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20% 12 Defensive	Danielle Alexander Spectacular Volleys +5 Srv, +13 Vol, +7 Spd, +10 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20% 12 Serve & Volley	Esa Karhu Smell of Blood +4 FH, +4 BH, +12 Srv, +10 Pwr, +5 Stam Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20% 12 Serve & Volley
Filip Cort Crushing Passing Shot +10 FH, +10 Srv, +5 Pwr 1 winner at baseline = 3 bonus XP 3 Offensive, 3 Defensive	Hicham Arami Monster Defense +4 BH, +12 Stam, +12 Spd, +7 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20% 12 Defensive	Hui Fang Zhou Shot Counter +5 FH, +5 BH, +10 Pwr, +10 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10% 5 Offensive, 5 Defensive	Ignacio Rossi Drop Shot Artist +8 FH +8 BH, +9 Pwr, +10 Stam Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20% 6 Serve & Volley, 6 Defensive	Iliana Andersson Amazing First Volley +10 Srv, +5 Vol, +10 Spd, +5 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10% 5 Serve & Volley, 5 Offensive	Jindrich Holup Brutal Volley +12 Vol, +12 Pwr, +4 Stam, +7 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20% 6 Serve & Volley, 6 Offensive
Jodi Luong Return Serve Counter +5 FH, +10 Vol, +5 Pwr Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10% 10 Defensive	Julien Friedlander Longer, Better! +10 FH, +6 BH, +10 Stam, +4 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10% 10 Defensive	Karl Komorowski Low Volley Specialist +5 Vol, +10 Spd, +10 Ref 1 winner at the net = 5 bonus XP 3 Serve & Volley, 3 Defensive	Kensuke Nagano Highly Flammable +12 FH, +12 BH, +7 Pwr, +4 Stam Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20% 12 Offensive	Kiros Tan Diesel Hard Hitter +9 FH, +6 Vol, +10 Pwr 1 winner at baseline = 3 bonus XP 4 Offensive	Kristijan Djapic Highly Flammable +12 FH, +12 BH, +3 Pwr, +3 Stam, +5 Spd Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20% 6 Serve & Volley, 6 Offensive
Lenka Celkova Slice Invasion +10 FH, +10 BH, +5 Srv, +5 Vol Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10% 5 Serve & Volley, 5 Defensive	Marcel Nef Approach Shots Expert +10 BH, +10 Spd, +5 Re 1 winner at the net = 5 bonus XP 4 Serve & Volley	Matthias Wanlin Longer, Better! +11 FH, +11 BH, +13 Sta Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20%. 4 Serve & Volley, 4 Offensive, 4 Defensive	Maurice Ortiz Monster Defense +10 Vol, +5 Stam, +10 Ref 1 winner at baseline = 5 bonus XP 8 Serve & Volley	Nicole Echemendia Semi-Volley King +10 BH, +5 Vol, +10 Spd, +5 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10% 3 Serve & Volley, 3 Offensive, 3 Defensive	Nwosu Omotoso Fatality +5 Srv, +10 Vol, +10 Spd, +5 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10% 10 Offensive
Paval Ocavaj Wrong Foot Expert +7 FH, +7 BH, +8 Srv, +3 Pwr 1 winner at baseline = 3 bonus XP 6 Offensive	Radek Sevcik Top Spin Invasion +10 BH, +5 Vol, +10 Sta 1 winner at the net = 5 bonus XP 3 Serve & Volley, 3 Offensive	Raji Assaf Highly Flammable +5 BH, +5 Srv, +13 Stam, +12 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20% 6 Offensive, 6 Defensive	Regina Francis Poisoned Slices +10 FH, +10 BH, +5 Spd 1 winner at baseline = 3 bonus XP 6 Defensive	Renata Bognarova Spin Serve Master +10 Srv, +10 Vol, +5 Ref 1 winner at baseline = 3 bonus XP 8 Defensive	Robert Franko Semi-Volley King +5 FH, +5 BH, +5 Pwr, +10 Ref 1 winner at baseline = 3 bonus XP 8 Offensive
Sebastian Belton Wrong Foot Expert +10 Srv, +10 Pwr, +5 Stam 1 winner at baseline = 3 bonus XP 2 Serve & Volley, 2 Offensive, 2 Defensive	Sotirios Eroglu Intant Rocket +10 BH, +7 Srv, +10 Pwr, +3 Stam Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10% 10 Offensive	Targutai Taskhia Focus Service +6 Srv, +13 Vol, +4 Stam, +12 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20% 6 Serve & Volley, 6 Defensive	Tomas Blaho Serve Stick Berserker +10 Srv, +5 Vol, +10 Pwr 1 winner at baseline = 3 bonus XP 6 Serve & Volley	Viraj Seth Diesel Hard Hitter +10 FH, +10 BH, +10 Pwr Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10% 10 Serve & Volley	Vlado Fedotov Focus Serving +11 Srv, +12 Pwr, +12 Stam Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20% 12 Offensive
William Milango Reach Swings Expert +11 FH, +11 BH, +13 Spd Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20% 6 Offensive, 6 Defensive

Silver Coach Summary:

13 Silver Coaches offer 35 bonus points to attributes and are noted in red. 11 coaches offer 30 points and 13 offer 25 points.
14 Silver Coaches offer 20% post-match bonuses for wins. These are noted in red.
3 Silver Coaches offer 5 XP bonuses for winners at the net. They are: Karl Komorowski, Marcel Nef and Radek Sevcik. They are noted in red.
1 Silver Coach offers a 5 XP bonus for winners hit from the baseline. That coach is Maurice Ortiz. His bonus is noted in red.

- Note: Updates to coaches (via DLC patch) have been made since these grids were completed, therefore some of the information above may no longer be accurate.

Bronze Coaches
Appear between levels 2-7

Adele Gillet +5 FH, +5 BH, +5 Vol, +5 Ref Easy Bonus: 1 winner at baseline = 3XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10%. 1 Serve & Volley, 1 Offensive, 1 Defensive	Dragan Markovic +10 Vol, +10 Pwr Easy Bonus: 1 winner at baseline = 5XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10%. 1 Serve & Volley, 1 Offensive	Flavia Marques +10 Srv, +8 Spd, +7 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20%. 3 Serve & Volley, 3 Offensive	Guillermo Valenzuela +3 FH, +3 BH, +9 Srv, +10 Stam Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20%. 3 Offensive, 3 Defensive	Hwa-Young Rha +10 Srv, +10 Vol Easy Bonus: 1 winner at net = 5XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10%. 2 Serve & Volley	Jamel Ghezal +10 Sta, +10 Spd Easy Bonus: 1 winner at baseline = 3XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10%. 2 Defensive
Jose Oliveira +2 FH, +2 BH, +10 Pwr, +11 Ref 1 winner at baseline = 3XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20%. 6 Defensive	Juan Pablo Ortega +10 FH, +10 BH 1 winner at baseline = 3XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10%. 4 Offensive	Karim Dior +8 FH, +8 BH, +9 Sta Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20%. 7 Defensive	Liam Ellison +5 FH, +5 BH, +10 Spd 1 winner at baseline = 3XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10%. 1 Offensive, 1 Defensive	Lubos Kresta +5 Vol, +10 Sta, +10 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20%. 3 Serve & Volley, 3 Defensive	Michal Todorov +15 Sta, +10 Spd Easy Bonus: 1 winner at baseline = 3XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20%. 6 Offensive
Milos Jerebek +5 FH, +5 BH, +5 Vol, +5 Pwr Easy Bonus: 1 winner at net = 5XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10%. 4 Serve & Volley	Nadia Garcia +8 FH, +8 BH, +4 Spd Easy Bonus: 1 winner at baseline = 3XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10%. 4 Defensive	Oliver Gentner +10 Srv, +10 Pwr Easy Bonus: 1 winner at baseline = 3XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10%. 2 Offensive	Patrick Streller +10 Vol, +3 Spd, +12 Ref Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20%. 7 Serve & Volley	Shannon Campbell +7 Vol, +10 Spd, +8 Ref Easy Bonus: 1 winner at baseline = 5XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20%. 6 Serve & Volley	Shelly Pittson +7 FH, +8 BH, +10 Pwr Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20%. 7 Offensive
Shinobu Fukumoto +5 Vol, +10 Spd, +5 Ref Easy Bonus: 1 winner at baseline = 3XP. Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 10%. 1 Serve & Volley, 1 Defensive	Zheng Wei +4 FH, +4 BH, +7 Pwr, +10 Spd Amount of XP won after a match is increased by 20%. 2 Serve & Volley, 2 Offensive, 2 Defensive

Bronze Coach Summary:

8 Bronze Coaches offer 25 bonus points to attributes. 11 coaches offer 20 points and 1 offers 15 points. Individual "best in class" attribute scores are noted in red.
Coach Shannon Campbell is the 'big-bonus coach' offering 5 bonus XP for every winner from the baseline AND a 20% post-match bonus for each win. To get her, you'll need to upgrade your Serve & Volley abilities in six of your first seven upgrades.

- Note: Updates to coaches (via DLC patch) have been made since these grids were completed, therefore some of the information above may no longer be accurate.

Special Skills and Descriptions:

Skill Name	Description
Amazing First Volley	Your first volley in a rally is more efficient
Approach Shot Expert	Your approach shots are harder to counter
Brutal Volley	Your power volleys are more efficient
Crushing Passing Shot	You hit more powerful shots when your opponent is at the net
Diesel Hard Hitter	You become more and more precise with your power shots during a rally
Diesel Returner	You perform more and more efficient return shots during service returns
Diesel Server	You perform more and more efficient serves during your service games
Drop Shot Artist	You gain the ability to execute more effective drop shots
Fatality	Your shot is more precise if you aim to the open court
Focus Service	You experience better serves when trailing in the game
Highly Flammable	You are on fire when you are on a 4-point or more winning streak during a set
Inside Out Master	You experience more powerful shots when you perform an inside out swing
Instant Rocket	You reach your maximum power sooner on power shots
Longer, Better!	You perform more and more reliable/precise shot making during long rallies
Low Volley Specialist	Your performance at hitting low volleys improves considerably
Monster Defense	You play more precise shots and and make less errors when you are trailing in a game
Passing Shot Sniper	You play more precise shots when your opponent is at the net
Poisoned Slices	You make it more difficult for your opponent to hit effcient shots off your low slices
Reach Swings Expert	You play more efficient shots when on the run and stretching to hit the ball
Return Service Counter	You use the power of your opponent's serve to perform a counter shot by returning it with a good/perfectly-timed flat controlled shot (i.e. tap "A")
Semi-Volley King	You experience better shot making when hitting a ball that bounces right at your feet
Serve Stick Berserker	You gain increased precision when using the advanced service motion (i.e. right analog stick)
Shot Counter	You use the power of your opponent's shot to perform a counter by returning it with a good/perfectly-timed flat controlled shot (i.e. tap "A")
Slice Invasion	You will experience more efficient slices the more you use them during a rally, resulting in them being more difficult to return effectively by your opponent
Smell of Blood	You play more efficient shots when you are facing game point
Spectacular Volleys	You expand your arsenal of volleys to perform spectacular shots
Spin Serve Master	You gain the ability to hit devastating spin serves
Top Spin Invasion	You find that the more you use top spin during a rally, the more efficient that shot will become
Volley Shot Artist	Your normal, control and drop shot volleys are more efficient
Wrong Foot Expert	You play more precise shots when you wrong foot your opponent (i.e. hit behind them as they are running to one side)

Schedule and Career Path:

Again, the outline described below is one of the more efficient paths through career mode on the "normal" difficulty setting, and with the plan of creating a quality all-court player. I always recommend to new gamers that developing an all-court player is the way to go for a first-time creation. Doing so allows the player to not only learn to focus on balance throughout the course of a season with regard to player evolution, but it also makes it easier to identify which attributes are more important (per their individual game style) in the latter part of career mode, which allows for better improvement in the design of subsequent custom characters.

** Please note that the details found within this suggested career path assumes that XP were not acquired outside of Career Mode. **

** I highly recommend you master the "advanced serve" (formerly known as the "risk serve") before you start as nearly all of the tips and tactics described below assume that it will be used unless otherwise noted.**

** You may wish to deviate from the course outlined below, though, if you do choose to follow it exactly, you should experience almost everything the same as it is written. Good luck! **

January, Season 1 Status: Newcomer, Elapsed Time: 0 Min. Objectives: Enter two minor tournaments, win 1 minor tournament, obtain more than 5,000 fans. Goal: To reach rookie status that will qualify you for major tournaments.
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
January Pt. 1	Spar	If you are new to the game, I would recommend playing against a baseline control/baseline defensive player.	Pro Insight: Pay close attention to what challenge your coach offers you at the start of the second game of your sparring match. Many times, he or she will offer a bonus of 50XP if you accomplish a task during that second service game. Pro Strategy: Use control shots during most of your rallies. Switch to a power shot when you get the short, put-away ball.
January Pt. 2	Tournament Houston Open	Enter the Houston Open tournament which is played on clay. The slower surface should make it easier if you are new to the game. This match consists of 10 point tie-break.	Pro Tactic: My first opponent was a player by the name of Dave Halse (Level 3). Serve up the center "T" with an advanced serve using the right analog stick. Dave will almost always return the ball right back to you which you can easily hit to the open court for a winner. When returning Dave's serve, return it down the line every time. This will either result in a clean winner, or, cause him to chase down your shot. If he does get to your return, he will leave almost the entire court wide open for you to hit a winner to.
	Tournament Rd. 2		Pro Tactic: My second round opponent was Yue Lin Ding. Serve up the center "T" with an advanced serve using the right analog stick. Look for his return to land either mid-court or the line furthest from you. If he does go for the line shot, he'll leave the entire cross-court shot for you wide open. (if you play Ian Willows as your second round opponent, hit your serve wide from the deuce court. He will likely hit his return cross court which you can then place down the line.)
	Tournament Rd. 3		Pro Tactic: My third round opponent was Carlos Cuello (Level 5). Try to keep him pinned to one side of the court and look for a shot that he puts around mid-court. Take that ball and hit with power to the open court (i.e. the sideline nearest you).
Additional Notes	At the conclusion of this match, you will have obtained approximately 493 XP and 5,700 fans. Exit the match and proceed to your player evolution screen. You should note that both the serve and volley style and the offensive baseline style both share +4 for serve bonus. Defensive baseline and offensive baseline both share the same forehand, backhand and stamina bonus. Provided you have been banking your XP up to this point, and won the Houston Open, you can upgrade your player three times in one setting before moving on to February. If this is the case with you, upgrade your player with one of each of the three style options. In the event you did not win the Houston Open, below are my recommendations of which style I would choose in order of preference to start out with: 1. Defensive Baseline (significant boosts to forehand and backhand, speed and stamina) 2. Serve and Volley (improvement to your serve this early in the game can win you lots of free points if you use the "risk serve") 3. Offensive Baseline (big upgrades to your serve and power levels that affect all of your strokes) After choosing Defensive Baseline, Bronze Coach Liam Ellison becomes available. Once you select Serve and Volley for your second upgrade, coach Adele Gillet becomes available. Selecting Offensive Baseline unlocks coach Oliver Gentner. Check the coach's skills box to see what their objectives are for earning bonus XP. For instance, with Gentner, he offers a bonus of 3 XP for 1 winner from the baseline. I chose Gentner as my first coach. After you select your personal coach, you will see that you are now a Level 4 player.

February: Status: Newcomer, Elapsed Time: +/-20 Min. Objectives: Enter Two Minor Tournaments (1/2), Win 1 Minor Tournament (1/2), Obtain More Than 5,000 Fans. Goal: To Reach Rookie Status That Will Qualify You for Major Tournaments.
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
February Pt. 1	Check Mail	You now have samples of clothing from Elyan Design in your locker room.
February Pt. 1	Spar	Spar against an opponent with a play style of your choice. If you choose an "All Arounder," you may play Yu Lin Ding, a Lvl 4 opponent at the Atlanta courts.	Pro Tactic: If you play Ding, serve down the line. From the deuce court, he will hit a neutral reply pretty much right back to you. From the ad-court, he will return down the line. As with all sparring matches, you will be given a challenge in the second service game (your first return game). This challenge is to not make any unforced errors. Simply win the game using control shots. If you do this, and win the match while trying to work on your overall coaching objectives too, you will get something like the following: Coach Bonus: 27 Special Objectives Reached: 1 Objective Bonus: 50 XPS (+157) = 275 Pro Insight: Many gamers will have the mentality of wanting to plow through this game to get their custom character maxed out in a hurry. They will try to win points as quickly as possible. However, you will receive a better payoff if you spend a little more time working on your coach's objectives during sparring and tournament matchplay. The quicker you can meet those goals, the easier it becomes for you later in the game - as your player will become more advanced sooner than later.
February Pt. 1	Evolve Your Player	At this early stage in the game, make it your goal to get all of your attribute ratings out of the 30s. I chose Serve and Volley here in order to boost my reflexes, speed, and volley - - all of which are low. Here, a new coach becomes available: Hwa-Young Rha. Decline the offer to sign him.
February Pt. 2	Tournament Ukraine Championships	Your opponents may look like this for the event: - Dave Halse (level 3) - a player with creepy eyes that can easily be beaten with shots to the corners - Ian Willows - he hits a lot of neutral shots to the middle of the court. - Yuri Denisov - his forehand is his weakness. If you serve to his forehand side, he will hit floating returns.	Pro Tactic - If you hit to the deuce court against Willows, he may go crosscourt on you. Be on the lookout for this.
Additional Notes	If all goes well, you will have met all of your coach's objectives, unlocked new skills and bonus attributes, and achieved the baseline XP bonus. - Return to the Tournament Menus - Go to the Player Evolution Screen - You will see that your player has earned his bonuses as indicated by the coach's whistle icon on your player attribute chart, and in the skills box to the lower right of your screen. Pro Insight: At this stage, make it your goal to move all of your attributes to no lower than 40. I chose the Defensive player upgrade first, followed by Serve and Volley. The latter move raises your reflexes and volley skills to the 40s. I also chose Zheng Wei as my new coach who specializes in Aggressive Baseline play and Faster Movement. What makes Zheng particularly appealing is the fact that he offers a 20% bonus on all post match XP. This will certainly enable you to level up much more quickly than if you had chosen a different coach. He also adds fairly significant XP upgrades to your forehand, backhand, power, and speed. Note: Wearing a manufacturer's clothing does not yield any bonuses or extra fans if you wear them at a tournament that the sponsor has title rights to. In other words, if you are given clothing from Qualies, and then wear them at a Qualies tournament, you will see no additional bonuses regardless if you win or not. - You will have unlocked the Rookie Achievement worth 10G.

March: Status: Rookie, Elapsed Time: +/-40 Min. Objectives: Win 4 Minor Tournaments (2/4), Participate in 2 Majors, Have More Than 17,500 Fans Goal: New Talent Status and 300 XP.
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
March Pt. 1	Spar	Spar against an opponent with a play style of your choice.	Pro Insight: If you want to keep your opponents somewhat predictable, go with a baseline controller or baseline attacker. If you choose baseline attacker, you may play Jorge Lucera (level 6). He moves poorly to corners, especially to the backhand side. When he serves, you can either hit outright winners with down the line returns, or at least set yourself up for a winner of his next shot. Your coach will challenge you to execute a winning drop shot in the second service game for 50 XP.
March Pt. 2	None	There are no available tournaments in March since they are both locked Masters events.	Pro Tactic - If you hit to the deuce court against Willows, he may go cross court on you. Be on the lookout for this.
Additional Notes	Not much goes in the month of March. Advance to April after your sparring match.

April: Status: Rookie, Elapsed Time: +/-50 Min. Objectives: Win 4 Minor Tournaments (2/4), Participate in 2 Majors, Have More Than 17,500 Fans Goal: New Talent Status and 300 XP.
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
April Pt. 1	Spar	Spar against an opponent with a play style of your choice.	Pro Insight: If you want to start looking at different play styles, try playing a serve and volleyer. In this case, you may play Scott Lagrasta, a level 7 player. He's fairly passive during the first two service games, but in the third, he will serve and volley for the first few points before staying back at the baseline. To beat him, always return his serve up the line. Your coach will offer up 50 XP if you can win a point with a power passing shot. To accomplish this, you'll need to bring your opponent to the net with a drop shot. So, be careful to not win points from the baseline. You really should hit a few balls at or around your opponent before setting him up to chase your dropper. If you win this sparring session, and collect the 50 XP bonus, you will earn around 170 XP and have the opportunity to level up.
April Pt. 1	Player Evolution	Your updated status will unlock Silver Coaches! Both Sebastian Belton and Radek Sevcik are the first to be available. Resist the urge to jump ship from your current coach and stay with him until the conclusion of the next tournament. This way, you should be able to meet all of his objectives and still reap the 20% XP bonus during the next tourney.	Pro Insight: It is advised that you work on any attributes you have still remaining in the 30 range. This will likely require you to choose the offensive or defensive baseline options.
April Pt. 2	Tournament Barcelona Open	Your opponents may look like this for the event: - Filip Stoklas (level 11): A win will earn you around 194 XP. - Shawn Wilson (level 13): You will net (no pun intended) +/- 312 XP. You will also be able to Level Up (but don't). - Theodoros Migakis (level 14): A win will get you around 404 XP and you should have met all your coach's goals.	Pro Strategy: Migakis hits his shots to the corners and open court more so than previous opponents up to this point in the game. He also has a bit more power. Look for him to go down the line not reposition himself to the center of the baseline. When he does this, hit your shot cross court for what should be a winner. You can also look for his cross court shot and not reposition, in which case you should hit your return down the line. It's almost as if he freezes to watch his shot go over the net (?).
April Pt. 2	Check Mail	You will have new clothing from Qualies and an invitation by the Top Spin Academy trainer to participate.
April Pt. 2	Player Evolution		Pro Insight: I went with increasing my defensive skills. The other appealing option would be serve and volley. If you opt for the latter, you should note that in the near future, your speed level should begin receiving attention. After leveling up, you will earn a 5 point bonus to add to either your forehand or backhand. I added it to my backhand to keep them even.
Additional Notes	You should now be halfway towards your Season 1 goal of winning four minors and participating in two majors.

May: Status: Rookie, Elapsed Time: +/-50 Min. Objectives: Win 4 Minor Tournaments (2/4), Participate in 2 Majors (1/2), Have More Than 17,500 Fans Goal: New Talent Status and 300 XP.
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
May Pt. 1	Check Mail	You will have new clothing from Qualies and an invitation by the Top Spin Academy trainer to participate in an upcoming Special Event.
May Pt. 1	Special Events Top Spin Academy Challenge	Go to the Special Events and choose the Top Spin Academy challenge (the invitation from Nick Reilly was in your email). This is an easy way to get 200 XP bonus allowing you to level up once again.
May Pt. 1	Player Evolution		Pro Insight: If you went with defensive baseliner for your last level-up, then I'd suggest going with serve and volley now. If you chose serve and volley last time, then I'd recommend going with defensive now. You won't want your volley attribute lagging too far behind (even if you don't think you'll ever use it......you never know when you might need it!)
May Pt. 1	New Coach	I would recommend hiring a new coach before your next event. I chose Sebastian Belton who adds 10 points to both power and serve.
May Pt. 2	Tournament Munich Championships	Your opponents may look like this for the event: - Yuri Denisov (level 3): He is clearly outmatched since you are a level 10. Use power "A" to hit to the open court. - Jonas Larson: - Carlos Cuello:	Pro Insight: The Munich Championships should be a walkover for you considering your current level is substantially higher than your opponents. This makes for the ideal opportunity for you to work on achieving your new coach's objectives. Don't focus on burning through this tournament with the shortest number of strokes possible, but instead work on extending points (if necessary) or intentionally tanking points to extend your service games if needed. If you chose Sebastian Belton when I did, he has a rather difficult challenge of hitting 5 aces. On your service game(s), just keep trying to put your serves up the center line. If you go up to 30-0, you may want to let your A.I. opponent win a few points to keep it tied, and then try for the aces again. If you are at game point and still haven't hit your five aces, let your opponent win a point to go to deuce and try for the aces again. Now, if you are still trying to get the hang of Top Spin 4, this tactic might be a little too risky. Just work within your own abilities and those five aces will eventually come.
Additional Notes	- After completing the tournament, the Alleyway Pack 1 will be unlocked.

June: Status: Rookie, Elapsed Time: +/-1hr, 25 Min. Objectives: Win 4 Minor Tournaments (3/4), Participate in 2 Majors (1/2), Have More Than 17,500 Fans Goal: New Talent Status and 300 XP.
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
June Pt. 1	Check Mail	You will have a message from Neil Reilly inviting you to the Top Spin Academy to play against a promising student (Walt Williams). You reward for beating him is 175 XP. You will also have additional offers for bonus XP or new fans as well.	Top Spin 4 Top Spin 4 Top Spin 4
June Pt. 1	Special Events Top Spin Academy	The format of this special event is a bit different than what you may be used to in that you can only score points when you are serving to begin the point. It is called Serve and Score. If you lose a point on your serve, nothing will happen other than you will turn the serve over to your opponent who will try to add points to his total. The first person to get six points wins.	Top Spin 4 Top Spin 4 Top Spin 4
June Pt. 2	Tournament Mass. Open or Seoul Open	I chose the Massachusetts Open because it was a part of the U.S. Open Series. Your opponents may look like this for the event: - Tai Yi Xia (level 7) - Theodoras Migakis (level 14) - Timofei Zhenov (level 10)	Pro Tactics: - Tai Yi Xia (level 7): easy opponent to win points at the corners against. - Theodoras Migakis (level 14): Hopefully you have played him enough by now to know his tendencies - Timofei Zhenov (level 10): He has poor, tentative movement coupled with neutral shots.
June Pt. 2	Player Evolution	I chose to boost my offensive baseline prowess here. At this point in the game, I am looking at: 4: Serve & volley 3: Offensive baseline 4: Defensive baseline	Top Spin 4 Top Spin 4 Top Spin 4
Additional Notes	- The Elyan Design Pack 2 is now unlocked and available.

July: Status: Rookie, Elapsed Time: +/-1hr, 45 minutes Objectives: Win 4 Minor Tournaments (4/4), Participate in 2 Majors (1/2), Have More Than 17,500 Fans Goal: New Talent Status and 300 XP.
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
July Pt. 1	Check Mail	You will receive a message from a mystery challenger. 150 XP is on the line if you beat him. You will also receive another message from Isiah Erving inviting you to an event along with others that would inspire youngsters. Ignore him pulling on your heart strings and go for the mystery challenger and 150 XP reward.	Top Spin 4 Top Spin 4 Top Spin 4
July Pt. 1	Special Events Mystery Challenge	Go to the Special Events and choose the Mystery Challenge	Pro Insight: Your mystery challenger is some no-name player called Mehdi Bougelbere in Dakar. Beat him by serving wide from the deuce side. He'll return your serve down the line to which you can rip cross court for a winner if you anticipate this and are in good position. He doesn't have the speed (or the desire) to chase after your cross court shots. You should gain enough XP to upgrade your player once again. Top Spin 4 Top Spin 4
July Pt. 1	Player Evolution	Coach Mathias Wanlin becomes available. He has demanding objectives, but offers a very appealing 20% XP bonus rate. Select this coach.
July Pt. 2	Tournament Vienna Open	Your opponents may look like this for the event: - Jose Mirana (level 4): - Joaquin Meza (level 4): - Youssouf Zairi (level 5):	Pro Tactics: - Jose Mirana (level 4): you may be able to generate unforced errors by slicing deep to the open court, especially the forehand side. - Joaquin Meza (level 4): wear him down by extending rallies with slice (i.e. not going for winners). He will eventually begin hitting his shots wide and long.
Additional Notes	- At the conclusion of this tournament, you may have been able to unlock some bonus attributes, or at least be very close to doing so. - You will have unlocked 3 Style clothing pack 1. - You will also have unlocked the New Talent Achievement worth 15G.

August: Status: New Talent, Elapsed Time: +/-2 hours, 5 minutes Objectives Met: Win 4 Minor Tournaments (4/4), Participate in 2 Majors (2/2), Have More Than 17,500 Fans New Objectives: Win 5 Major Tournaments, Have More Than 45,000 Fans Goal: Young Gun Status
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
August Pt. 1	Player Evolution	Here, I would suggest boosting your offensive baseline capabilities. You ideally should have everything in the 40s or higher around this time in your first career year.	Pro Insight: At this point, you really should begin analyzing your options in the special events as well as which tournaments you will be entering for the remainder of the year. On your main career page, you will note that the various series standings display intermittently. While you can't lead in every series (e.g. clay, grass, hard, U.S., Europe, etc.), you will win end-of-year bonuses for those that you do finish on top of. It is important to note that if you finish tied with another player, you will still be considered as the series leader. Pro Tip: If you find yourself making a decision on which tournament to enter in a given month, check where you place on the related series leaderboard. If you are tied with another player at 3/9, but see another series where you are 2/9 to a competitor's 3/9, you should absolutely enter the latter event. T
August Pt. 1	Special Events Yoga & Meditation	Easy points!	pin 4 Top Spin 4
August Pt. 2	Tournament Estoril Open	Assuming you've followed my path up to this point in the game, you should be tied at 3/9 with another player in the Hard Court Series, but a win behind in the Europe Series. You need to catch up in the Europe Series and can do that by winning the tournament in Estoril. Your opponents may look like this for the event: - Jose Minana (level 4) - Carlos Cuello (level 4) - Youssouf Zairi (level 5)	Pro Tactic: If you play Jose Minana, use deep top spin (pushing up on left analog stick and 'power B') to force him into hitting neutral returns.
Additional Notes	- Hopefully you will have met all of your coach's objectives by now. - You will have unlocked the Advantage Pack 1 for winning the Estoril Open.

September: Status: New Talent, Elapsed Time: +/-2 hours, 35 minutes Objectives: Win 5 Major Tournaments (3/5), Have More Than 45,000 Fans Goal: Young Gun Status
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
September Pt. 1	Special Event	XP from sparring is not enough to evolve your player unless you've been playing online any. It's also about time to start increasing your custom player's fan base. Here, I chose to do the ad campaign to give the Top Spin League a "younger image." I received 720 new fans out of a possible 750. My fan base is approximately 52,000 at this point.
September Pt. 1	New Coach	Assuming you've had the same successes I've had up to this point in the game, you met all of your previous coach's objectives, and it's time to seek out a new one. Here, I chose Coach Kirostan. He provides the Diesel Hard Hitter skill, and his objectives should be met within two tournaments.
September Pt. 2	Tournament London Open or Hamburg Open	This is one of those decision points in the game that requires careful planning. In the Grass Series, I hold a one win lead over second place (3/9 to 2/9). However, in the Europe Series, I am tied at 3/9 with another player. Because of this, I chose the Hamburg Open to compete in so that I can take sole possession of first place. If you choose the Hamburg Open, your opponents may look like this: - Saijad Majid (level 8) - Theodoras Migakis - Filip Stoklas
Additional Notes	- I achieved my baseline XP bonus off of Migakis in the second round. - After finishing the event, you should have enough XP to level up once again. You can either do this now before moving on to October, or do so at the start of the new month. I did it prior to the new month, however I have listed it as the first thing to do in October below. - You should have unlocked the Aveberry Pack 1.

October: Status: New Talent, Elapsed Time: +/- 3 hours Objectives: Win 5 Major Tournaments (4/5), Have More Than 45,000 Fans Goal: Young Gun Status
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
October Pt. 1	Player Evolution	I chose the defensive player option so that I could boost my speed and stamina. At this point, you should also attain an additional bonus of 5 points to which you can add to either your forehand or backhand. I chose my backhand so that both sides would be even at 55. You may choose otherwise.
October Pt. 1	Check Mail	Worth noting is the invitation received from Stefan Jantschke who is a physical trainer.	Top Spin 4 Top Spin 4
October Pt. 1	Special Event Physical Training in Munich	250XP at the click of a button. Not bad.
October Pt. 1	Tournament Argentina Open (major) or California Cup (minor)	Here is yet another instance where you may need to make a decision. In my case, I was tied at 3/9 in the Clay Series, but was a win behind in the U.S. Series. Looking ahead to November, I can see that there is one major event and no minor event. With that in mind, I went ahead and entered the California Cup to bring myself even with the series leader in the U.S. Series. In the California Cup, your opponents may be: - Hugo Sieiro (who looks like a Neanderthal) - Youssouf Zairi - Joaquin Meiza
Additional Notes	Pro Insight: I was able to meet all of my coach's objectives during the second round of the California Cup by intentionally extending some rallies (and intentionally losing some points so that games lasted longer). You may want to do the same here. - At the end of the tournament, you should have enough XP to level up. Again, I took this opportunity to do so before moving to the next month, however, for the purpose of this guide, I have it noted in November.

November: Status: New Talent, Elapsed Time: +/- 3 hours, 30 minutes Objectives: Win 5 Major Tournaments (4/5), Have More Than 45,000 Fans Goal: Young Gun Status
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
November Pt. 1	Player Evolution	I chose serve and volley as my next player upgrade. As soon as this was finalized, Gold Coaches became available.
November Pt. 1	New Coach	I chose Damian Salazar as my new coach who offers a tremendous upgrade for the serve attribute.	Top Spin 4 Top Spin 4
November Pt. 1	Check Mail	You should receive an email from Jan Benes (videogame producer) which is hilarious in the sense that it is 2K Czech taking a dig at Sega and their Virtua Tennis series.
November Pt. 1	Special Event Charity Against Poverty	Choosing this special event will get you playing your first career doubles match! Succeeding at this challenge will get you 250 XP and up to 2,000 fans. In my particular match, I partnered with Scott Lagrasta against the team of Jiminez and Nystrom. Winning this event will also unlock the Achievement entitled "Tennis for 2."	Pro Tactic: If your volley skills are not very desirable, I would suggest you use "X" to volley during this match. It is a control shot, and can be directed fairly effectively. If you are at the net, always angle your volley so that it lands between the net man and his teammate at the baseline.
November Pt. 1	Tournament Amsterdam Open	The tournament at Amsterdam is a major event. Winning this tournament will enable you to achieve the status of "Young Gun" and give you another achievement. Your opponents may look like this: - Filip Stoklas - Shawn Watson (level 13) - Theodoras Migakis (level 14)	Pro Tactic: Migakis serves and volleys at times at Amsterdam. Force him to volley from one side of the court which will cause him to stumble a bit. Then hit your next shot (off his volley) to the open court.
Additional Notes	- Going into the Amsterdam event, you should be at level 15. - You should have received the 20G "Young Gun" achievement - The Aveberry Pack 2 will now be available.

December: Status: Young Gun, Elapsed Time: +/- 4 hours Objectives Met: Win 5 Major Tournaments (5/5), Have More Than 45,000 Fans New Objectives: Participate in Two Masters Tournaments, Have More Than 75,000 Fans Goal: Rising Star Status, Ability to Play Sponsor Challenges
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
December Pt. 1	Special Events Medical Research	Here you will play a super tiebreaker against Dejan Vukojevic who is a level 17 player and by far the most advanced that you have faced thus far in Career Mode. Winning this match will net you 190 XP.	Pro Tactic: Vukojevic is not all that special of a player despite his higher rating. Simply hit side to side often so that he eventually loses his footing and stalls around the middle of the baseline. This is a very good match to stretch out a bit if you can because it helps make significant progress with your existing coach's objectives checklist!
December Pt. 2	Tournament Chile Open	In my case, I found that I was one win behind in the Carpet Series and tied in the Grass Series. Whichever event I participated (and won) in, I would be a lock for finishing the respective series at #1. That said, I took my chances that I would hold my tied/lead in the Grass Series and entered the Chile Open so that I could win on carpet and hopefully be the leader at both when Season 1 concludes. If you are in a similar situation and choose the path I did, your Chile Open opponents may look like this: - Tomonobu Komuro (serve and volleyer) - Youssouf Zairi - Nabil Mimum	Pro Insight: At this point, you should be far more evolved than your opponents, and able to intentionally "tank" a few points to stretch out the overall match. I did so against Youssouf Zairi when enabled me to obtain enough XP to level up whenever I wanted to do so.
December Pt. 2	Player Evolution	Evolve your player.	Pro Insight: if you followed my progress exactly thus far and come to this point, you will notice that the serve & volley and offensive baseliner point bonuses differ very slightly. The only difference is that one offers a +2 for volley and +1 for power, while the other has a +2 for power and +1 for volley. Everything else remains the same. To satisfy my interests, I went with the offensive baseline upgrade to obtain +2 to my power.
Additional Notes	- 3Style Pack 2 becomes available Season 1 Recap: Ranked #35 Fanbase: 87,432 Clay Series Rank: #2 Grass Series Rank: #2 Hard Series Rank: #1 Carpet Series Rank: #1 U.S. Series Rank: #1 Europe Series Rank: #1 957 XP bonuses were achieved for the year.

SEASON 2

January (2): Status: Young Gun, Elapsed Time: +/- 4 hours, 30 minutes. Objectives: Participate in Two Masters Tournaments, Have More Than 75,000 Fans Goal: Rising Star Status, Ability to Play Sponsor Challenges
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
January Pt. 1	Special Events Hydrotherapy	Get a quick 320 XP by selecting this special event!
January Pt. 1	New Coach	Assuming you met all of your existing coach's objectives by the conclusion of last season, it's time to find a new and better one. At this stage in my career, I chose Matthew Grody who offers nice attribute bonuses to volley, power, and forehand.
January Pt. 2	Tournament Houston Open	The Australian Open is still locked, so defend your Season 1 title in Houston. Your opponents may look something like this: - Ewan Croft: A serve and volley player. - Youssouf Zairi - Camille Mohr-Daurat	Pro Tactic: If you are still following the procedure I've outlined thus far, and selected Matthew Grody as your new coach, you'll have to start playing some points at the net. There is no better person to chip & charge against than Youssouf Zairi. When it's your turn to receive his serve, move your player straight up towards the net from the default position, and as far as you can go (i.e. where the game actually prevents you from getting any closer). When Zairi serves, slice the ball and use the "RB Button" modifier to sprint up towards the net. Zairi's grounstrokes are not that powerful which should enable you to hit volley winners almost every time. The best place to slice your service return is down the line, and charge towards the middle to cut off any attempt at a passing shot. A video example of this can be found in my "Cheats Section."
Additional Notes	- Elyan Design Pack 3 becomes available.

February (2): Status: Young Gun, Elapsed Time: +/- 4 hours, 55 minutes. Objectives: Participate in Two Masters Tournaments, Have More Than 75,000 Fans Goal: Rising Star Status, Ability to Play Sponsor Challenges
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
February Pt. 1	Spar	It's been a while since you've last sparred and you need some additional XP in order to level up. The 50 XP bonus in the second game is easy to achieve, as it requires you to hit three winners before the end of your service game.	Pro Insight: Remember that any sort of match play will boost your XP and help you achieve the objectives outlined by your coach. In this particular match (possibly against Ricardo Bornonat), you can rack up around 300 XP in total.
February Pt. 1	Player Evolution	I chose offensive baseline at this point, still trying to maintain a balance until I can get all of my attribute scores above 50.
February Pt. 2	Tournament Dallas Open	Your opponents may look something like this: - Scott Lagrasta - Boris Zapotocky - Filip Stoklas	Pro Tactic: Scott Lagrasta: Hit all of your shots down the lines (including service returns). Boris Zapotocky: Will often times return your serve down the line. Look for this shot, take it early, and hit it cross-court.
Additional Notes	- 3 Style Pack 3 becomes available.

March (2): Status: Young Gun, Elapsed Time: +/- 5 hours, 25 minutes. Objectives: Participate in Two Masters Tournaments, Have More Than 75,000 Fans Goal: Rising Star Status, Ability to Play Sponsor Challenges
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
March Pt. 1	Spar	Keep looking for those XP! Here, you can obtain 250 XP. The bonus here is to score a winning drop shot during your return game.	Pro Tactic: The 50 XP bonus challenge may be difficult for some gamers. If you are having trouble, try to get your opponent deep to one corner of the court (preferably the farthest one from you) and anticipate his next shot while you approach the net. Try to get right around the service line area to execute your drop shot which should be short and to the opposite side of where your opponent is at. To make your drop shot more effective, pull back on the left analog stick a bit just before you release (or tap) the 'X' button. Be wary of winning points through regular groundstrokes or aces during this second game. The idea here is to get a single winner by drop shot. Make sure you serve to your opponent to get the point going, and hit some deep control shots to position him as needed. You don't want to go for baseline winners here - - you merely want to set your opponent up for the dropper.
March Pt. 2	Tournament BNP Paribas Open or Rome	I chose the BNP Paribas Open. I also wanted to improve my standings in the U.S. Series. Your opponents may look like this: - Sebastian Frank (level 18) - Novak Djokovic (level 20) - Rafael Nadal (level 20) - Roger Federer (level 20)	Pro Insight: This will be the first time you play real-life tour pros. That said, they are really watered down and often times do not get their serves out of the 70-80mph range. Pro Tactics: Novak Djokovic: hit all of your shots deep to the corners over and over. Make him run. Roger Federer: Serve to his backhand. Use very tight top spin shots to pull him off the court. "Tight" top spin is performed by pulling the left analog stick back and to the side you wish the ball to go.
March Pt. 2	Player Evolution	I chose serve and volley here. At this point, speed remains my only concern, and something I will need to focus on during my next opportunity.
March Pt. 2	New Coach	Hopefully by now you will have met all of your objectives with your current coach, and you may wish to change. I went back to Damian Salazar for the tiem being. You may prefer another coach that better suits your style of play.
Additional Notes	- You should attain Level 18 by now. - Coach Magnus Golgolja becomes available, and offers quite a few attractive bonuses including +12 serve, +4 reflexes, + 10 volley, and +4 speed.

April (2): Status: Young Gun, Elapsed Time: +/- 6 hours. Objectives: Participate in Two Masters Tournaments (1/2), Have More Than 75,000 Fans Goal: Rising Star Status, Ability to Play Sponsor Challenges
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
April Pt. 1	Special Event Continental Test	Choose the Continental Test that rewards up to 300 XP. Here, you will play level 19 player Ricky Singleton in Buenos Aires. The format is called "Percentage Tennis" where the winner is the first to 6 points. If you win a point by serving an ace or service winner, hitting a winning groundstroke or forcing an error on behalf of your opponent, you will gain a point. If your player gets aced, misses an incoming shot, or hits an unforced error, a point will be subtracted from your score. It should be noted that if you aren't consistent in this particular challenge, this game could go on for quite some time. For winning this exhibition, I acquired 300 XP and 1,131 new fans!	Pro Tactic: Ricky Singleton: both his backhand and speed are weak. Use top spin to his forehand side to set him up, and then follow with flat 'A' with power to his backhand side.
April Pt. 2	Tournament Sony Ericsson Masters or Monte Carlo Classic	I chose the Sony Ericsson (Miami) tournament due to it being more prestigious in 'real life.' I also wanted to improve my standings in the U.S. Series. Your opponents may look like this: - Sebastian Frank (level 18) - Novak Djokovic (level 20) - Rafael Nadal (level 20) - Roger Federer (level 20) Depending on your previous successes in the game, you may face some different opponents in this event. A few are spotlighted to the right --->	Pro Tactics: Dean Glover: No power, low speed, and poor volley skills. When serving, keep everything to his backhand. - On your return, use power 'A' down the line. - Use top spin to open side of the court (to exploit his low speed rating). - Use power passing shots (A) when appropriate. Bernard Tomic: Low speed and weak serve. - When returning serve, creep up as far as the game will allow. Use 'X' and the 'RB' buttons to chip and charge as outlined in the Cheat Section of this Superguide. Andy Murray: Andy has a tendency to pause when he hits the ball straight in line with where he's standing. Take advantage of this anomaly and hit to the open court. Stanlislas Wawrinka: On his serves, chip your return and charge down the line using 'X' to slice and 'RB' to run. Volley his next shot to the open court for a winner!
Additional Notes	- At the beginning of April, you should be a Level 18 player with all attributes scored 50 or higher with exception to maybe two. In my case, my two weakest attributes were speed and reflexes. - At the conclusion of the Sony Ericsson, you should have met all of your coach's objectives if you hadn't done so in the previous tournament. - You should have somewhere in the area of 156,000 fans. - You should have attained "Rising Star" status and the 25G Achievement. This allows you to play in sponsor challenges.

May (2): Status: Rising Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 6 hours, 25 minutes. Objectives Met: Participate in Two Masters Tournaments (2/2), Have More Than 75,000 Fans New Objectives: Win Four Masters (3/4), Have 140,000 Fans Goal: Play in Grand Slams
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
May Pt. 1	Special Event Continental Test #2	Choose the Continental Test # 2 in Cincinnati, OH. This will award you 390 XP and up to 2,800 new fans. The format is "Serve and Score" with the winner being the first to 11 points. You may play Andy Roddick if you've followed the outlined plan thus far.	Pro Tactic: Andy Roddick: Serve out wide to Andy every time, and take what he returns and hit to the open court with power 'A'. This should result in a clean winner. Andy is particularly slow to respond to shots hit to his forehand side. Following these tactics, you should win very easily, and gain around 2,240 fans.
May Pt. 2	Tournament Madrid Masters	Two more Masters wins gets you access to the Grand Slams - - so choosing the Madrid Masters is a no-brainer. Your opponents may look like this: - Gilles Simon - Roger Federer - Andy Murray - Rafael Nadal	Pro Tactics: Gilles Simon: - Poor serve. - Follow the tactics mentioned above for Andy Roddick (Continental Test #2) - Make note of the following: If you return his ball cross court, he will likely hit back to you cross court to which you should then hit up the line for a winner. Roger Federer: - Roger typically serves out wide, which should make returning the ball down the line even easier to do. Andy Murray: - Andy has a tendency to pause when he hits the ball straight in line with where he's standing. Take advantage of this anomaly and hit to the open court. You can also follow the advice given for the Andy Roddick "Continental Test #2" as well. Rafael Nadal: - When serving from the deuce court, serving out wide yields a down the line (or neutral mid-court) return which you should be able to easily put away to the open side. - If you get into a baseline exchange with Nadal, simply hit corner to corner, alternating sides. After a few exchanges back and forth, Rafa will eventually give up.
May Pt. 2	Player Evolution	Leveling up your player becomes a bit more tricky at this point because higher quality coaches are becoming available and they can supplement any deficiencies that you see present, or, they can substantially boost your existing strengths. Since speed is still a concern of mine at this point, I chose the Defensive upgrade. While both my forehand and backhand are not as strong as I'd like, all upgrades only offer a +1 for the groundstrokes, so I need to look to other areas that need improving. A +5 bonus will become available which you can add to your forehand or backhand at this point.
May Pt. 2	New Coach	Three coaches look very appealing at this time: - Alex Bicham - Martin Gobbi - Magnus Golgolja I opted for Martin Gobbi, but any of the three are excellent choices.
Additional Notes	- Going into May, you should already have enough fans (184,200+) to qualify you for the Grand Slams, but you still need two more Masters wins. - You may or may not wish to change coaches at this time if you've already met your current coach's objectives. The purpose for "coach-hopping" is so that you have access to them later in the game when you may need to tweak or refine some of your attributes. It also makes it easier for you to fine tune your custom character for online play with the benefits that various coaches offer.

June (2): Status: Rising Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 6 hours, 55 minutes Objectives: Win Four Masters (3/4), Have 140,000 Fans Goal: Play in the Grand Slams
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
June Pt. 1	Special Event "Guest Appearance on TV"	"A Guest Appearance in a TV Series." Obviously, the reference is towards the original C.S.I. show on CBS. Over 200,000 fans are required to enter the Grand Slams, so it's time to start taking advantage of the special events that offer the best opportunities to increase your fan base. This particular special event offered up some 6,566 new fans bringing my total at this time to 190,792.	Pro Tactic: Ricky Singleton: both his backhand and speed are weak. Use top spin to his forehand side to set him up, and then follow with flat 'A' with power to his backhand side.
June Pt. 2	Tournament Massachusetts Open	Unfortunately, this is the best tournament available for the month of June. You should have no help needed whatsoever in rolling over your opponents. Your opponents may look something like this: - Joshua Williams (level 7) - Filip Stoklas (level 11) - Timofei Zhenov (level 12) Winning this event should bring in an extra 10,000 fans, thus increasing your overall total to over 200,000.
Additional Notes

July (2): Status: Rising Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 7 hours, 15 minutes. Objectives: Win Four Masters (3/4), Have 140,000 Fans Goal: Play in the Grand Slams
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
July Pt. 1	Special Event "Commercial for Fragrance"	"Commercial for Fragrance" This can get you up to 5,500 fans. I received 4,510. You will also note that in your email inbox, you have been declared the 8th most popular player on the tour.	Pro Tactic: Ricky Singleton: both his backhand and speed are weak. Use top spin to his forehand side to set him up, and then follow with flat 'A' with power to his backhand side.
July Pt. 2	Tournament Casablanca Open	This is a major tournament held on clay, and your only option for the month of July. Your opponents may look like this: - Tomas Roller (level 8) - Farderin Kunalan (level 13) - Theodoras Migakis (level 14)	Pro Insight: Use opportunities like this event to work on achieving all of your coach's objectives. Your custom player is far more advanced than the opponent's you face in major or minor tournaments in Season 2.
Additional Notes

August (2): Status: Rising Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 7 hours, 30 minutes. Objectives: Win Four Masters (3/4), Have 140,000 Fans Goal: Play in the Grand Slams
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
August Pt. 1	Check Mail	You will receive an email from Leslie Payton marked "Urgent." She invites you to a 2K Sports exhibition and that you were the #4 choice by fans. Kind of insulting don't you think?	Pro Tactic: Ricky Singleton: both his backhand and speed are weak. Use top spin to his forehand side to set him up, and then follow with flat 'A' with power to his backhand side.
August Pt. 1	Special Event "Streaming Exhibition Match"	"Streaming Online Exhibition Match for 2K Sports" This exhibition offers up 500 XP and up to 6,000 fans. This is by far one of the most appealing special events thus far in the game. The format is doubles play, and the winner is the first to achieve 5 points in a row. You can toggle to see who your partner and opponents are by using the "L" trigger button. In my case, I was paired with Jelena Jankovic to play against James Blake and Serena Williams. Winning this match should get you somewhere in the area of 5,160 new fans.	Pro Tactics: - This match can become a bit frustrating because at 3-0, your teammate may become "stupid" by missing shots, executing unintelligent shot placement, becoming non-responsive, etc. I've also observed some "weirdness" with my controls too.......almost to where my custom player was slow to respond to shots he'd normally get to. - If James Blake is at net, use power 'A' to pass him. He will either not respond to the incoming ball, or he'll likely (but not always) dump the attempted volley into the net. - If you are looking at a 3-0 lead and serving, move as close to the center line as possible and try to fire an ace down the center "T". Getting that 4-0 can be tricky, and scoring an ace is the easiest way to do it.
August Pt. 2	Tournament Estoril Open	Again, this is one of those times where you don't have many choices (or any choices) other than an event like this. You will be way over-powered compared to your opponents. Your opponents may look something like this: - Hugo Sieiro (level 4) - Nabil Mimun (level 5) - Peter Man (level 5)	Pro Insight: Use this tournament to finish up on any coaching objectives you have remaining, and modify your game play (game style) to meet those goals..
Additional Notes	- If you stuck with my outline plan so far, and done everything I've done so far, you've just earned a big bonus from your coach. - You should have unlocked the Alleyway Pack 2.

September (2): Status: Rising Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 7 hours, 50 minutes. Objectives: Win Four Masters (3/4), Have 140,000 Fans Goal: Play in the Grand Slams
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
September Pt. 1	Special Event Personal Training in Colorado	You already have more than enough fans so it won't hurt here to go for a bit more XP and start looking at picking away at all of the special events you haven't completed. The Physical Training in Colorado special event will net you 390 XP.	Pro Tactic: Ricky Singleton: both his backhand and speed are weak. Use top spin to his forehand side to set him up, and then follow with flat 'A' with power to his backhand side.
September Pt. 2	Tournament Hamburg Open	I chose this tournament in order to preserve my lead in the Euro Series since there are none left for the remainder of the season. If you choose the Hamburg tournament, you may face the following players: - Pierre Roland-Pochet (level 9) - Mauricio Tegerina (level 10) - Mehdi Bougelbere These matches should be very easy for you. I wrapped up this tournament in less than 9 minutes including load times between rounds.	Pro Tactics: Pierre Roland-Pochet: Be careful when hitting to his forehand on the deuce side of the court. He will likely try to go down the line. Mauricio Tegerina: He likes to hit angles. Serve to his backhand to get weak returns that you can put away with your next shot. Mehdi Bougelbere: Serve to his forehand side to get weak returns that you can put away for winners.
September Pt. 2	Player Evolution	Well, if you followed my outline thus far, and have had the same success, you will have the opportunity to level up for the last time here. I chose to upgrade my defensive capabilities because I felt I was still lacking in speed. After you choose which upgrade to use, you will be awarded the "Completely Developed" Achievement worth 25G.
Additional Notes	- Aside from the "Completely Developed" Achievement, you will also unlock the Aveberry Pack 3. Something to think about: You will be on course to participate in the final Masters Event which is a round robin tournament. The level of difficulty is going to ramp up considerably in that event. You may want to start looking at Gold Coaches that can enhance your existing attributes, and offer the skills you feel you will need to achieve success. This may require you to drop your current coach even if you aren't finished with him or her.

October (2): Status: Rising Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 8 hours, 05 minutes. Objectives: Win Four Masters (3/4), Have 140,000 Fans Goal: Play in the Grand Slams
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
October Pt. 1	Special Event Exhibition Match for Peace	New XP is irrelevant at this point, so go for new fans. This particular special event offers 4,300 few fans. The format for this event is doubles play, consisting of a single set of three games. You may be paired with Gilles Simon against the team of Julio/Murray. Should you win this match (which you should), you will have unlocked a new feature in the game. See the October comments section further below for details.	Pro Tactic: Murray/Julio: When Julio is at the net, use a power "A" passing shot right by him. More times than not, he won't even react to it. More rare actions would be him dumping the ball into the net or having a very weak volley.
October Pt. 2	Tournament Cincinnati (Masters) or Toronto (Masters)	It's disappointing to see that Cincinnati is still a generic tournament without the correct sponsorship such as the Indian Wells and Miami events in this game. I know for a fact that the title sponsor of the real life event is indeed interested in having proper representation in Top Spin. Having said that, you can play in either event: Cincinnati or Toronto. I chose Cincinnati. If you do the same, you may play the following: - Leandro Penaloza (level 16) - Nikolai Davydenko - Roger Federer Winning this event should upgrade your player status to "Star."	Pro Tactics: Nikolai Davydenko: Nikolai has weak groundstrokes when you hit shots to the upper right corner of the court (from your player's perspective). Roger Federer: Roger has a very loopy cross-court shot that you need to be on the look out for. When receiving Federer's serve on the deuce side, slice your return down the line. Roger will then hit either cross court or to the middle, leaving the left side completely open. Look for those responses from Roger and hit a hard shot to the left side. It should end up a winner, or at least set you up for your next shot to be a winner.
Additional Notes	- Winning this event should upgrade your status to "Star," and get you corresponding Achievement worth 30G. - You are now eligible to play in the upcoming Grand Slams!

November (2): Status: Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 8 hours, 30 minutes. Objectives Met: Win Four Masters (4/4), Have 140,000 Fans New Objectives: Win 2 Grand Slams, Be in the Top 10, Have More than 300,000 fans. Goal: Play Dream Matches
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
November Pt. 1	Special Event Exhibition Soccer Match or Athens Doubles Match	Acquiring new fans should be your top priority at this point. Either of these events are going to get you between 2,500-3,000 fans. It's just a matter of whether or not you want to spend the time playing a match or simply pressing a button to be awarded.
November Pt. 2	Tournament Shanghai Championships or BNP Paribas Masters	Either of these venues are of equal status, and you can rack up quite a few new fans should you win, as well as improve your ranking. I chose the Shanghai event. The players you face may look like this: - Yuzo Kamija (level 15) - Ricky Singleton (level 19) - Novak Djokovic - Roger Federer	Pro Tactic: Ricky Singleton: Ricky has heavier groundstrokes than most of the other "no-name" players in TS4. For this particular event, if you play him, hit to his backhand as much as possible.
November Pt. 2	Player Evolution	Well, if you followed my outline thus far and have had the same success, you will have the opportunity to level up for the last time here. I chose to upgrade my defensive capabilities because I felt I was still lacking in speed. After you choose which upgrade to use, you will be awarded the "Completely Developed" achievement worth 25g.
Additional Notes	- You will unlock the Alleyway Pack 3. - You should have unlocked the Completely Developed achievement.

December (2): Status: Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 9 hours. Objectives: Win 2 Grand Slams, Be in the Top 10, Have More than 300,000 fans. Goal: Play Dream Matches
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
December Pt. 1	Special Event Energy Drink Promo	This special event consists of a best of three set match (3 games per set) with the third set being a super tie-break. Winning this can get you up to 4,300 new fans in addition to more XP. I gained 3,870 fans.	Pro Tactic: Ricky Singleton: both his backhand and speed are weak. Use top spin to his forehand side to set him up, and then follow with flat 'A' with power to his backhand side.
December Pt. 2	Tournament Barclays ATP World Tour Finals	This tournament is the finale of each season, and will be the biggest challenge you've experienced thus far in the game. While pro-players' serves still fall within the 70-95mph range, their groundstrokes and shot selection noticeably ramp up in the semifinals and finals here. Your opponents may look like this: - Nikolai Davydenko - Novak Djokovic - Andy Roddick - Andy Murray (Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer)	Pro Tactics: Novak Djokovic: Serve to his backhand every time. Take what he returns back to you and hit it to the opposite side (i.e. down the line) for what should be a winner. Andy Roddick: Serve to Andy's forehand, then take what he returns back to you and make your next shot down the line. Many times, you will see Andy pause when doing this. He simply gives up and doesn't chase after the ball.
Additional Notes	- You will have unlocked the "Hyper Tie Break" game play option during the tournament. End of Season Stats: - 340,000+ fans (I had 344,307) - #1 player in the U.S. - #4 ranking overall - #4 most popular player - Ranked #1 in the following series': Clay, U.S., Europe. Approximate Elapsed Time: 9 hours, 40 minutes.

SEASON 3

January (3): Status: Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 9 hours, 40 minutes. Objectives: Win 2 Grand Slams, Have 300,000 fans Goal: Play Dream Matches
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
January Pt. 1	Special Event Sponsor Challenge Aveberry 4	With your focus now on participating and succeeding in the Grand Slams, you can pick and choose where you wish to spend your time with the special events. I personally want to complete all of those I've skipped over, and unlock the remaining options. Feel free to choose whichever you want going forward.
January Pt. 2	Tournament Australian Open	This is the first Grand Slam of the year and may test your custom character's ability. Hopefully by now you have picked up on a good coach to supplement your current attribute scores and provide you with some useful skills. While your opponent's serves are unlikely to exceed 103mph, their shot making becomes a bit more unpredictable, particularly in the semifinals and finals. Your first few rounds should be relatively easy walkovers. You may face the following opponents: - Arsenio Formoso (level 15) - Bernard Tomic (level 15) - Andy Roddick - Rafael Nadal - Roger Federer Note: Expect to invest about anywhere between 50 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes to complete this tournament.	Pro Tactics: Arsenio Formoso: - Try and get him to one side of the court by hitting cross court. He'll likely hit his reply in your vicinity. Hit one more shot to where he's standing at the corner of the court to "plant" him there. Take his next shot and go down the line. So, it should go like this: cross court, cross court, down the line. This works almost every time, particularly when you have Formoso at the upper left side of the court (ad-court). - Also, serving to his forehand side many times results in weak floating returns that you can put away easily. Bernard Tomic: - Both his serve and his service return are weak. - When Tomic is about to serve, move your player as far up to the service line as possible (to where the game limits you). Power up your 'X' button and slice your return down the line and charge the net using the "RB" button (pressing and holding it as you are slicing the ball). Your initial shot may be a winner but if not, you should be in good position to hit a volley winner off his attempt at passing you. Andy Roddick: - Serve out wide from the default serving location behind the baseline. Do this from both sides. Many times, Roddick will return your serve not to far from the middle of the baseline. Simply take his ball and hit it to the open court with power 'A' or powered tight top spin 'B' (and pulling down and to the side on the left analog stick). - Sometimes, Andy may mix it up and hit his service return down the line. In this case, use 'RB' to run over to the ball and then whack it cross court for a winner. Andy doesn't move very well from corner to corner as described previously. Rafael Nadal: - When serving from the deuce court, stand at the default serving location. - Use an advanced serve out wide to Rafa's backhand. You may also slice the ball using just 'B' in addition to moving the left analog stick a bit for direction to force him even wider. He'll get the ball back to you but around mid court. Have your 'A' button held and hit a powerful flat ball to the open court for a clean winner. -When serving from the ad-court side, slide closer to the center line to hit your serves, and hit down the line to his backhand. His return on that side isn't as strong as his forehand. - Make sure you use only advanced serves which should clock at 120mph or higher. - If you get caught in a rally with Rafa, use both control and powered top spin shots - - mixing them up so that they land short or deep into the opposite side of the net and keep Nadal moving from side to side. - Don't always rely on power because if he has you on the run, you may hit an unforced error. - Control can win points here, or set you up to win the point on your next shot. - If you get a high bouncing ball that lands short, switch to power 'A" to put it away. Roger Federer: - Serve wide left from the deuce court. - Serve wide right from the ad court. - Watch for his slice forehand which can screw you up if using powered 'A' while fatigued. - Hit to Roger's backhand as often as possible. - At the beginning of both the second (and third set if necessary), Roger is more likely to serve and volley. When this happens, return his serve down the line with powered 'X'. A "Diesel Return" skill helps a lot with this. Roger will likely get this ball, but he'll have to lunge to get it. For a brief moment, he'll be out of position to where you can take his ball and hit it to the open court for a winner. A tight top spin shot might be necessary to execute to the successful pass. - Use top spin a lot to keep him running from side to side, and powered 'A' to put the ball away. - When Federer has you on the run, don't pre-charge the 'A' button, or any button for that matter. Control shots in this particular situation can reduce your likelihood of experiencing an unforced error.
Additional Notes	- You will now be ranked #1 overall! - At this time, I was using Matthew Grody as my coach. He does a good job of boosting all of the relatively weak attributes my custom character has, and makes him a quality all-court player with no glaring weaknesses, though no particular weapon either. He's just a solid player for offline play.

February (3): Status: Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 10 hours, 40 minutes. Objectives: Win 2 Grand Slams (1/2), Have 300,000 fans Goal: Play Dream Matches
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
February Pt. 1	Check Mail	You'll get an email mentioning that a Dream Match between you an Jim Courier has been set up as a Special Event. Unfortunately, you can't play the match until you win a second Grand Slam.
February Pt. 1	Special Event Mixed Continential Challenge	Here you will likely play Serena Williams in Toronto for 700XP and up to 7,200 fans. The match will consist of one set of three games. I was able to acquire 6,264 fans from winning this event.	Pro Tactics: Serena Williams: - Serve out wide and she'll aim her return down the line. Look for this and get into position quickly to reach her return. You should be able to hit her return cross court for a clear winner.
February Pt. 2	Tournament All Stars Tournament	This tournament features five rounds and consists of one set of three games. Your opponents are likely to be five of the following players: Davydenko, Nadal, Roddick, Murray, Simon, Djokovic, Federer.	Pro Insight: The first three matches of this event will be very easy. However the difficulty will ramp up for the semifinals and considerably for the finals. Take advantage of the chip and charge "cheat" outlined in the Cheats section of this guide for the first two or three rounds. Then be ready to battle in the semi's and final. Pro Tactics: Rafael Nadal: If you play Rafa in the first two rounds, you may notice that he's changed his play style a bit since previous meetings. Here, he's opting to hit down the line more often. Look for this shot and hit it cross-court with top spin for easy winners. Roger Federer (if you play him in the final): - If you play Roger in the final, look for him to serve down the line from the ad-court. - When you serve from the deuce court, stand at the default starting position and serve out wide to his forehand. He will likely return your serve around the middle of the court which you should take and hit for a winner to the open side. - When serving from the ad-court, move all the way to the right until you can go no farther and serve down the center line. Use deep top spin shot shots to the open court off of whatever Roger returns to you. This will make Federer run to the corner of the court to get your ball, and leaving most of the court open for you to hit a winner off of.
Additional Notes	Pro Insight: At the end of this month, you may want to stay with your current coach, or try another before the next big tournament.

March (3): Status: Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 11 hours, 40 minutes. Objectives: Win 2 Grand Slams (1/2), Have 300,000 fans Goal: Play Dream Matches
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
March Pt. 1	Special Event Exhibition for Gender Equality	You will likely play Ana Ivonovic which should be a blowout win for you. 600 XP and up to 8,000 new fans are the payoff for winning this match.
March Pt. 2	Tournament BNP Paribas Open or Rome Open	You have a choice here: 1) Play the BNP Paribas Open and defend your points to stay ranked at #1. or 2) Play the Rome event. Even if you win here, your ranking will slip to #2 or #3. Your opponent's should all be easy walkovers regardless of which event you choose. Two scrubs will be your opponents in rounds 1 and 2, and then two real pro players for the semifinal and final.
Additional Notes	- The Advantage Pack 2 should become available for winning the Rome Masters event this month.

April (3): Status: Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 12 hours, 10 minutes Objectives: Win 2 Grand Slams (1/2), Have 300,000 fans Goal: Play Dream Matches
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
April Pt. 1	Special Event Top Spin League's Birthday Exhibition Match	You will receive an email announcing that it's the Top Spin League's birthday and you are invited to the celebration. The exhibition match will likely be against Wawrinka using the percentage tennis scoring format. 420 XP and up to 5,200 fans are at take here. This match should be easy for you.
April Pt. 2	Tournament Sony Ericsson Open or Monte Carlo Open	Like last month, you can choose to defend your points by selecting the tournament you won last year (assuming you won) or try the other. Your opponents are likely to vary, but the Monte Carlo event may have Nadal in the final. Regardless, either event should be easy for you.
Additional Notes	-

May (3): Status: Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 12 hours, 35 minutes. Objectives: Win 2 Grand Slams (1/2), Have 300,000 fans Goal: Play Dream Matches
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
May Pt. 1	Special Event Exhibition to Innaugerate the Attican Stadium	280 XP, up to 3,500 new fans, and the opportunity to unlock this venue makes this a Special Event worth selecting. Matchplay consists of doubles, where you and Roger Federer play against (most likely) Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. The first to 11 points wins. I received 3,115 fans from winning this event.	Pro Tactics: Novak Djokovic: - Use power 'A' passing shots down the line when Novak is at the net. Often times, he'll just stand still and let it go by.
May Pt. 2	Tournament Madrid Masters	It's a no-brainer. Play in the Madrid Masters and get ready for the French Open next month. This will be another easy tournament win for you. My opponents looked like this: - Simon - Wawrinka - Nadal - Roddick Players are still serving in the 70-80mph range.
Additional Notes	Pro Insight: If you need to adjust your coaching, now is it the time to do it. Make sure you are using a coach that you already met 4/4 goals with as you head into the French Open. If you are in the middle of meeting goals with a current coach, the first two rounds of the upcoming French should help you meet any remaining objectives, but make sure that you have them all met by the time the semifinals begin!

June (3): Status: Star, Elapsed Time: +/- 13 hours, 5 minutes. Objectives: Win 2 Grand Slams (1/2), Have 300,000 fans Goal: Play Dream Matches
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
June Pt. 1	Special Event Exhibition Match Organized by a Millionaire	For sake of completing all of the exhibition matches available in the "Special Event" menu, I chose this venue. Here you will play Rafael Nadal. This was likely meant to be played much earlier in the game because the payout (320 XP) at this stage in the game is not very rewarding, and Nadal is incredibly easy to beat. I won this particular match in under 65 seconds. The game format is "serve and score."
June Pt. 2	Tournament French Open	I went into this match with Toby Allen as my coach, wanting to test out the "Fatality" skill. After all was said and done, with my particular all-court player, I was pleased with that choice since the "Diesel Return of Serve" helped out considerably. As usual, the first three rounds aren't much competition. In the semifinal, the competition ramps not so much in the first set, but rather the second. In my particular semifinal match, it was the first time I had seen a CPU player (in this case Nadal), hit first serves around 99-103 miles per hour. The final match may be like that as well. In my final versus Roddick, I rolled him 3-0 in the first set, and then weird stuff started happening in the second where he'd hit a few winners off of net cords and stuff. Andy also jacked up his serve to the 133mph range as well. My opponents looked like this: - Simon Turner (level 15) - Luis Julio (level 19) - Gilles Simon - Rafael Nadal - Andy Roddick	Pro Tactics: Simon Turner: Simon has no forehand, power, or stamina. In the 1st set, Simon may try to serve and volley. Use the chip and charge cheat to discourage him from trying to attack the net off his serve. When in rallies, use control "B" to pin him to a corner of the court and when he stays put, down the line (to the open court) for a winner. Gilles Simon: If you have a Diesel Return skill, try to perfect your timing with a powered return ('A' button) so that it is "perfect." Doing so will enable you to hit a clean winner down the line almost every time! Rafael Nadal: Force Rafa to his forehand side and off the court using either controlled or powered top spin. Look for him to go down the line and when he does, run to the ball and quickly rip it cross court for a winner. Nadal is very easy to set up for this kind of play. Remember that he is a lefty, so you want him deep and wide to the upper right hand corner of your TV screen. He'll almost always go for the down the line shot when he gets there provided he's playing in the semifinals or earlier here. Andy Roddick: - From the default serving positions on both the ad and deuce courts, serve out wide and deep into the serve box as possible. Take whatever return he gives you and whack it to the open side. Many times, you can get a quick one-two winner off of this tactic. - Andy will likely start hitting some big boomer serves (if he's in the final of your tournament here). It's best to return them with slice and down the line. HOWEVER, make note of the following. 1) If you return the ball short (i.e. overwhelmed by his serve's speed), Andy will run up to the ball and hit it down the line if you've move over to the center of the baseline after you hit your return. If you've done this, use RB to sprint over to cover his shot and rip it cross court with deep top spin for a winner. 2) If you have a successful return sliced deep down the line, Roddick will get to the ball and hit it cross court with a fair amount of power. Quickly run to the left to get the ball and use top spin to get it back to him. This will keep him planted to that upper right hand corner of the court. Quickly get back into position in the event he goes for the open down-the-line shot which you should be able to get, and in return, rip cross-court for a winner using powered 'B.'
Additional Notes	- Winning the French Open will unlock "The Bowl" which is a Las Vegas venue. - You will regain the #1 overall ranking again if you lost it a few months prior by trying other tournaments. - By having won both the Australian and the French Open, you will have unlocked the "Superstar" achievement worth 40g. - You are now eligible for Dream Matches. You should have three to choose from going into July. In my case, I had Courier, Lendl and Chang unlocked.

July (3): Status: Superstar, Elapsed Time: 14 hours Objectives Met: Win 2 Grand Slams (2/2), Have 300,000 fans New Objectives: Win 2 Dream Matches, Become World Leader in Top Spin Rankings, Win an International Competition (Tennis World Finals or Continental Cup), Win the All Stars Tournament and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Goal: Become a Legend
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
July Pt. 1	Special Event Dream Match: Ivan Lendl	I'd recommend playing Lendl first as he's the easiest to defeat.	Check out my tips on being Ivan in the Player Scouting Section under Legends.
July Pt. 2	Tournament Dublin Open	The level of difficulty will increase a bit for this tournament, leaving you with either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal in the final. Both can give you headaches if you don't have the right skill set for your custom player. I had 'Fatality' and 'Diesel Return' for my two skills - - and they proved to be very valuable. My draw looked like this: - Duda Batista - Leandro Estevam (level 17) - Stanislas Wawrinka - Roger Federer - Rafael Nadal	Pro Tactic: Roger Federer: -If you play Roger Federer in the semifinals, don't over commit to cover the open court using 'RB'. Roger will almost always hit behind you if you do. Instead, use just the analog stick to run back and forth along the baseline unless you are actually chasing down a ball that may be out of reach. You will find that at this point in the season, a number of players will begin to "read" your use of the 'RB' modifier button and wrong foot you. - Attack Roger's forehand on your serve. A speed of 118+mph would be most effective in getting neutral returns from him on the forehand side.
Additional Notes	- After winning this event, the Dream Match featuring Boris Becker will become available in the Special Events menu.

August (3): Status: Superstar, Elapsed Time: +/- 14 hours, 50 minutes Objectives: Win 2 Dream Matches (1/2), Become World Leader in Top Spin Rankings (1/1), Win an International Competition (Tennis World Finals or Continental Cup) (0/1), Win the All Stars Tournament and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (2/2). Goal: Become a Legend
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
August Pt. 1	Special Event Dream Match: Jim Courier	I'd recommend playing Jim Courier here. With the advice I posted in this Superguide, you shouldn't lose.	Check out my tips on being Jim in the Player Scouting Section under Legends.
August Pt. 2	Tournament Tennis World Finals	Winning your first round match will earn you the "For the Flag" achievement worth 20G. This tournament features four rounds and the final may introduce you to a ramped up player you haven't had much experience playing against. My opponents looked like this: - Luis Julio (level 19) - Gilles Simon - Roger Federer - Novak Djokovic	Pro Tactics: -If you play Novak in the final, use powered top spin returns ('B') to hit the ball cross court. Whatever his first reaction to your shot is (down the line or back cross court) will be the behavior he exhbits for much of the first set. - If you serve to Djokovic's backhand side from the deuce court, he'll return the ball down the line. - Try getting Novak off the court on his forehand side using tight top spin shots. He'll hit your shot either down the line or more towards the middle of the court -- either of which you should take and put it do the open court for a winner. - You can some times wrong-foot Novak by hitting behind him, especially when he's stuck in one corner and trying to sprint to cover the open court. - Don't use the 'RB' modifier button to anticipate his shot making. Djokovic will almost always wrong-foot you if you do! - You may notice Novak hitting quite a few unforced errors early in the first set. Don't get confident if he does. It doesn't last very long.
Additional Notes	- You will get the achievement, "For the Flag" that's worth 20G for winning the first round match of the Tennis World Finals. - You will get the achievement, "Legend" worth 50G for winning the tournament. - Keep playing to get the "Secret Achievement" which can be obtained by successfully completing all of your "Ultimate Objectives." These can be found on the Main Career Menu.

September (3): Status: Legend, Elapsed Time: +/- 15 hours, 40 minutes Objectives Met: Win 2 Dream Matches (2/2), Become World Leader in Top Spin Rankings (1/1), Win an International Competition (Tennis World Finals or Continental Cup) (1/1), Win the All Stars Tournament and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (2/2). New Objectives: Successfully complete all of your Ultimate Objectives Goal: Become the "Greatest Ever"
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
September Pt. 1	Special Event Dream Match: Boris Becker	Boris Becker was my choice at this point in the game. With the tips I've outlined in this Superguide, you should have equal success in defeating him.	Check out my tips on being Boris in the Player Scouting Section under Legends.
September Pt. 2	Tournament U.S. Open	This will be the last difficult tournament of the season for you. My opponents round by round looked like this: - Ricardo Boronat (level 17) - Leandro Estevam (level 17) - Stanislas Wawrinka - Andy Roddick - Rafael Nadal	Pro Tactics: Andy Roddick: -If you play Andy Roddick in the semifinals, watch out for his serve. This will likely be the first time you face his 132mph heater of a serve. - If you don't have the 'Diesel Return' skill, you may be at a disadvantage in returning efficiently. Having that skill enables you to hit cross-court top spin returns from the ad-side that increases the chances of him hitting the ball right back to you. - Serve to Andy's backhand from the deuce side. - Serve to Andy's forehand from the ad-side. Rafael Nadal: - If you play Rafa in the final, serve to his backhand. - Return down the line with powered 'A'. For more tactics, check out the Player Scouting Section under Pros.
Additional Notes	-

October (3): Status: Legend, Elapsed Time: +/- 16 hours. 25 minutes Objectives: Successfully complete all of your Ultimate Objectives Goal: Become the Greatest Ever
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
October Pt. 1	Check Mail	You are now able to play Patrick Rafter.
October Pt. 1	Sparring Match	Seeing that my Ultimate Objectives show me as having two more sparring matches left to play (to meet the minimum requirement), I decided here to get one of them out of the way. I chose a "random" opponent here and was paired up against Dean Glover. The XP challenge was to hit a winning lob. Dean is a serve and volleyer which makes this task a bit easier than playing a standard baseliner, though it may take some coaxing (i.e. short slices or drop shots) to get him to the net when YOU are serving.	Pro Tactics: Dean Glover: - Dean is a serve and volley player who is fairly aggressive at level 19 (for a scrub player), but can easily be beaten. - Use powered 'A' to return Dean's serve down the line on both sides of the court. This will either turn into a winning shot, or he'll make a stab-volley that will land somewhere just beyond the service line and in the middle of the court. - Use controlled top spin shots (B) to pass him when he's at the net. Aim your shot to one side. If he lunges and gets it, his momentum will leave the entire other side open for you to execute a winning passing shot. Keep with the controlled "B" option to pass him.
October Pt. 2	Tournament Toronto	This Masters Tournament will be a walkover for you and not take up too much of your time. At this point in the season, events like this should feel like an annoyance since the competition is pathetic. Top players that can give you headaches in Grand Slams are easily defeated in Masters events. Your opponent roster may look like this: - Karl Huber (level 17) - Bernard Tomic - Andy Murray - Novak Djokovic
Additional Notes	- Winning the Toronto event will unlock Qualies Pack #3

November (3): Status: Legend, Elapsed Time: +/- 17 hours, 5 minutes Objectives: Successfully complete all of your Ultimate Objectives Goal: Become the Greatest Ever
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
November Pt. 1	Check Mail	You should have received an email stating that Bjorn Borg is available to play in a Dream Match.
November Pt. 1	Special Event or Spar Dream Match: Patrick Rafter	In order to meet your player's Ultimate Objectives to unlock the "Secret Achievement," you'll need to meet certain requirements involving the Special Events and the Sparring matches. If you haven't played eight sparring matches by this point in your career, you may want to consider getting that out of the way now or in the near future.	Check out my tips on being Patrick in the Player Scouting Section under Legends.
November Pt. 2	Tournament BNP Paribas Masters	This is the best tournament of the month and is held in Paris. The competition isn't all that great except for the finals, and your opponent will only be at 3/4 strength compared to what you may experience in a Grand Slam final. Your opponents may look like this: - Sebastian Frank (level 18) - Karl Huber (level 17) - Stanislas Wawrinka - Novak Djokovic
Additional Notes

December (3): Status: Legend, Elapsed Time: +/-17 hours, 50 minutes Objectives: Successfully complete all of your Ultimate Objectives Goal: Become the Greatest Ever
Date	Action	Comments	Pro Tips & Tactics
December Pt. 1	Special Event or Spar Dream Match: Bjorn Borg	Like last month, you can choose to either spar against an opponent to address the Ultimate Objectives requirement, or play another Dream Match (which is also an Ulimate Objective item). If you choose the latter, Borg is the easiest to play of the available Dream Matches.	Check out my tips on being Bjorn in the Player Scouting Section under Legends.
December Pt. 2	Tournament ATP World Tour Finals	This is the last tournament of the year and will be challenging once the semi finals begin. The lineup of my opponents looked like this: - Roger Federer - Andy Roddick - Stanislas Wawrinka - Novak Djokovic - Rafael Nadal
Additional Notes	- My season recap looked like this: 14,500 ranking points, 872,238 fans and no series titles such as clay, carpet, or hard. As a matter of fact, I wasn't even close to winning any of those. - Finished #1 in the rankings (by a very wide margin), and still undefeated. - You will have received an invitation to play Andre Agassi to start Season 4.

SEASON 4 (Summary)

- Season 4 feels repetitive, and annoyingly so with exception to the remaining Dream Matches. Pete Sampras will be the final Dream Match unlocked.

- The majority of your "Ultimate Objectives" will involve completing the remaining Special Events (Dream Matches, Sponsor Challenges, Exhibitions, etc.).

- The fourth and final clothing packs from manufacturers such as Qualies, Advantage and Alleyway are obtained through their respective sponsor matches in the "Special Events" option.

- To unlock any remaining sponsor challenges, be sure to play in the tournaments sponsored by that particular company (even if they are only "minor events").

- Stay focused on what career objectives are needed to be accomplished so that you can unlock The Greatest achievement (50G) without wasting any time.

- One of the requirements to unlocking The Greatest achievement is to win eight Grand Slams. Assuming you won all four in Season 3, you should look to duplicate the same goal in Season 4.

- You will also need to maintain the #1 tour ranking for 12 consecutive months.

- To make Season 4 as interesting as possible, you may want to try unlocking the skills of coaches you haven't used yet, but only do so when you are not going to be involved in a Grand Slam event. Always defer back to your favorite coach when entering one of the four majors! You may also want to bump up the difficulty level as well. Hard is a solid choice, Very Hard is even better if you have a capable custom player. Just note that if you go with "Very Hard," the CPU does display some very 'suspect' gameplay at critical moments in the game. Check out my descriptions of the difficulty levels.

- Some of the pro players you typically played during Season 4 may change up a bit. If you are having some trouble defeating any of them, refer to the Player Scouting Reports for help.

D - Player Scouting Reports
*Please note that the following scouting reports mostly apply to the patterns and behaviors these players exhibit during the third season, particularly during the Grand Slams when they are at their most difficult to beat*
** Many of the "scrub players" are detailed throughout the career outline found above, and not below in the following charts.

"Scrubs"

Arsenio Formoso:	- Try and get him to one side of the court by hitting cross court. He'll likely hit his reply in your vicinity. Hit one more shot to where he's standing at the corner of the court to "plant" him there. Take his next shot and go down the line. So, it should go like this: cross court, cross court, down the line. This works almost every time, particularly when you have Formoso at the upper left side of the court (ad-court). - Also, serving to his forehand side many times results in weak floating returns that you can put away easily.
Dean Glover	- Dean is a serve and volley player who is fairly aggressive at level 19 (for a scrub player), but can easily be beaten. - Use powered 'A' to return Dean's serve down the line on both sides of the court. This will either turn into a winning shot, or he'll make a stab-volley that will land somewhere just beyond the service line and in the middle of the court. - Use controlled top spin shots (B) to pass him when he's at the net. Aim your shot to one side. If he lunges and gets it, his momentum will leave the entire other side open for you to execute a winning passing shot. Keep with the controlled "B" option to pass him.
Simon Turner	- Simon has no forehand, power, or stamina. In the 1st set, Simon may try to serve and volley. Use the chip and charge cheat to discourage him from trying to attack the net off his serve. When in rallies, use control "B" to pin him to a corner of the court and when he stays put, down the line (to the open court) for a winner.
*Any Serve & Volleyer*	- In Seasons 1 and 2 (and sometimes 3) where your fictional opponents hit their serves in the 80-90mph range, use the trick I've listed in the Offline Strategies section of this Superguide. - When you hit your return down the line, always expect them to get the ball back to you with a lunging volley. Be prepared, and pass them by tapping the 'B' button to hit a finesse/controlled top spin shot to the open court. This is almost guaranteed to work every time. You can view an example of this below in my description of Patrick Rafter's gameplay.

"Pros"

James Blake	James is a relatively weak player and does not appear beyond the quarterfinal round of any Grand Slam through Season 4. You should have no difficulty defeating him. James' primary weaknesses are his volleys and reach swings.
Nikolai Davydenko	Nikolai is a fairly weak player as well and does not appear in many events through Season 4. He should pose no real challenge to you if you two meet in any tournament (most likely to be a Masters event if anything).
Novak Djokovic	World Tennis Finals (final): -If you play Novak in the finals, use powered top spin returns ('B') to hit the ball cross court. Whatever his first reaction to your shot is (down the line or back cross court) will be the behavior he exhbits for much of the first set. - If you serve to Djokovic's backhand side from the deuce court, he'll return the ball down the line. - Try getting Novak off the court on his forehand side using tight top spin shots. He'll hit your shot either down the line or more towards the middle of the court -- either of which you should take and put it do the open court for a winner. - You can some times wrong-foot Novak by hitting behind him, especially when he's stuck in one corner and trying to sprint to cover the open court. - Don't use the 'RB' modifier button to anticipate his shot making. Djokovic will almost always wrong-foot you if you do! - You may notice Novak hitting quite a few unforced errors early in the first set. Don't get confident if he does. It doesn't last very long. - Hard Difficulty: One thing Novak will do from time to time is blister your serve right back to you. When serving from the deuce side, he'll typically return the serve between the left sideline and the center baseline hashmark. The return will come back fast and hard but if your timing and position is perfect, you can rip that ball to the right sideline for a clean winner. Again, precision is key. If you hit a "good" or "early" shot, it will likely be a floater right back to him that he can put away for a winner. The same goes for when he slams his return of your serve cross court. If your timing is perfect (and with adequate groundstroke ratings), you can hit that ball up the line for a winner. It's almost like a 1-2-3 punch: your serve, his return, your winner. Timing is everything when he does this.
Roger Federer	- If you play Roger in the final, look for him to serve down the line from the ad-court. - When you serve from the deuce court, stand at the default starting position and serve out wide to his forehand. He will likely return your serve around the middle of the court which you should take and hit for a winner to the open side. - When serving from the ad-court, move all the way to the right until you can go no farther and serve down the center line. If you have a good service rating such as 80 or better, you will find that you can ace him most of the time. This also works on Hard+ difficulties as well. Click HERE to See Video - Use deep top spin shot shots to the open court off of whatever Roger returns to you. This will make Federer run to the corner of the court to get your ball, and leaving most of the court open for you to hit a winner off of. - If you have a good service rating, serve down the line from the ad-court (make sure to be as far right as possible when serving). Your propensity to get easy points from aces will increase dramatically! Australian Open (final): - Serve wide left from the deuce court. - Serve wide right from the ad court. - Watch for his slice forehand which can screw you up if using powered 'A' while fatigued. - Hit to Roger's backhand as often as possible. - At the beginning of both the second (and third set if necessary), Roger is more likely to serve and volley. When this happens, return his serve down the line with powered 'X'. A "Diesel Return" skill helps a lot with this. Roger will likely get this ball, but he'll have to lunge to get it. For a brief moment, he'll be out of position to where you can take his ball and hit it to the open court for a winner. A tight top spin shot might be necessary to execute to the successful pass. - Use top spin a lot to keep him running from side to side, and powered 'A' to put the ball away. - When Federer has you on the run, don't pre-charge the 'A' button, or any button for that matter. Control shots in this particular situation can reduce your likelihood of experiencing an unforced error. Dublin Open (semifinal): - If you play Roger Federer in the semifinals, don't over commit to cover the open court using 'RB'. Roger will almost always hit behind you if you do. Instead, use just the analog stick to run back and forth along the baseline unless you are actually chasing down a ball that may be out of reach. You will find that at this point in the season, a number of players will begin to "read" your use of the 'RB' modifier button and wrong foot you. - Attack Roger's forehand on your serve. A speed of 118+mph would be most effective in getting neutral returns from him on the forehand side.
Rafael Nadal	Australian Open (semifinal): - When serving from the deuce court, stand at the default serving location. - Use an advanced serve out wide to Rafa's backhand. You may also slice the ball using just 'B' in addition to moving the left analog stick a bit for direction to force him even wider. He'll get the ball back to you but around mid court. Have your 'A' button held and hit a powerful flat ball to the open court for a clean winner. -When serving from the ad-court side, slide closer to the center line to hit your serves, and hit down the line to his backhand. His return on that side isn't as strong as his forehand. - Make sure you use only advanced serves which should clock at 120mph or higher. - If you get caught in a rally with Rafa, use both control and powered top spin shots - - mixing them up so that they land short or deep into the opposite side of the net and keep Nadal moving from side to side. - Don't always rely on power because if he has you on the run, you may hit an unforced error. - Control can win points here, or set you up to win the point on your next shot. - If you get a high bouncing ball that lands short, switch to power 'A" to put it away. French Open (semifinal)/All Star Tournament: Force Rafa to his forehand side and off the court using either controlled or powered top spin. Look for him to go down the line and when he does, run to the ball and quickly rip it cross court for a winner. Nadal is very easy to set up for this kind of play. Remember that he is a lefty, so you want him deep and wide to the upper right hand corner of your TV screen. He'll almost always go for the down the line shot when he gets there provided he's playing in the semifinals or earlier here. U.S. Open (final): - If you play Rafa in the final, serve to his backhand. - Return down the line with powered 'A'.
Andy Roddick	From the default serving positions on both the ad and deuce courts, serve out wide and deep into the serve box as possible. Take whatever return he gives you and whack it to the open side. Many times, you can get a quick one-two winner off of this tactic. French Open (final): Andy will likely start hitting some big 'boomer' serves (if he's in the final of your tournament here). It's best to return them with slice and down the line. HOWEVER, make note of the following. 1) If you return the ball short (i.e. overwhelmed by his serve's speed), Andy will run up to the ball and hit it down the line if you've move over to the center of the baseline after you hit your return. If you've done this, use RB to sprint over to cover his shot and rip it cross court with deep top spin for a winner. 2) If you have a successful return sliced deep down the line, Roddick will get to the ball and hit it cross court with a fair amount of power. Quickly run to the left to get the ball and use top spin to get it back to him. This will keep him planted to that upper right hand corner of the court. Quickly get back into position in the event he goes for the open down-the-line shot which you should be able to get, and in return, rip cross-court for a winner using powered 'B.' U.S. Open (final): -If you play Andy Roddick in the semifinals, watch out for his serve. This will likely be the first time you face his 132mph heater of a serve. - If you don't have the 'Diesel Return' skill, you may be at a disadvantage in returning efficiently. Having that skill enables you to hit cross-court top spin returns from the ad-side that increases the chances of him hitting the ball right back to you. - Serve to Andy's backhand from the deuce side. - Serve to Andy's forehand from the ad-side.
Gilles Simon	He's a likely quarterfinalist in several Grand Slam tournaments. If you have a Diesel Return skill, try to perfect your timing with a powered return ('A' button) so that it is "perfect." Doing so will enable you to hit a clean winner down the line almost every time!
Bernard Tomic	- Both his serve and his service return are weak. - When Tomic is about to serve, move your player as far up to the service line as possible (to where the game limits you). Power up your 'X' button and slice your return down the line and charge the net using the "RB" button (pressing and holding it as you are slicing the ball). Your initial shot may be a winner but if not, you should be in good position to hit a volley winner off his attempt at passing you.

"Legends" (Dream Matches)

Andre Agassi	- Having a good degree of stamina will be of considerable help to you when playing Andre. As he did in real life during his career, TS4's Andre Agassi will be moving you back and forth throughout the match, attempting to wear you down. - In the first set, when serving from the deuce side, serve to Andre's forehand. He will typically return your ball down the line. Be prepared for this and get into position to take your next shot cross court. If you can get your serve up to 120mph or better, his return will likely be easy to get to using the "RB" modifier button. There are times where he'll just crack it for a clean winner and there is nothing you can do about it, but those instances are few and far between. - In the first set, return his serve with cross court top spin (powered 'X'). He'll likely take your return and hit it down the line. Be prepared, and get into position quickly to cut it off and hit it cross court as hard as your player can. This will put you on the offensive very quickly. This tactic doesn't always work in the second set because he mixes up his return of serve, making him a bit less predictable. - Agassi will hit a very high percentage of his baseline shots to the open court (i.e. not wrong-footing you by hitting behind your momentum). So, if you hit a ball from the left side of the court, he'll hit his next shot to the open right side. If you get that ball and hit it over the net, he'll aim for the left side of the court. This pattern will continue on and on until either you hit a winning shot, or, one of you tires out and makes an unforced error. - You need to do what Andre does: hit to the open court and try to tire him out first. He has relatively high stamina in the first set, though it will noticeably diminish during the latter stages of the second set. If you got the distance in and find yourself in a third-set tie-break, extended points will take their toll on Andre where a rally of 12 strokes or more will have his stamina meter in the red and empty shortly thereafter.
Boris Becker	- Use powered 'A' or 'X' to return his serve down the line. - 90% of the time, Boris will return your serve cross court. - Use controlled shots for passing shots. - Serve to his forehand side in the first set and first service game of the second set. This will increase the likelihood of him hitting neutral returns that are easy to hit back with offensive shots. - In the second service game of the second set, he'll start mixing up his return of serves to both down the line or cross court.
Bjorn Borg	1st Set: - Serve to Borg's backhand. Be sure to stand near the center line when doing so. He will return either down the line or right back to you. - When returning serve from the deuce side, hit your return cross court with powered top spin ('Diesel Return' helps!). In many cases, Bjorn in return will hit the ball right back to you (cross court). 2nd Set: - Serve to Bjorn's forehand side. He will float returns back to your side of the net, and not very deep. You should be able to power-up a shot ('A' or 'B') and nail it for a winner. Note: If your return from the deuce side is either short or not very effective when going cross court, Bjorn will hit that ball down the line with some pace. It seems that TS4 Bjorn Born likes to take short balls down the line.
Michael Chang	- Michael's forehand is a mix of flat and slice groundstrokes, though he hits a high percentage of the slice variety. This makes it difficult to get a good clean return. When he does this, you'll need to quickly move inside the baseline to hit his slice while it's at the highest point of the bounce (rather than letting it drop again). This will enable you to hit it back with a little more power. - When Chang gets a backhand shot from the upper right side of the screen, he'll likely make his shot cross-court. - Beware of his serve. He'll sometimes add wicked slice to it. - Michael's biggest asset is his speed. Use top spin to pull him off the court and get into position to reach his next ball. Use a flat "A" power shot to the open court to put the ball away. If you are finding it difficult to execute this one-two punch, then try using tight top spin to pull Chang off the court, and then rush the net. Intercept his running shot with a volley to the open court for a winner (if you have at least the minimum requirements for a semi-effective volley shot). - If you are good at executing drop shots, try to get Michael on the run and then hit a drop shot that pulls him into the net. You can then try to pass him with top spin or go for the lob. If you attempt the lob, run in behind it and attack the net in case he runs down the ball and floats it back to you. - If you are fairly precise with your serves, you can get a few "free" aces when serving down the line.
Jim Courier	- When serving to the deuce side, anything to Courier's backhand will be hit down the line, and in most cases, challenging to get back. Serve to his forehand from the deuce side. - When Jim serves from the deuce serve, the serve usually goes wide to the forehand side. Use powered top spin to hit cross court and try to get him to hit your shot down the line so that you can chase it down and then rip it cross court for a winner. The "Diesel Return" skill helps considerably when trying to pull off this tactic.
Ivan Lendl	- Ivan typically hits short balls down the line with his forehand. - Typically hits cross court with his backhand - When returning serve from the ad-side, hit to Lendl's backhand. He'll then hit your shot down the line. Expect this move and position yourself accordingly. You should be able to take his shot and rip it cross court for a winner. Hard Difficulty: - When you serve to Ivan's forehand from the deuce side, he'll more than likely try to return the ball reasonably fast down the line or somewhat towards you (to your backhand side if you are a righty). Be prepared for this and with good timing, you should be able to hit a cross court winner or at least set yourself up for the next shot being a winner. - Serve towards Ivan's backhand side, particularly when serving from the Ad-Court. More often than not, he'll just block your serve back which you should be able to step up and hit a forehand (assuming you are a righty) cross-court for a winner. VIDEO: Here is a short clip to show the tendencies I mentioned above when serving to Lendl's backhand from the ad-court and forehand from the deuce court. His responses aren't always the same, but from my experience, greater than 70% of the time. Lendl Video
Patrick Rafter	- When serving from the ad-side, serve to his forehand. He will make his return right back to you in most cases. - When serving from the deuce side, serve to his forehand. This will most likely prompt him to return your serve down the line. This is the shot you want. Be prepared, and hit a winning powered-up cross court shot (or at least set yourself up for your next shot to be the winner). - Return Patrick's serve with powered top spin "B." Your goal is to pull him wide to one side so that you can take his next shot and rip it cross court for a winner. - Pass Rafter with controlled top spin shots (tapping 'B'). - Rafter has one of the best volleys in the game of tennis, and in TS4, 90% of his first volleys (when in good position) are hit powerfully cross court. VIDEO: Here is a short clip illustrating how effective the top spin return is against serve and volley players. The shot can either be an outright winner, or, create a more difficult volley for your opponent to hit which gives you the opportunity for the pass on your next shot. Three variables which can make passing shots much easier are 1) high reflex scores, 2) high forehand/backhand scores, and 3) a "diesel return of serve" skill. Of course, good timing on the return helps considerably too (unlike what is shown in this video - - haha). Rafter Video
Pete Sampras	- Always return Pete's serve down the line in case he serves and volleys. Having the "Diesel Return of Serve" skill helps quite a bit. Both control and power returns work, but if you need to play it a little closer to the line, then opt for controlled returns. - Serve to Pete's backhand from the deuce side. Doing this will make Pete either return it down the line or right back to you almost every time. Be on the lookout for this and get into position quickly. - Always use controlled slice or top spin to pass Pete when he as it the net. Controlled top spin sometimes gets Sampras to lunge, where a second is needed for him to recover for your next shot. That second is all you need to make the successful pass! - When engaged in a rally, use tight top spin to pull him off the court and look for his next shot. Take that ball and hit it to the open court for a winner. One of Pete's weaknesses in Top Spin 4 is his lateral running speed. - Hitting top spin shots to Pete's forehand side sometimes causes him to hit floating balls - some of which land short. Take those short balls and pummel them with power "A." - As with all players who hit slice, move inside the baseline and try to hit his slice at the highest point of the bounce. This will give you a bit of a cleaner hit on the ball.

E - Offline Strategies
- Assigning XP
- Hitting Approach Shots
- Returning Serves
- Baseline Exchanges
- Chasing Down Lobs
- The Perfect Cheat

Assigning XP
When I break open a new Top Spin game, the first thing I do is create an all-around player. This allows me to get a good feeling of the game with regard to which attributes should be later enhanced (through subsequent character creations) and which ones aren't that much of a factor. You may or may not agree with this line of thinking, but for me, it gives me a better idea of what exactly I want to try with my second or third custom player after working through the game with my first.

Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind when you are playing through the game for the first time:

Try not to have any attributes with less than 50 points. For my first custom player, I didn't have anything less than 60.
Take note of the point offerings that each play-style offers. Early on, there are huge discrepancies. For intance, Offensive baseliner offers +4 power but no speed. Conversely, Defensive baseliner has high groundstroke point values and speed but no power. When you get to level 15, the difference between offensive and defensive baseliner play styles only differ by a few points going to different attributes, so toggle between them back and forth to see what you will be increasing, and which items you will be short changing yourself with.
Keep in mind that at the conclusion of levels 4, 9, 14, & 19 you will have the opportunity for a 5 point boost to either your forehand or backhand attributes. Plan accordingly with this knowledge.
Stamina is more important in offline gameplay than it is online gameplay. Stamina of 70 or higher is best suited for the Hard difficulty level, 75-80 for Very Hard.
High power levels are more important in online gameplay than it is in offline gameplay (power of around 70 is sufficient for either the Normal or Hard difficulty levels). A rating of 75 or higher for power is best suited for "Very Hard."
Your serve should consistently be above 115mph when using the advanced serving technique. Preferably, it should be in the mid 120s. To get the maximum speed from your serve, use the advance serving technique (right analog stick) and aim to the outside corner of the service box by pressing up and in the appropriate direction with your left analog stick. Be sure to hit flat to achieve the fastest speed possible.

Hitting Approach Shots

Approach shots should never be hit from a deep ball that lands around your baseline.
They should be taken off of short balls or when your opponent is placed well behind the baseline and far to one side of the court (e.g. 5+ feet behind the upper right or left hand corner of the baseline).
Top spin should never be used as an approach shot in Top Spin 4. Instead, a very deep slice to the corner or a powerful flat shot should be used.
For short balls, your approach can be from any angle towards the net.
Never hit an approach shot off a short ball up the middle of the court. By doing so, you will be giving your opponent too many options to pass you: right, left, and over the top.
For slightly deeper balls, your approach should be at an angle towards the net. This enables you to cut off a down the line shot, or intercept an attempt at a cross court shot. (See Figure 1)
Poison slice is an excellent skill to have for effective approach shots. Keep them low to make it even more difficult for your opponent.

Figure 1. My approach shot is made to the upper
left hand corner of the screen which forces my
opponent to chase it down. I keep an eye on the ball
and quickly determine whether or not my opponent will
be early or late. If he's late, he'll have no real choice
but to go down the line or risk a lob attempt. If he's
early, his most effective shot would be a cross-court
passing attempt. Either way, I have both options
covered (but not the lob) by stepping in just left of the
center service marker. Click the image above to enlarge.

Returning Serve

The "Diesel Return of Serve" is the most effective skill to have with regard to returning serves. Coupled with a high point value in your reflex attribute, your returns can be a nuisance to your opponent. Couple those two with a fairly high power or groundstroke rating, and you are dangerous.
If you find yourself overwhelmed by a powerful serve, such as with Andy Roddick on the Very Hard difficulty (Career Mode), slice your return deep cross court or deep to the middle of the baseline. This provides more flight time on the ball which allows you precious moments to get into a defensive position to receive the next ball.
Generally in offline play, the more effective returns are the ones placed down the line with precision.
Refer to my Scouting Report on pro players for Career Mode if you are looking for the best return tactics against specific pro players.

Baseline Exchanges

Baseline exchanges should typically consist of powerful shots unless you are on the run and low on stamina, to which a controlled shot would offer the highest percentage for success.
Always hit a ball at the highest point of the bounce. Failing to do so robs you of both power and control. If your opponent slices the ball to you, you may need to step inside the baseline to hit it at its highest point.
Top spin is best used for positioning your opponent, not hitting winners (except in the case of passing shots). Flat shots are best for hitting winners from the baseline. The exception is if your opponent hits down the line and you are in good position to rip a tight top spin cross-court shot.
If your opponent has you on the run making it impossible to hit a winning shot, hit a deep cross-court slice that will allow you time to recover and get into better defensive position.
Be careful when using the RB button to chase down a shot. Unless you have high reflexes and groundstroke scores, the difficulty factor in executing a close line shot increases exponentially. This is particularly true if you have low stamina from being run around.
Top spin is the most likely to be an unforced error, followed by the flat shot. Slice is always the safest shot to hit when you are low on stamina.
I always look for my opponent to hit a shot down the line that I can quickly get to and rip a hard flat shot cross court, or a very tight top spin cross-court winner.
For the most part, CPU players aim for the open court on the Normal difficulty level. The only exception would be during the semi-final and final rounds of the Grand Slam tournaments.
On Hard, CPU players will sometimes trying to wrong-foot you. On Very Hard, CPU players react to your button presses, NOT the ball and NOT your position on the court.

Chasing Down Lobs

If you are at the net and your opponent lobs the ball, IMMEDIATELY press the RB button and pull back on your analog stick. If timed right (and assuming you don't have a pathetic speed rating), you should be able to chase down most lobs. Depending on your positioning to the ball, you will either pass the ball a bit to where your character takes a whack at it from the side, or, you can hit the ball between your legs.
Don't give up on any lob! Always try to chase them down.
Conversely, if you lob your opponent, immediately rush to the net and be prepared to volley (or drop volley) any ball that they hit back.

The Approach Cheat

If you are like me, after a while, playing the CPU becomes increasingly boring during career mode. Particularly during the second and third seasons when you are required to play no-name players in less prestigious tournaments, or in the earlier rounds of Masters and Grand Slam tournaments. To speed up some of those excruciatingly dull matches, I came up with this tactic that ends points quickly. It also helps expedite some of the coach's challenges you may come across too (such as hitting winners, points at the net, etc.). Most of your shots will be outright winners off the return while a small percentage will require a follow-up volley.

You should have at least a 67 rating on the side you are slicing from, and you have at least a 70 rating in speed. My volley skill is rated 65 in the video shown below. Additional skill sets may make this easier for you.
This works almost flawlessly on serves 89 mph and less. For serves in the 90-94 mph range, more precise timing is required (and better reflexes). Serves 95-99 mph make it very difficult to execute this trick. Anything above 100 mph is not even worth trying.
You can use power slice or control slice, though I choose to use power slice.
Do not try this online!

Click image above to launch short video.

F - Xbox Live Gamer Achievements

Name	Description	Value
Tennis Elbow	You lost an online singles match without winning a game	0G
A Good Start	(Top Spin Academy) You completed all the basic lessons	10G
King of the Court	(King of the Court) You played King of the Court	10G
It's Alive!	You've created a custom player for the first time	10G
Rise of the Ball Machines	You've played 50 balls in a row in the Practice Ground	10G
Rookie	(Career) You are now of rookie status	10G
Sorry	You won a point off a let	10G
Warming Up	(World Tour) You've won your first quick match	10G
White Board	You're now working with a coach	10G
Metronome	You won a rally of 8 strokes or more with only good and perfect timing	15G
New Talent	(Career) You're now a New Talent	15G
Drop Shot Artist	You scored 20 winners on a drop shot	20G
First Step of the Tournament	(World Tour) You've won your first tourament match	20G
For the Flag	(Career) You won a match in International Competition	20G
Inside-Out	You scored 30 winners with an inside-out shot	20G
Love the Games to Love	You won 25 games to love	20G
Tennis for Two	You won a doubles match	20G
Tennis Teacher	You won an online singles match without losing a game	20G
The Undisputed King	(King of the Court) You won a King of the Court game without losing any sessions	20G
Young Gun	(Career) You're now a Young Gun	20G
Completely Developed	You've fully developed your character	25G
Real Tennis Format	You won a singles match in 5 sets / 6 games / No Super Tie-Break	25G
Rising Star	(Career) You're now a Rising Star	25G
Teacher's Pet	(Top Spin Academy) You completed all the lessons of the Top Spin Academy	25G
Volley Master	You scored 150 winners at the net	25G
Dream Match	(Career) you won a Dream Match	30G
Gender Equality	(World Tour) You played 20 matches or more in each version of the WT	30G
Golden Boy	You've unlocked all the skills of a Gold Coach	30G
No Pain, No Gain	(World Tour/Career) You've completed 20 special objectives in Sparring Partner Trainings	30G
Someone Else?	You've beat the 25 licensed players	30G
Star	You're now a Star	30G
Less Than 24 Hours	(World Tour) You played a match less than 24 hours before the end of season when you were in Season top 100	35G
Always Better the First Time	(World Tour) You've won a Grand Slam	40G
Superstar	(Career) You're now a Superstar	40G
You're Not Kidding Anymore	(Word Tour) You've reached a grade of 15	40G
Legend	(Career) You're now a Legend but it's not finished yet...	50G
More Unlocks!	You've unlocked 75% of the game	50G
The Greatest	(Career) *Secret Achievement* You're now the Greatest player in tennis history	50G
True Top Spin Geek	You've played 250 matches	50G

Secret Achievement: To unlock "The Greatest," you have to play through all the stages of Career Mode to complete your list of "Ultimate Objectives."

G - Xbox Live! Play
- Player (Exhibition) Matches
- 2K Tour
- World Tour

Player (Exhibition) Matches

Player Matches are a great place to get started with Top Spin 4 multiplayer over Xbox Live. Here, you can choose to use either a pro-player or your own custom player to compete with, male or female. In most cases, the opponents you will find here are generally less competitive than those found in the ranked Tour lobbies.

Why play here: Great place to get experience; ideal online option to test out custom-created players.
Why not play here: Not ranked; could end up using your custom player against a pro player; competition may not be consistently challenging.

2K Tour

The 2K Tour consists of one-off matches that feature all of the in-game pros. Should you win with a particular pro player such as Novak Djokovic, your win will count towards the total for all gamers who used Novak Djokovic. In the upper right hand corner of your screen during the lobby view, you will be able to see who the most popular players are along with their win/score total. Since the day Top Spin 4 came out, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andre Agassi have dominated the top three spots. This is justifiable considering that they are three of the top four players by total point value (see below):

Why play here: A chance to use pro-vs-pro in a competitive environment; more balance will typically be found here as opposed to the World Tour; help your favorite player stay atop the global leaderboard!
Why not play here: There is no tournament format; little diversity in opponents since almost everyone uses four of the top eight players listed below.

Pro Player Rankings (by adding all attribute scores):
Rafael Nadal: 566
Andre Agassi: 560
Pete Sampras: 560
Roger Federer: 560
Andy Murray: 555
Boris Becker: 555
Nikolay Davydenko: 555
Novak Djokovic: 555
Serena Williams: 555
James Blake: 550
Jelena Jankovic: 550
Carolina Wozniacki: 545
Patrick Rafter: 545
Ana Ivonovic: 540
Andy Roddick: 540
Jim Courier: 540
Michael Chang: 540
Stanislas Wawrinka: 540
Bjorn Borg: 535
Gilles Simon: 535
Vera Zvonareva: 535
Dinara Safina: 525
Eugenie Bouchard: 525
Ivan Lendl: 519
Bernard Tomic: 493

World Tour

The World Tour is where the real competition is at. Here, you play in various tournaments in an effort to win each of the respective championship titles, and only custom-players can be used. Some tournaments only have a few rounds, while the Grand Slams have several. Depending on the traffic for Top Spin 4, you can sometimes have several events completed in an evening while other times you may have to try another day/time to continue with your progress in a given event. Each "season" consists of a specific number of days which is clearly indicated in the World Tour lobby menu. If you lose an event, you will have to wait until the next season to compete again.

Why play here: If you are a veteran of the Top Spin series (or a competitive gamer), there is no reason why you shouldn't be playing the World Tour.
Why not play here: If the imbalance of power players dominating rallies frustrates you and you prefer not to play with one-dimensional player types, then the 2K Tour might be more your speed.

H - Online Strategies
- Play When You Are Ready
- Recognize Strengths & Weaknesses
- Battling the Power Game
- Battling Slice
- Control vs. Power

Be Patient, Play Only When You Are Ready!

Most gamers who buy Top Spin 4 will want to hop online immediately in hopes of winning a few matches with their incomplete character, or, at least test them out. Honestly, it's best to wait because no matter how good you are, if you have an incomplete character and go online with him (or her), you will likely lose. An incomplete player in the hands of a good player will still be at a serious disadvantage when challenging a complete player in the hands of an average (or poor) player.

I cannot urge you enough: wait until your character is at least a Level 18 before you engage in online competition. The competition is fairly tough, and there are already thousands of experienced gamers out there. You will need to have every XP point in place to be competitive - - not to mention having a quality coach too!

If you feel that you must go online to test your player prior to him being complete, or, is he recently completed and you want some online competition, go to the Exhibition Match area (aka Player Match). There, you can compete online against other gamers (typically non-cheesy gamers), in a non-ranked match. Once you feel confident enough in your custom-player's skill levels (and your ability), move on over to the ranked World Tour matches.

Recognize Your Opponent's Strengths and Weaknesses Before the Match:

At the Challenge Screen detailing your opponent's attributes, quickly scan items in red, orange, yellow and gray before the screen disappears.

Red (70+) indicates a weapon, and something that could hurt your custom player. Quickly determine if it's possible to either neutralize or avoid that aspect of your opponent's game. If it's a serve, then step back a bit to return it. If it's power, then you will have to keep him on the run so that he can't set up for a clean swipe at the ball. Try your best to keep your opponent from utilizing his greatest asset(s).

Orange (60-69) can be either an average ability, or an average ability bordering on a strength. Identifying your opponent's strengths and determining what's in your arsenal to combat those advantages is key to winning. If he has an orange-level forehand, focus on hitting to his backhand. If he has orange-level speed, then focus on making guess wrong as to where you will be hitting the next ball. If you have a speed burner on the run, you may want to consider taking advantage of a weak ball and hitting an approach shot. That way, you can cut off his next shot at the net, making it increasingly difficult for him to chase down.

Yellow (50-59) is an average to below average ability that should be easy to overwhelm with orange and red level attributes. I wouldn't become overly concerned with skills that are in yellow (but don't discredit them either!).

Gray (<50) is your opponent's weakness. It is imperative that you know what they are. Is it their stamina? Is it their volleying ability? This is what you need to attack during the course of your game.

Battling the Power Game (1)

You will undoubtedly face many players who continue to favor the power game with high groundstroke attribute values as well as power. I predict that this will be the "model" for the majority of competitors in ranked World Tour matches - since the strength of their shots will easily overwhelm a well-balanced custom-player no matter how good the gamer is controlling him. If your high-power opponent has any weaknesses such as "return of serve," you will have to do your best to exploit it as that may be the only chink in their armor. Here are some additional tips that may help you out:

- The best way to neutralize power is to combat it with slice. Watch any match between Agassi and Rafter (particularly Wimbledon '99-'01) and you will see what I am talking about. Keep your slice deep, but don't be afraid to mix it up by hitting it short too if you find that your opponent is deep behind the baseline. Low, short bouncing slices are very hard to hit effectively from the baseline!

- Gamers who favor the power game often short change themselves in terms of stamina. With Top Spin 3, it didn't matter much, but it Top Spin 4, it does to some degree. If your opponent has a low stamina rating, keep those rallies going! Once a power hitter runs out of fuel, he'll start mis-hitting balls when on the run (reach swings) and unforced errors will begin to creep in on attempted sideline shots. This issue marks a huge improvement for the Top Spin franchise where power hitters are no longer able to dominate as they once did. Again, the trick is to extend those rallies if you can - - otherwise you will be in a bit of trouble if a power hitter can end a point in less than a half-dozen shots.

Battling the Power Game (2)

I would advise that if you are going to make two characters, make one the way that suits your style of play, and one that is a pure power hitter. Playing with a well-diversified player against an opponent of similar nature can be quite a bit of fun, but likely more often than not, you will face gamers who forego stamina and volley points to max out their power, groundstrokes, speed and serves. In order to be competitive, you will have to do something similar. You should at least have one backup character with at least high 70s for ground strokes and mid-80s for power. Your serve should be able to hit at least 124mph to be reasonably effective, and to make it difficult for those with poor reflexes (and no return of service skill). Having the 'Counter Shot' or 'Diesel Hard Hitter' skills can often times neutralize any advantage your opponent has over you in terms of shot strength.
Battling the Slice

Near the tail end of Top Spin 3's popularity (about three or four months before Top Spin 4 was released), I played a game against a top ranked player who tried to adjust his game play in the second set after losing the first. He began to hit slice almost exclusively, and continuously short with hopes that I couldn't do more than shovel it back to him. The best way to counter slice is to hit slice. Another option is to use top spin, but to increase your chances at success, you MUST hit the incoming ball at the height of its bounce. Hitting a sliced ball with power slice is a very high percentage shot and very effective. Hitting a sliced ball with power top spin is a good option to have, though a controlled top spin shot off a short slice might be tricky for some players depending on their attribute scores and skill levels.
Control vs. Power

The majority of gamers rely on power for all of their online matches. The belief has always been that whoever possesses the most powerful groundstrokes will be the victor. That line of thinking wasn't too far from the truth in both Top Spins 2 and 3. However, in Top Spin 4, the dynamics of gameplay have changed drastically. Stamina is a huge factor now, as is the type of results your player can achieve based on his or her attribute levels, skills he or she possesses, and the incoming ball type. For instance, a "poisoned slice" is a difficult ball to hit a winner from, and may actually increase the likelihood of creating an unforced error for a player on the run and looking to hit a power 'A' up the line. If you are a veteran of the top spin series, but looking to improve - - you may want to reprogram your mind to get away from the 'power power power' mentality and look to varying your shot selection to counter what you know is already out there --> power. If you learn early on that your opponent is leaning on the 'A' button looking to blast winners at every opportunity, take that knowledge and use it to YOUR advantage. Here are some examples that may help you:

- If you find that you are being run back and forth, barely getting to balls, you may want to stay with control shots as they offer a much higher percentage of success in landing where you want them to. That's not to say that if you can easily reach a ball on the run and see the sideline completely open, you pass on it. Of course not. Go for the winner! But in certain scenarios, control shots are the wiser choice. Keep in mind though that if your opponent has a much higher degree of power than you do, you better have at least highly rated groundstrokes otherwise your player will likely return weak floating balls that can be hit for winners by your opponent.

- Rely more on control shots when your stamina level is low.

- Effective return of serves can be accomplished with both power OR control. One of my best service returns during an online game came from a controlled 'A' shot that was perfectly timed. My opponent couldn't even react to it before it was by him.

- Tapping the X or B button may take some pace off the ball, but it also provides you some additional time to recover in the event your are on defense. Unlike previous Top Spin games, tapping the face buttons to execute shots is not a guaranteed loss of point (where before in TS2 and TS3, an opponent would crush a non-powered shot). If I am put on the run, I often like to hit a controlled top spin shot deep cross court (left analog stick pressed up and to the far corner I am aiming at). This shot not only puts a lot of air under the ball (allowing for more time to recover), but it forces the other player to get into better position to hit his next shot, and in many cases, makes it somewhat less effective. Of course, there are exceptions depending on your opponent's attributes and skill sets.

- The effectiveness of your controlled shot comes from a few variables: 1) Your timing. This is critical. 2) Your player's forehand or backhand, reflexes, and power scores. 3) The speed and power behind the ball coming your way. The higher your scores in #2, the better the results of your controlled shots.

- Don't forget to vary the depth of your control shots. Deep controlled slice or tight controlled cross court top spin can be VERY effective in maneuvering your opponent to where you want them to be on the court.

H2 - Playing Out Points with Strategy
- Serving
- Returning
- Baseline Rallies
- Attacking the Serve & Volley
- Attacking the Net
- Mix it Up!
- A Few Final Tips

When Serving

Serving is key to your success as it represents who will be in control of the point from the initial starting point.

When serving, I choose one of two methods that are determined by how my opponent plays:

1) Naturally, I serve from the default position when on the deuce side of the court. This allows me a little bit of flexibility in my serve. I can go wide (natural location for a right handed server) or put a few near the center service line to keep my opponent honest. When serving from the ad side, I prefer to stand right at the center baseline marker. Here, I have more options to place the ball based on my custom player's attributes. I can hit the serve wide, right at my opponent (to jam them), or go down the center service line with greater precision than I'd have if I stood at the default standing area.

2) In some cases, I like to stand by the center service line from both the ad and deuce courts. When serving from the center service line, you are decreasing the likelihood of your opponent hitting any sort of return winner. If they hit an effective return down the line, you are already a few steps closer to that side and should be able to react in time to hit it back cross court. If your opponent returns your serve cross court, the ball will have more distance to travel therefore, with decent reaction time, you should be able to reach that ball with little difficulty as well. When serving down the line, you are essentially cutting down any extreme angles your opponent might be trying for. This is important to note because some people like to hit returns with top spin. Tight angles from the center of the baseline are much more difficult to execute effectively when compared to shots hit around the corners of the baseline.

When Returning

You will likely observe that MANY people prefer to serve out wide looking for a weak return that they can hit to the opposite court. I am assuming that this will be a long-term trend for Top Spin 4 as it was for TS3 and TS2.

When attending the Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy back in the early 90s, I was told that the best way to improve my serve is to improve my return of serve. In otherwords, if you can return your opponent's serves more effectively, it takes pressure off of you and your service games. This is very true, and in some degree, applicable to Top Spin gaming too. If you are able to effectively return your opponent's serves, you may rattle him or her causing them to take more risks with low percentage service angles and such. This could lead to poor judgements in ball location (to your advantage) or better yet, double faults (or ultra-conservative second serves). If you know you can break your opponent, then your service games become less stressful to work through.

First and foremost, the timing of your returns are critical. You need to return with perfect timing in order to hit an effective shot. Hitting an effective return with perfect timing down the line using "A" is the best option you have. This will force your opponent to chase after that ball as soon as you hit it. At this moment in the point, it is critical that you do not overcommit to defending the open court. A lot of guys try to wrong-foot their opponent's and have a tendency to hit right where you were standing in anticipation of you covering the open court. If they hit the ball right back to you down the line (from where you returned the serve), you should be able to hit a clean winner to the open court with a well timed power shot.

After hitting a return of serve, do not pass the center mark on the baseline to defend the open court. Always position yourself just inside that line in case you need to retreat back to your original location (i.e. to nullify your opponent's attempt at trying to wrong-foot you). If your opponent hits to the open court, you should be close enough to reach the ball using "RB" to sprint there.

If you find that neither power shots or control shots are getting the job down due to the raw power of your opponent's serve (e.g. Andy Roddick), slice back their serves and do so cross court. This will allow you an extra split second to recover some defensive territory before they hit the ball again. Depending where your opponent is standing, your slice can be either deep or shallow. Hitting it deep results in more flight time, thus giving you more of an opportunity to get repositioned. Hitting it short is ideal when your opponent is standing behind the baseline. A short slice will force them to run up to meet the ball and hopefully cause them to hit a relatively ineffective return shot.

Top spin returns are high risk, high rewards type shots. Top spin returns have an increased likelihood of resulting in errors. That said, if your opponent's serve is relatively weak, it's nice to mix up a cross-court return with top spin every now and then, especially if you were previously just going down the line with "A" and they've come to expect that.

Depending on your player's forehand/backhand abilities and any skills relating to returning the ball, control and power shots may be equally effective, though I tend to favor power shots a little bit more. Granted, they don't have the potential for consistent landings near the sidelines, but they are reasonably effective. A well timed return using control "A" can result in you actually painting the sidelines every now and then which makes it extremely difficult for your opponent to return the ball. If you would like to experiment with control and power returns, set up an offline exhibition match and select Andre Agassi as your player. He is the best player for returning serve, and you should be able to get a good feel of both return types when using him.

If you feel the need for a boost in your return game, hook up with a coach that offers the "Diesel Return" skill. You will find that it makes a fairly significant difference in the effectiveness of your returns.

Baseline Rallies

As mentioned in the previous section, one of the things you need to pay close attention to prior to a match actually starting is your opponent's attribute scores, particularly the forehand, backhand, power, speed, stamina, and reflex scores. This is important because:

Forehand/Backhand: Scores higher than 80 indicate reasonably precise shot making with a low likelihood of hitting unforced errors.
Power: Power rated 85 and higher is considerable. It is important to note that a power rating 10 points superior to another's will result in the inferior rating being insufficient to counter effectively.
Speed: If your opponent has a low speed rating, you may be able to exploit it. However, many gamers who have high power ratings typically have low speed ratings (as they anticipate weak counter shots from their opponents).
Reflex: The lower the reflex scores, the more precise timing is required of your opponent to hit "good" and "perfect" shots, as well as service returns. This may be an area that you can exploit.
Stamina: If you see that your opponent has a very low level of stamina, but high in other areas such as what is listed above, you will need to strategize ways to wear your opponent out so that he will eventually begin to mis-hit the ball.
When playing a baseliner (easily noted by their volley scores. Low volley = baseliner), observe whether or not your opponent likes to hit to the open court, or attempts to wrong foot you (i.e. hit behind you). I've played against guys who were insistant on trying to hit behind me, completely ignoring the wide open court on the other side. Some people are so "programmed" into thinking that the open court must be defended, that they readily vacate the location they were just standing. My advice is to NEVER over-commit to any area of the court. Always relocate yourself near the center part of the baseline after each shot, and place your groundstrokes DEEP into your opponent's back court. This will prevent him or her from hitting top spin shots with extreme angle. The only time I would advise hitting a short shot (such as slice) is if you find your opponent well behind his or her baseline. Hitting a short slice would require them to run forward to hit the ball which would likely be a weak, ineffective shot that you can do something offensive with.

Pro Tactic: If your opponent has you running back and fourth across the baseline, use a controlled "B" shot to the deep, cross court baseline corner of your opponent's court. This will result in a high, looping top spin shot that will buy you time in recovering a defensive position on the court, and quite possibly make it difficult for your opponent to hit an offensive shot off of it.

Playing a Serve and Volleyer

While not nearly as common as the baseliners found in Top Spin 4, you may occasionally come across a good serve and volley player that could throw you off your game. Serve and volleyers rely heavily on an effective serve and their ability to quickly reach the net to hit your return of serve in the air. In facing a player who utilizes this style, you must make it as difficult as possible for them to get their racquet on your service return. To accomplish this, you can try the following tactics:

Pro Tactics:

- If you have a high reflex score, fairly decent numbers in your forehand and backhand attributes, and the "Diesel Return of Serve" skill, you are in very good position to dictate the point with your return of serve.

- ALWAYS aim down the line until you see your opponent begin to adjust his net approach in an extreme fashion to cover that passing lane. Then, use a tight top spin cross court shot to hopefully pass him/her wide. If you mix up the direction of your returns, net coverage for your opponent becomes a guessing game!

- Power returns aren't always the most effective, and if your timing isn't right, could end up benefitting your opponent. Control shots are more reliable. That said, power slice is a good option if you struggle with timing.

- If you hit a shot down the line and the volley is made by your opponent, QUICKLY get into position and TAP 'B' to pass them with a high, looping top spin shot to the open court that should pass over their outstretched racquet.

Attacking the Net

Those who attack the net are a rare breed, but when you find one, they could be quite a challenge since their gameplay is relatively unfamiliar.
If you are the type who wishes to be a force at the net, make sure you have the proper volley, reflexes, and speed attributes as well as appropriate skills.
It is advised that if you attack the net, you do so to where you are either hitting the ball with slice towards a corner of the court while you are approaching the net, or that your player attacks the net at an angle that puts you in position to cut off any of the higher percentage passing lanes.
Slice is often the best choice for an approach shot as it has a near zero likelihood of resulting in an unforced error. Dare I say that it is the "safest" shot of any kind?
Slice Invasion and Poison Slice are two excellent skills that will aid in your approach shots, and make it difficult for your opponent to hit successful passes.
When at the net, be quick to calculate whether your opponent will reach your shot early or late. If they arrive early, their highest percentage shot is cross court or around mid-court. If they arrive late, their best bet is to go down the line. Always position yourself accordingly when at the net so that you can cut off any attempted passing shots.

Mix It Up Online!

I've played countless games of Top Spin online, and I stand firm in my belief that the best TS gamers are those that can adapt on the fly. Not the guys that play 1,500+ games online, or those that exploit cheats or reality flaws better than anyone else - - - but those that can identify why the are losing and change up their games in time to alter the outcome in their favor. Or, worse case scenario for them: they lose the match, but realize why, and win their next head-to-head with the same oppoennt. This type of gamer is rare, and in all of my experience with the first three Top Spin games, I've played less than 20 of these player types, and one in particular that I had epic matches against in our only two meetings online way back in the days of TS1.

My point is this: You will find that the majority of the people you face online follow a specific pattern. In order for you to be successful online, you need to quickly identify your opponent's behavioral/gaming pattern and expose it. Nine times out of 10, they won't be able to change during a game (and if they do, it will likely only be temporary). Muscle memory is a hard thing to shake, and most Top Spin gamers rely on instinct and automatic reaction resulting from all their gaming experiences, rather than playing out points with strategic thinking.

In addition to being able to pick out your opponent's tendencies in certain situations, YOU need to be unpredictable. If you are always on the run and hitting exclusively cross-court, your opponent might be smart enough to notice. If you always try to wrong-foot your opponent, they might figure that out too. Mix up your shots!

To conclude this section, I will leave you with a recent experience I had with an online gamer in TS4: Both he and I exchanged wins in sets one and two. We were entering a third set tie-break and admittedly, I was playing pretty much the same way in the first two sets. I was predictable to him, and he was predictable to me. In the tie-break though, I "switched gears" and began hitting my return of serves cross-court (knowing that he'd dash towards the wrong sideline since that's where I had been placing it all game long). I also begain hitting to the open court moreso than behind him. I completely rattled the guy because he became so comfortable with the way I *WAS* playing, that he simply didn't know how to respond to the new strategy I was employing so late in the match. I ended up clobbering him in the tie-break.

That said, I obviously made it more difficult for myself by not changing up early on, but I felt the match was in my favor despite the split sets (his set was narrowly won). I was confident going into the tie-breaker that I had his number, and that he wouldn't know what to do if I played completely different. If you are to take anything away from this, it is to be unpredictable in your game play so that no one becomes too comfortable with your shot making, particularly during extended matches where you may become more transparent.

A Few Final Tips

If you execute a successful lob over your opponent's head, immediately rush the net regardless of your volley prowess. If your opponent is fortunate enough to chase down the lob and hit a return, it will be weak enough that you should have no problem putting away with either a drop shot or a soft angled volley. Don't just stand at the baseline and admire your lob - - be in position to successfully close out the point in your favor!
Always hit incoming shots at the highest point of their bounce. This applies to top spin shots, flat shots and slices. Hitting at the highest point results in more power from your groundstrokes. If you let the incoming ball dip too low, you will cheat yourself of what otherwise would be an effective shot.
When you see a slice coming your way, always move TOWARDS it. This way, you will get to the ball at it's highest point off the bounce.
Stay out of "No-Man's Land" - the area of the court a few feet inside the baseline and before the service line. This is where most balls bounce and become very difficult to hit from. Some people are so adamant about hitting their shots deep to the opposite court (or use the RB button too much), that they inadvertently move forward into this area of the court. Be aware of this.
Mix up your serves. Hit them wide, hit them down the line. Experiment with spins. Don't become too predictable with your target area when serving.
Use a controlled top spin shot (tap "B") deep cross court when you are on the run and there is no threat of your opponent rushing the net. In many cases, your opponent will find the high looping top spin shot difficult to hit with precision.
If you are over-powered by your opponent, your best bet is to use varying depths of slice to hopefully cause them to wear out (i.e. stamina) or hit an unforced error.
If you are overwhelmed with the speed of your opponent's serve, use slice to get the ball back in play.
Top spin shots are most prone to end up being unforced errors in Top Spin 4 when stamina is low or when you are on the run.
Slice serves are the absolute safest shot you can hit in Top Spin 4.
For online play, you should have a serve that consistently reaches speeds of 118-124mph.
A service rating of 80 or better allows more precise movement of your serve.
Treat every online match as a learning experience, win or lose. If you lose to a gamer, figure out why, and correct it before you play your next match. Many people play the same way online, and you will undoubtedly play a similar style again and again. Correcting your mistakes, tweaking your custom player, or changing up your own personal style of play may be required to have a successful online campaign.

I - Cheesy Online Gameplay: Beware!
- Drop Shotting
- Wide-Angled Serving
- Short Slicing
- Hacked Accounts

Drop Shotting:

Back in the early days of the original Top Spin, there was a flaw in the game that was exploited by most of the top 100 players where you could execute a drop shot that would clip the net cord and roll over for an almost guaranteed winner. It was aptly named the "Death Drop Shot." This shot was abused for many months following the release of Top Spin 1, and it wasn't until a developer read some postings about it in a gaming forum did it eventually get corrected. Today, that is but a distant memory, but there are still a small percentage of gamers who rely on hitting an excessive number of drop shots every match. If you find yourself playing someone like this, there are a few things you can do:

1) Always be prepared. As soon as you hear the distinctive sound of slice being made for the drop shot, press 'RB' and run to the net. Depending on the height and depth of the incoming dropper, you have a few options:
      A) Power up your top spin shot ('B') and rip the ball to a very sharp angle by pressing down and to whatever side the open court is with your analog stick.
      B) Short slice the ball forcing your opponent to come in after it.
      C) Return the incoming drop shot with a drop shot of your own!

2) Now, if your opponent runs in behind his drop shot (which many don't do), return the drop shot with a safe lob up the middle or slightly to one of the corners so that it doesn't go wide.

Wide-Angled Serving:

The tactic of wide-angled serving (i.e. lining up wide and hitting an angle that forces you off the court to retrieve it) has been around since the days of Top Spin 2 where it was the single most exploited service strategy online. Players could literally throw you so far wide, that your progress would be impeded by the flower boxes sitting in front of the retaining walls. In Top Spin 4, that over-exaggeration of service angles is thankfully gone, however, there are quite a few gamers who rely on high doses of power who like to force you out wide for your return, and then take whatever return you provide and hit it to the open court for the winner. Playing these types of people can be very frustrating, but there are a few things you can do to better your chances of success:

1) Having high reflexes, good levels at the forehand (if your opponent is a righty) or backhand (if your opponent is a lefty) can be very effective in driving effective returns from outside the doubles alleys. If you have the "Diesel Return of Serve" skill, all the better!
2) If your opponent lines up wide, then you really have no choice but to hit down the line as best you can. Control shots work best here because you can get a bit closer to the line in doing so.
3) After your opponent serves, if you observe him reacting by quickly covering the down the line shot, mix up your returns with a tight controlled top spin shot cross court.
4) If #2 or#3 don't work for you, then try hitting a deep slice CROSSCOURT to your opponent. The pace you are taking off the ball in your return will allow you to use the "RB" button to sprint back to a defensive location on the court. That said, do not over commit to the open court because your opponent could try to wrong-foot you! At the very least, this tactic will allow you to get to your opponent's next shot to hopefully begin a neutral rally.

Short Slicing:

My first exposure to this tactic was in Top Spin 3, and became very annoying because it wasn't really effective for my opponent, yet he persisted in doing it. In Top Spin 4, I've played a number of people in the 2K Tour using Nadal who'd just short slice their forehand at a sharp angle to my backhand (Agassi's backhand which is his weaker side). The purpose of short slicing is to force someone towards "No Man's Land" on the court, and to neutralize any effective shot or strength in shot making they may have. If you face this sort of annoying and cheesy game play, there are a few things you can do:

1) If you have the "Half Volley King" skill, just whack away at the ball to the open court. Put an end to that sort of trashy gameplay your opponent is trying to irritate you with. "Poison Slice" is another option where you can short slice or deep slice their 'junk' right back to them.
2) Slicing slice is often your best (and safest) option. Exercise patience in doing this and wait for the first opportunity to get out of rallies that turn into short slice battles.
3) If you are being repeatedly short sliced to your weaker side, anticipate your opponent's shot and run around the ball to hit with your stronger side.
4) If you are pinned to a shallow corner similar to what I described above in the 2K Tour match, you can attempt one of two things to get out of that sort of rally:
    A) Drop shot the ball down the line (but be careful if you are not very skilled at pulling off such a difficult shot)
    B) Mini-lob down the center of the court. Be sure to do this with your stronger side (i.e. FH or BH). The trick is to not let it bounce so high (or so close to your opponent) that he can hit an overhead. This is a very difficult to do.
    C) NEVER go down the line unless you are absolutely certain your opponent won't be able to reach it AND hit an effective cross court winner. If you do attempt a down the line shot, use 'RB' and retreat to the middle of your baseline.

Hacked Accounts:

Hacked accounts are something that has plagued nearly every Top Spin title to date. I've experienced guys who would lose to me, but yet still record wins, I'd see guys who induced lag on my service games but not on their's, I've witnessed guys that "tweaked" their players to perform at outrageous levels.............I've seen quite a bit, and read quite a bit more from other gamers' personal experiences. It's said but true that quite a few people feel the need to cheat in order to win. Very early on with Top Spin 4, there were people that had custom players above level 20 (the standard maximum level allowed).

Playing individuals who cheat like this is frustrating, and essentially ruins the game for people who follow the rules and terms of agreement for using Xbox Live. So, what can you do to help prevent this?

- Report the individual through Xbox Live by selecting their name under the recently played listing. There you will see some options, one of which relates to violating the terms of service.
- Contact the manufacturer directly. Be sure to give the cheater's gamertag, date, time, match format (i.e. World Tour, Australian Open, Semifinal), and a detailed description of the cheat/hack you observed.
- Report the individual by name/gamertag on a public forum such as the manufacturer's message board relating to the game (in this case, 2K Sports), popular sports gaming sites like Operation Sports, or whatever league you may be participating in that has a forum. Heck, if you have a video camera readily available, rat out the cheater on You Tube showing video proof of your claim! People who cheat like this should be ridiculed publicly.

J - Sim-Tennis For Dummies:

Please don't take offense to this chapter title, as this section is not intended for the recreational gamer or true tennis enthusiast. This section is meant for those who don't have a clue how proper tennis should be played, stoop to low standards of gameplay with TS4, and yet are critical of others for how they play. Videos courtesy of TennisLegendonDVD.

The Lob, When to use:

When your opponent is at the net, or hovers around the service line threatening to approach the net.
When you are deep behind the baseline and on defense (see Connors video link below).
When you are being run back and forth, and out of position to make an offensive shot.

Video Example 1 (Connors vs. Haarhuis, 1991)

When NOT to use:

As a service return
As a replacement for ground strokes (i.e. normal forehand or backhand)

The Drop Shot, When to use:

When your opponent is on the run behind the baseline (see Agassi video link below)
As a good change of pace during a rally and when your opponent is behind the baseline (though, not to be abused or used frequently)
When your opponent is on the run and/or deep behind the baseline.

Video Example 1 (Agassi vs Kafelnikov, 95 Australian Open)

When NOT to use:

As a service return
As a replacement for ground strokes (i.e. normal forehand or backhand)

Slice Serve, When to use:

As a first or second serve, primarily as a second serve. 90mph+ slice serves are "realistic.".
To mix up your serving style

When Not to use:

Hitting a slice serve out wide on a regular basis is considered cheesy and unsporting.

The items mentioned above are part of the code that I, and other sim-gamers play by. There may be exceptions to a few of the listed items when dealing with cheesy gameplay, but in a straight-sim match, the above statements should hold true.

K - Xbox Live!/Top Spin 4 Server Updates, Patches, and DLC

4/11/11 - Adjustments made to Advanced Serve results and Drop Shot results.
4/18/11 - Patch available to disable "hacked" custom players from being used online.
5/9/11 - Numerous fixes to both online and offline play.
6/6/11 - Update coming soon. Patch affects balancing issues, certain skills, fatigue issues, coaching bonuses and more. Check blog posting for details

Note : 7/23/11 - Updates will no longer be tracked unless they are significant in nature.

L - FAQs

FAQ: Why is it that attributes cannot be upgraded individually like previous Top Spins?
This is a question best directed towards 2K Czech, though I can only speculate that the "batch upgrading" for custom players in Top Spin 4 addresses the issues that surrounded Top Spin 3 - specifically where many gamers were "stacking" their players with extremely high levels of power, forehand and backhand, and foregoing attributes like stamina, volley, and in some cases, return of serve too. It created unrealistic and lopsided results during online competition. In essence. the lack of need for stamina in TS3 made the online portion of the game "broken." If you were an average gamer, you had to do exactly what the unsporting gamers were doing in order to remain somewhat competitive - - and I am fairly sure that's not how PAM Development intended the game to turn out. While I wish there were more fine tuning options available in Top Spin 4, I can't complain if it fixes the problems that Top Spin 3 had.

FAQ: Is it possible to create a character similar to Andre Agassi in terms of attribute scoring?
The answer is yes and no. With regard to attribute scores, you can come fairly close depending on the coaching bonuses you acquire. However you will not be able to attain the same number of skill sets nor will you be able to achieve the same overall point value that the top pros have.  Rafael Nadal has a point total of 566. Andre Agassi's is 560. The maximum point total for a custom player is 550. Most of the pro players also have three distinct skill sets. The most that a custom player can have is two.

You can find similar skills to what the pros have, but the attribute scores will be different since both point bonuses and skill rewards are unique to each coach.

FAQ: What is the highest rated forehand (or backhand) and how do you achieve it?
The max forehand score I've been able to come up is 100 using all 20 level ups to Defensive Baseline, adding all four 5-point bonuses to forehand, and adding coach Drew Welch. Speed and stamina are phenomenal, but power, serve and volley are pitiful. If you want to max out your backhand, simply apply all the 5-point bonuses to your backhand.

FAQ: What is the fastest speed rating a player can attain and how do you achieve it?
The answer is 100, and it can be achieved by using all 20 level-ups with the Defensive Baseline option, and choosing either Remi Ercolani or Sznezlana Slavina as your coach. Both options leave you with low power, serve, and volley scores, though Coach Ercolani will also max out your Stamina with 100 points in addition to your Speed.

FAQ: What is the best serve rating for a player and how do you achieve it?
The answer is 102, and I've only been able to find one way to do it: Max out the Serve and Volley Play style 17 times, and then add 3 Offensive Baselines. Be sure to sign on Carine Jiquelle as your coach. Her 15 point bonus for serve gets you to 102, and your volley skill level will be 86.   The drawback with this character type is that your groundstrokes will be weak and your stamina will be rather low. If you get caught in a rally with this set up, you are pretty much done for. Reflexes are above average at 74, which should help you with decent return of serves.
**please note that at the time of my reply to this particular question, the developer was rumored to be making adjustments to certain attribute scores and coach bonuses. The rating of 102 may or may not decrease to 100 at some point in time. If the above advice no longer works, you can try combinations of 20 S&V styles with Carinne Jiquelle, 18 S&V styles and two OB styles with Carinne Jiquelle, or 19 S&V styles and one OB style with Carinne Jiquelle.

FAQ: What is the best power rating for a player and how do you achieve it?
The answer is 100. Upgrade your custom player using Offensive Baseliner 20 times, and choose David Gallo as your coach.   Your forehand and backhand will be decent and your serve will be great, however your volleys, speed and reflexes are going to stink. If you come across a player like this, simply keep the rally going a few times over the net until they burn out and hit an unforced error. If you find that you are over powered, slice the ball back deep each time until their stamina meter goes dark - then go for the winner. The "Counter Shot" skill is helpful here if you are defending against this type of player.

FAQ: What determines how coaches appear?
The building order of your player determines which coaches will appear and when. For instance, if you start off with a defensive baseliner upgrade x2, Jamel Ghezal will appear first. After two upgrades of offensive baseliner, Oliver Genter will appear. Any combination of the three playing styles that you choose throughout your career will affect which coaches appear and when they become available. You can check out the section on Coaches to see all of their minimum requirements (but not building order), or the Specialized Player section that has a few sample building orders. If you are looking for a specific silver-level coach that requires 13 serve and volley upgrades, you will need to level-up that style 13 times BEFORE the gold coaches become available.

FAQ: What is the Secret Achievement (50G) and how do you get it?
The secret achievement can be unlocked when you complete all of your player's objectives and become "The Greatest." Typically, this occurs in Season 4. The required objectives will appear after you obtain the status of "Legend." To check the status on your overall objectives, simply go to the Ultimate Objectives window on the Career Mode Main Menu. There, you will see what you've accomplished so far, and what you have yet to complete. Some of the items are: Play Eight Sparring Matches, Win Eight Grand Slams, Hold the #1 Ranking for 12 Consecutive Months, Play all Dream Matches, Play all of the Sponsor Challenges, etc.

FAQ: Why Can't I Unlock the Advantage [or another] Sponsor Challenge?
To unlock the sponsor challenges, you must play at the various tournaments in Career Mode that are sponsored by them. The "Advantage Sponsor Challenge" is one often overlooked because the BNP Paribas (Indian Wells) event shares the same month, and holds a much higher prestige value.

FAQ: Is there any secret to getting your opponent to mis-hit service returns?
While the reflex rating coupled with ground stroke ability and any skills that pertain to return of serve do affect the effectiveness of the shot -- I think it also affects the propensity to mis-hit the ball from time to time (based on a number of variables from the incoming ball and your opponent's ability). That said, I strongly believe that speedy top spin serves increase the likelihood of 'shanked' returns.

FAQ: Who is the [best rated] pro player to use for the 2K Tour?
Rafael Nadal is the best player in terms of rating score (566), however Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer are close behind, each with 560 overall points. Scores aside, it is best to find a player that compliments your playing style. While Rafael Nadal is the most used player on the 2K Tour, he may not necessarily be best for you. I have each player's score listed HERE.

FAQ: What is the best way to improve my return of serve if I don't want to use a coach that has the Diesel Return of Serve skill?
Quite simply, improve your reflexes. This will make it easier for you to have "good" or "perfect" timing on your returns making them very effective. Couple better reflexes with high groundstroke values and your player will have a potent weapon at his or her disposal. Higher groundstroke values will result in your shots being closer to the sidelines if your returns are attempted in that direction.

M - Top Spin 4 Game Review

**There are more than enough reviews out in Cyberspace that go into all the nuances of the game in great detail. Below is my high-level overview and thoughts on the major categories worth noting. If you are looking for more in-depth reviews, check out those at Gamespot or IGN.**

Graphics: The graphics in Top Spin 4 are a minor improvement over what was seen in Top Spin 3. Some of the newer court models provide fresh eye candy, though for the most part, any improvements made are evolutionary rather than revolutionary. The player animations remain fluid, though some animations are still stock and have been seen in each of the previous iterations of the game. Signs of player fatigue such as flushed cheaks, sweat development, and accumulated dirt give the appearance of long-drawn out battles over hours of time in a matter of a few minutes. That said, I would still like to see the actual "deposits" of dirt on the clothing. During the first service game it's not there, the second game it is.

The crowd is much improved, though it is still easy to spot clones. As I stated in my Top Spin 3 review, it would be nice to see more realistic reactions from the spectators; perhaps have some people stand up and cheer after a particularly exciting point, or at the conclusion of the match. Ball kids still remain inactive for Top Spin 4.

Stadium renderings still look top notch with the exception of the few fictitional courts - - Cincinnati in particular in which I sometimes find it difficult to track the ball. I am still puzzled as to why they don't have the correct sponsorship and court colors for this particular event.

Player models are hit or miss depending on the angle of the cut scene. From a distance, they look fine. However close up, some look eerie and mishapen. In an attempt to improve upon the player models of TS3, the new developer unfortunately exposed their weakness in character design. Furthermore, long hair still seems to pose a problem for the designers. A classic example of this is the younger Agassi player model who often exhibits broken pixels where his headband pokes in and out of his "wooden hair" as his head turns. Perhaps the team that develops the NBA 2K series could take a crack at the tennis player models and see what they can come up with.

Score: 8.0
Pros: Slight improvements with court renderings, crowds and player animations.
Cons: Crowd still somewhat uninspired after big points, player heads can appear funky depending on camera angles and movement. Hair and clothing doesn't "flow" as well as it should.

Sound: While subtle, I have definitely noticed improvements with the sound in TS4. Sneaker squeaking is more noticeable and realistic and indoor court sounds are fantastic. My favorite new sound is that of a racquet frame making contact with the court surface as a player lunges to get a ball just out of reach - - little things like this make a huge difference for me in capturing the overall feel of real-life tennis.

Crowd sounds are better in Top Spin 4 than its predecessor, however still leaves a lot to be desired. In an online match against a friend, we had a six or seven stroke rally that was ended with a routine winner down the line. We got a decent crowd response for the point. The very next point, we ended up having a monster rally that spanned 20+ shots over the net that had us both going back and fourth across the baseline, and ended where my opponent approached the net and hit a high backhand overhead for a winner. My player open-palmed his racquet's string-bed to indicate the "well played" gesture and the crowd response was disappointingly the same decibel level it was after the prior point. Something like that should have elicited a huge roar from the crowd along with a standing ovation to last at least eight or nine seconds. Instead, it was a let down, and we noticed it only seconds after our excitement started to subside. Had the crowed really been into that point, we would have likely still been pumped up going into the next point. It would be a good idea for the developers to sit in on a few real life tennis matches and record crowd responses after various points to get a better indicator of how fans appropriately react.

The music is, in my opinion, absolutely terrible. I am not referring to the open source music used during the loading screens, but that of the menu screens with spoken words. .

Score: 7.5
Pros: Standard sounds of tennis done well.
Cons: Crowd noise and reactions still need improvement. Terrible music.

Controls:

The new control system is a welcome change for the Top Spin franchise. I consider myself to be a hard-core Top Spin gamer and I adapted to the new scheme fairly quickly. For newcomers, the helper indicators (late, early, good, perfect) really do assist with timing, as do the cross-hairs that appear quickly to show you where the incoming ball is going to land. Of course, all of these helpers can be turned off when no longer needed. The Top Spin Academy does an outstanding job educating both veterans and newcomers on the nuances of Top Spin 4, and it is worthwhile to play through the entire tutorial before starting any sort of match play.

Controls are generally tight, though a few issues still persist: One involves net play where your player becomes unresponsive when an incoming ball is a high top spin shot about four feet above the net man's head. It's within reach to be blocked back, but as with Top Spin 3, control is disabled and this glitch results in you losing the point should the ball land in bounds. The second issue I have is that control is disabled when the CPU determines the point is over, even before the ball makes its final bounce. In some instances, this is very annoying. For example, if a ball is coming cross court and towards the line, the CPU will determine a split second beforehand if the ball is going to land in or out. If it lands in, it allows you to continue to play the point. If it calculates that the ball is going to land out of bounds, more likely than not, control over your player will be lost and the ball will land out with the point awarded to your player. In real tennis, you have no idea if close shots are going to land in or out of bounds until they actually bounce, so you intend to play them anyway - - - especially at the net. But that's not the case in Top Spin 4.

Utilization of the RB button for sprinting across the baseline or moving vertically towards the net is a welcome addition, particularly for serve and volleying or chasing down a drop shot or lob. In both Top Spin 2 and 3, vertical movement was very sluggish which prevented any sort of efficient net play. Top Spin 4 corrects that issue, thus allowing for serve and volley tactics to be effective during both online and offline gameplay once again.

Score: 9.5
Pros: New and innovative control scheme with helpers that can be turned off when no longer needed. Relatively easy for vets to adapt to, and for newbies to pick up.
Cons: Some control glitches still persist. Annoying control cut-offs when CPU determines a point is over prior to the final ball bounce.

Playability Offline:

Create-a-player mode has been given a complete overhaul, and a fairly unfavorable one. I've received quite a bit of feedback from hard-core Top Spin fans and I've yet to hear from anyone that prefers this new creation mode over what was seen in Top Spin 3. Once again, what appears in the zoom mode is not what you get when you back out to the full body player model, and it's difficult to understand what changes are needed in order to get the "WYSIWYG" effect. Should a Top Spin 5 be released, I would prefer the TS3 creation tools to be re-instated. Additionally, TS4 has fewer customizations than TS3 when it comes to swing types and rituals. I would like to see more motion captured swing choices including grip types in the future.

With regard to assigning attributes, the developer took an interesting approach to leveling up custom players in order to deter gamers from stacking their players with all power and groundstrokes and little else. Unlike Top Spin 3 where you could level up each individual attribute, Top Spin 4 requires you to level up groups of attributes at once with pre-determined point values based on the player type you are looking to create: Serve & Volley, Offensive Baseliner, Defensive Baseliner. There are 20 level-ups in all, and any combination of those can be used to the three player types. For instance, your custom player can be 5 parts serve and volley, 10 parts offensive baseliner and 10 parts defensive baseliner. While not perfect, it is an improvement over TS3. Coaches are a welcome sight after a brief hiatus and offer unique skill sets and boosts to key attributes. Depending on the order you level up, different coaches will make themselves available. Each coach offers unique challenges that you must fulfill in order to get their bonus offerings.

The gaming modes are pretty much what is expected with each Top Spin game: Exhibition, Career, and this year we also have King of the Court. Career mode offers a fairly narrow path towards development, but with a few different options to achieve your ultimate goal of becoming "The Greatest." I like having choices between Sparring or Special Events, and having numerous choices within the Special Event section at the start of every month. The actual tournaments follow the ATP schedule reasonably well, though the competition needs to be consistent. Under any of the difficulty settings, CPU opponents don't become challenging until the semi-final or final rounds of the Grand Slam tournaments. As you get better and your custom player gets better, it almost feels like a burden to play the no-name generic players at any tournament. Additionally, the pro-players in the Masters events are dummied down to be easy, regardless of the difficulty setting. Because of the way CPU difficulty works in Top Spin 4, the latter part of season 2 until the end of the game can be excruciating with exception to the semis and finals of each Grand Slam. In order to get the Secret Achievement ("The Greatest"), you need to invest about 18+ hours..............and the majority of those hours are painful to play through. Had every match felt as meaningful as those late round Grand Slam matches, the game would be more engaging.

Score: 7.5
Pros: New control scheme is likely to be embraced by most gamers. Fresh new career mode options and path. Interesting new player development method.
Cons: Time consuming Career Mode if all Achievements are to be unlocked. Fictional players are a waste of time to play unless at the "Very Hard" difficulty. Inconsistent difficulty levels with players at various tournaments. Create-a-player mode much more cumbersome than Top Spin 3's offering.

Online Playability: Online play features three different playmodes: Player Match (exhibition for either pros or custmom players), 2K Tour (pro players in single, one-off matches), and World Tour (custom player tournaments similar to Top Spin 3). While there are options that should appeal to everyone, I would have liked to see tournaments that enabled pro players to participate. Finding matches is easy enough, though I am still not a fan of the fact that if you withdraw from a tournament (prior to accepting a challenge), you technically "lose" and no longer have access to that event until the next season rolls around.

I still long for the quick play search features that Top Spin 1 had where you can search for players ranked higher than you or at your basic level. It would also be beneficial for an indicator of Internet connection quality to be present near players' gamertags. Nothing is more frustrating than to play a tournament match against someone with a spotty connection - - and you have no way of knowing it until it's too late.

Online play as a whole is about what was expected: In the 2K Tour, the majority of gamers favor the likes of Rafael Nadal (as indicated by his accumulated points in the leaderboard), exploiting his insane top spin angles and slice forehand. In the World Tour, gamers still favor the power game with their custom players, forgoing speed and stamina as a result. While stamina is more of a factor this time around, it is an attribute that can be hidden beneath strengths in the areas of power and groundstroke ability. In otherwords, if you know you can out muscle your opponent in four shots or less, why would you need to worry about having stamina for lengthy rallies? Once again, balance is an issue when playing online, as well as the less than effective return-of-serve game. Granted, enhanced reflexes and special skills can supplement a player's ability to effective return a serve, but for the majority of players - returning serve is still ineffective at it's most basic level, and it's something that needs to be tweaked either through a DLC patch or in the next installment of Top Spin.

Finally, Top Spin 4 still lacks online doubles play for four remote users. Are we ever going to see this?

Score: 7.0
Pros: Offers three ways to play depending on your preparedness (Player, 2K Tour, World Tour). No more risk shots!
Cons: Inability to preview players based on their connection quality and ranking. Imbalance still exists online where power game rules the roost. If you drop out of an event before playing anyone, it still counts as a loss in World Tour mode. 2K Tour mode should have been set up with tournaments similar to the World Tour.

Overall Conclusion: Top Spin 4 is much better than Top Spin 2 and 3. Gone are many of the exploits found in the previous three games and it takes a fresh approach to the control scheme that is easy to adapt to.

Offline career mode is interesting for the first several hours, though becomes long and drawn out to where nothing but the semi-finals and finals of Grand Slams pose any sort of legitimate challenge. Controls are tight and responsive with the exception of a few glitches. Create-a-player mode can be very involving, though from all the feedback I've received from Top Spin fans, not as generally well-liked as Top Spin 3's offering. Leveling-up players is now done by play style groupings which corrects a problem that Top Spin 3 had where individual attributes could be upgraded.

Online play is improved with the absence of the risk shot and the inability to really stack players' power and groundstroke abilities at the expense of needless attributes, however, there is still a rather sizeable imbalance. Power games still reign supreme which discourages diversity among player types. The various online modes offers a variety of options for gamers, though it would have been nice to see a tournament-based option for the legends.

Overall, Top Spin 4 is an improvement over the prior two releases despite its more arcade-like feel. Top Spin 1 still remains the best in terms of balance for online game play.

Contrary to what some of the more prominent gaming review sites say, Top Spin 4 is not a pure sim-tennis game, though certainly more sim than "arcade-like."

Top Spin 4 does justice to the franchise, and is most definitely the best tennis videogame available.

Overall Score: 7.75

Pros: Better than Top Spin 2 and Top Spin 3. Intuitive control system that is likely to appeal to both newcomers and veterans alike. Improved roster of legendary players (Andre Agassi!). New online system. No more unrealistic risk shot.
Cons: Still falls short of the excellent Top Spin 1 experience when it comes to online head-to-head play. The price for this game is a bit steep considering what it offers (better at $49.99 or $39.99). Still has some flaws that could translate to poor online experiences (unbalanced play with custom players). No online doubles with four remote users and no online league functionality. Game has a few annoying glitches that should have been ironed out before it hit store shelves. Some may feel it is a bit too arcade-like.
Ruling: If you are even a casual fan of tennis, this game is a must-buy.

N - Improvements Made Over Top Spin 3

Below are some aspects of TS3 that I took issue with, and noted each of them in my last FAQ & Strategy Guide as opportunities for improvement. Let's see whether or not they were acknowledged, and if so, improved upon:

Complaint with Top Spin 3	Addressed for Top Spin 4?	Verdict
Online doubles (via four remote Xbox 360s/gamers)	Still not addressed.	I've been griping about this since Top Spin 1 and it remains one of the top requests from die-hard Top Spin gamers. Why has it not been addressed yet? If Madden '11 can play 3 vs. 3 football reasonably smoothly on EA's unreliable servers, why can't four people play Top Spin on four remote consoles with a better hardware architecture behind it?
Online league functionality must be incorporated to take this game/series to the next level.	Still not addressed.	The World Tour is nice, but does not help guys wanting to generate their own leagues with complete seasons. League-play would certainly help the replay value and longevity of each subsequent Top Spin title. Private leagues also help the overall "marketing machine" of the product being promoted. Top Spin 5 NEEDS to have league integration.
The disconnection flaw and lag tricks NEED to be eliminated. The disconnection cheat (where in many cases, those who disconnected from an online game would avoid earning a loss, and potentially rob their opponent of a win).	Appears to have been addressed.	I was pleased to see that the Level 20+ hack was eliminated early and so far, from my experience, those that disconnect are not awarded any sort of win.
The “A” button and risk serve should perform as they had in Top Spin 1 (i.e. more freedom to place shots at various locations on the court).	Yes	Adding points to the serve attribute opens up the opportunity to place the ball more precisely within the service box.
Slice and topspin serves should have a different service meter to increase degree of difficulty in achieving extreme angles.	Maybe	Gamers still try for the outside service line quite a bit, but so far (nearly three months after release), many continue to miss the mark. Time will tell if edge serves can be mastered like they were in TS2 and TS3.
Expand the roster by including legendary tennis players such as Agassi, Edberg, Becker, Sampras, Rafter, Navratilova, Evert, Graf, Seles, etc. that can be unlocked.	Yes	It took four installments, but Top Spin finally has a healthier set of legendary professional players including the long-awaited and long-overdue appearence of Andre Agassi. That said, it would be great to see more legends such as John MacEnroe, Stefan Edberg and Jimmy Connors. How come Patrick Rafter's third outfit didn't consist of the "samurai haircut?"
Add degrees of difficulty to the game for online play (i.e. rookie, pro, legend) that reduce or exaggerate angles and various types of possible shots depending on the skill level selected. Higher difficulty levels should play like real life tennis (more realistic than what Top Spin has offered online in the past).	Not implemented.	There is a fine line between arcade play and sim-play, and Top Spin 4 is teetering towards arcade play in this latest installment. It's too easy to go for the quick angle winner in TS4 and from some of the feedback I've received thus far, several have described it as almost "Virtua Tennis-like." A patch has since been released to minimize the effect of this, but I feel that a bit more needs to be done.
Returning serves are for the most part ineffective and need to be improved.	Yes	The "reflex" attribute replaced Top Spin 3's "Return of Serve" skill, and there are a few coaches that offer the "Diesel Return of Serve" bonus skill - - but for the most part, return of serves are still underpowered and a liability. This needs to be tweaked so that the majority of points aren't over in three shots. That said, what we see in TS4 is a noticeable improvement.
Eliminate the 120+ mph slice serve out wide exploit.	Yes	Many online gamers continue to try for that wide angle ripper, but very few can achieve it. It's now a lot more difficult to execute than what was seen in Top Spin 3.
Traction on clay needs to be made more realistic (i.e. more sliding, less instant grip).	Slightly improved.	I think at this point I can say that I am reasonably pleased with how the game plays on clay, but I feel that there is still a bit more room for improvement - - particularly when playing the CPU in on "Very Hard." At that level, CPU players have very little traction loss which is unfair.
The ease of which an overhead smash gets returned right back over the net needs to be changed.	Yes	You have to be almost perfectly placed with exact timing of your shot to get SOME overheads back into the field of play. I am pleased with the way things are now.
Vertical speed needs to be improved dramatically.	Yes	By using the RB button, players can now sprint towards the net a lot better than they had in Top Spin 2 or 3.
There needs to be both an offensive lob and a defensive lob	Not really	There is very little discernable difference between the two aforementioned lob-types, and what is available by tapping or holding "Y." I would like to see more distiction between the two shot types depending on how the "Y" button is used.
Get rid of the risk shot. It's unrealistic and ruins the game of Top Spin.	Yes	FINALLY! After three installments, there are no more 120+ mph forehands and backhands!

O- Suggestions for 2K Czech

General Game Play Fixes:

- A fix to a glitch that plagues Top Spin 4 as it once did Top Spin 2: When at the net, an opponent can hit a looping top spin shot that should easily be volleyed back with an outstretched arm, but a glitch prevents any sort of movement from the net player. This was first seen in Top Spin 2 and it is back again in Top Spin 4.

- Eliminate how when a ball is being calculated (via CPU) as going out, player control shuts down. For example, there are many times where as my opponent's shot is passing over the net and a split second later, I lose control of my player because the ball is going out of bounds. The CPU knows this before I do, and therefore it effectively ends the point on me. Similarly, there are times I've served a ball into the net cord, and before it even lands, the umpire is calling it as a "let" or "out." The CPU is calculating too far in advance and making calls that are too quick. I prefer the days of Top Spin 1 where you would never lose player control, even if a shot was called long. If the ball was near you, you could still hit it. Additionally, if you were playing up at the net and you weren't sure if the ball was going to be in or out, you would hit it just to be safe. Now with Top Spin 4, you know it's going out of bounds because you lose control of your player as the incoming ball is in flight. I also had one situation where a shot of mine looked as if it might be going out, and the CPU player (on "Hard" difficulty) hit my shot before the initial bounce near the baseline. The umpire called "out" and the point was awarded to my opponent. ??? The CPU chose to hit the ball, therefore it still should have been a live point!

- There are glitches around the mid-point on the outside sideline of the ad-service box. Hit just right, the ball clearly hits the line (1080p HD) but is always called out.

- The return of serve needs to be improved. It is too easy to be overwhelmed even with moderate service speed/power. Top Spin 1 had the best balance of serve and service return.

- The Very Hard difficulty needs to be tweaked. I am a vocal critic when it comes to A.I. in computer games, and I despise Sega for the ultra-cheesy A.I. they incorporate into their higher difficulties and boss characters. Through countless hours of playing on Very Hard with Top Spin 4, I've determined a few things:

1) CPU players on "Very Hard" are not more intelligent, but instead they react to your button presses and NOT the ball. This gives the CPU a split second advantage in knowing where you will be hitting the ball before it even leaves your racquet. Additionally, they know where you will be running the moment you hit the RB button. Because of this, you will observe illogical shot making on numerous occasions. For instance, if you hit the RB button from the lower left corner of the screen, your opponent will often times hit right back to the lower left corner of the screen (knowing you will vacate it) instead of hitting an easy winner to the wide-open right side of the court.

2) Very Hard ramps up pro players' abilities despite what is scored in their attribute listings. For example, Andy Roddick has a speed rating in the upper 50s, however, at the Very Hard difficulty, he has the speed and reflexes of a 70 rating. Additionally, his volley skills (which are poor) become at least a 65 which makes them effective when deflecting a normal-speed passing shot.

3) On clay, Very Hard enables CPU players to gain traction and slip less.

4) On very hard, stamina is not much of an issue for the CPU. In a semifinal match at the Dublin Open, I was playing Novak Djokovic. My stamina rating was 18 points higher than his, yet in the second set, there were times where I was wearing out faster than he was despite the fact that he was doing much more running than I. There was a time in our match where his stamina meter got within one sliver of becoming completely empty, but never became fully exhausted despite our rally being 31 shots long. In contrast, I had a half of stamina meter at that point in time (when he was almost at zero) and even though I wasn't covering as much court as he was, my energy eventually drained completely and I hit an unforced error as a result. This is a classic example of how CPU pro player attributes are skewed in an unfavorable way when playing at the "Very Hard" difficulty, particularly in the semi finals and finals of Grand Slam tournaments.

I am an advocate for higher difficulty levels being the product of better programming and smarter artificial intelligence, not "cheap" methods as described above. I would like to see the "Very Hard" difficulty play more like the abilties of the real-life pro-players and not some sort of gimmickry. For what it's worth, my opinion is that "Hard" is the best difficulty as it showcases how many of the real pro players really play the game (with exceptions of course).

Improvements Specific to Online Play:

- Online doubles that allows four gamers using four remote Xbox 360 consoles.

- Similar to Top Spin 1, show everyone who is online playing the game, with data-sorts such as "Better than me" and "Around my ability." Furthermore, show connection quality scores for each prospective online opponent. I find it incredibly frustrating playing people with shoddy connections to where I think I am hitting winners, only to see their player get "frame-boosted" from one side of the court to the other.........leaving me to wonder where the heck they *really are* on the court. I don't want to play people like that, yet I don't want to quit the match either.

- It's due time that online league functionality be incorporated into the Top Spin series. I am sure that not only would the long-running established leagues appreciate it, but those wanting to start up smaller operations would too.

- The power game still dominates online play. In the handful of games I've played online, people are really favoring the high power and groundstroke ratings (again) and going for the one-two-three exchange. More balance needs to be obtained, and I think going back and revisiting how Top Spin 1 worked would be a very good idea. At the pro level, you rarely see people consistently being overwhelmed when playing against more notable "power players." They can pretty much hold their own in terms of matching groundstrokes.....but the duration is variable. There is still an issue of balance in Top Spin 4 that needs to be addressed. Top Spin 1 had that balance (with the exception of risk shots that are now thankfully gone).

General Suggestions:

- Return the money system where winnings can purchase new equipment. Perhaps even add a more personalized touch by allowing players to purchase and furnish houses, buy cars, etc. and display their properties online.

- Make equipment more than just a matter of style. Racquets affect control, power, precision and comfort as do strings. I would like to see some level of "fine-tuning" where a racquet and string choice can affect (to a small degree) your player's performance.

- Return to the player creation model that Top Spin 3 used. I have not spoken to one single person who prefers Top Spin 4's create-a-player options over Top Spin 3's. Furthermore, I would like to see more choices when it comes to player animations such as swing types, rituals, etc. How about adding grip type (western, semi-western, continental)?

- I would like to see some congratulatory or disgruntled animations being options after points. Right now, they sometimes happen automatically, but it would be great to actually control them ourselves. Some of you reading this may remember Top Spin 1 where you could applaud or taunt your opponent after the conclusion of a point. I would like to see that option available again, though with the concept of good sportsmanship being kept in mind. There was one animation in TS1 that would likely draw a warning from an ATP Tour umpire if it were done in real life.

- Stamina still needs to account for more performance measures. In otherwords, if a person has zero stamina left in their meter, they should begin to noticeably lose speed after a few more hits (or flat out give up on chasing a ball that's far away). Additionally, if a gamer wants to create a high-power player, then there should be a *required* level of stamina that is fairly high. This was a suggestion I made in Top Spin 3 and I still am not seeing that in Top Spin 4. I've also received several letters from Top Spin fans who were looking for the same thing this time around. Realistically, slamming the ball on ever shot requires a great deal of energy, and that cannot be sustained without a high level of stamina. This should be incorporated into Top Spin 4 either through a patch, or a new addition to Top Spin 5. This should do one of two things: 1) force gamers who prefer high-power levels to also have high-stamina levels at the expense of a different attribute, or 2) make gamers reconsider their point distribution, hopefully promoting more diversified custom players. Right now, gamers are still going for stamina ratings in the 40s but with very high power and groundstroke ratings. Their thinking is that points will be over quickly so that there is no need to have high speed or stamina point values - and in many cases they are right!

P - Reality Flaws In TS4

In TS4, the ability for players to immediately hit certain angles regardless of the variables that impact the incoming ball type make for unrealistic game play.
Stamina drain does not accurately reflect on court performances of players. Granted, it is much improved over Top Spin 3, though more physical signs (other than unforced errors) should indicate that a player is being worn down. Examples would be loss of speed, delayed recovery time when trying to change directions quickly, etc.
The effectiveness of returning serve is underwhelming in Top Spin 4, and needs to be improved quite a bit to reflect that of real-life pro tennis.
The flat power shot (i.e. put away off a short ball) has too much top spin in it. This is evident using the closest zoom view behind your player. This shot is typically very flat and follows a straight line. In the game, you can clearly see it travel in an arc about four feet above the net.
Some of the pro players use stock animations rather than mo-capped or newly animated swing types. A good example would be that of the jumping two-handed backhand that almost every player in Top Spin exhibits from time to time. This stock animation goes back to the original Top Spin 1 game, and is not used by a majority of the pros/legends in Top Spin 4.
The ability for players to engage in a cross court rally and have the ball land in the identical place each and every time.

Q - Wrap Up (conclusion)

All in all, Top Spin 4 is a solid step forward in the franchise, and certainly an improvement over Top Spin 2 and 3. Many of the issues that plagued the past two installments of the series have been corrected in Top Spin 4. That said, the unbalance in online play makes it one of those "if you can't beat them, join them" type games where the average gamer will be required to create a power-heavy player to keep up with those who spend countless hours playing online with similarly designed custom players. In my opinion, Top Spin 1 had the greatest balance in terms of head-to-head online play, and the best pacing. Development of custom players in TS 1 also made it impossible to take advantage of the system, thus promoting more fair and balanced online play (with exception to the number of exploits that could be taken advantage of by those who chose to play unsportingly). Should 2K Czech and the development team choose to make a Top Spin 5, I sincerely hope they implement the suggestions for improvement that I posted in this Superguide. I strongly feel that they would make Top Spin 5 the "definitive" installment in the series and the pinnacle of tennis videogaming. For what we have with Top Spin 4, I am happy to see it progress in a positive direction. I have recommended it to friends with the caveat that replay value is questionable with regards to the online component. In the handful of matches I've played so far, the quality has varied widely. I enjoy playing the 2K Tour quite a bit, but the World Tour just isn't that much fun as nearly everyone uses the same player type to compete with, and employ the very same tactics. This makes for pretty boring tennis. Offline career mode is fun, though I wish the difficulty was tweaked to where "Hard" was the default setting, and to where the generic players played a more intelligent game. This would make every round of every tournament more engaging, as opposed to the Grand Slam semi-final and final rounds being the only real challenge a gamer faces.

With regard to this Top Spin 4 Superguide, it is my intention to maintain it for one full year from the game's initial release date. At that point, I think I will have collected enough data and have had enough experience with the game to make sure that this Webpage is as accurate as possible. Between now and then, some minor changes may be made; relating to theories I've posted, observations I've made, new FAQs, or trends that I see developing online. So, while I am essentially finished with this Superguide (as of 7/16/11), it will see minor revisions from time to time until around mid-March of 2012.

Once again, thanks to everyone who expressed support for my Superguides, and for all the kind words you've shared in your emails. They are greatly appreciated, and keep me motivated to continue doing this kind of work.

R - Miscellaneous Links:

**Tennis-Related Links**

ATP Tennis: The official site for men's tennis. Features profiles, schedules, results, etc.

Tennis Warehouse: One of the best places to buy the latest and greatest in tennis attire and equipment. I buy my tennis clothing from here. Consumer reviews can be helpful if you are ever indecisive on purchasing anything from racquets, to strings, to tennis shoes, etc. Reasonable shipping rates are a plus too!

Mid-West Sports Supply: It's ironic that I purchased my first Donnay Pro-One back in 1990 through Mid-West when I lived on the East Coast, and now I live within reasonable driving distance from them. Excellent service for mail orders, though I choose to buy my equipment and supplies directly from their store to save on shipping.

Fran Johnson's Nevada Bobs: Back when I lived in the East Coast during the early-to-mid 90s, this was the place I visited several times a month in hopes of scoring the latest and greatest Agassi/Nike Challenge Court items. A professional and helpful staff made this place a great place to shop and/or ask questions. They also have an excellent selection for golf equipment too. I miss shopping here.

Tennis Legend On DVD: Are you a fan of Andre Agassi? Do you wish you could see (or see again) some of his classic matches dating back to early in his career? If so, this is the Website to visit. Likely featuring one of the largest 1st generation Agassi libraries in the world, Tennis Legend offers classic Agassi matches at very reasonable prices, and typically of better quality than most of what you'd find elsewhere with VHS to DVD transfers. From 2002-2011, many of the matches are in digital quality. Agassi-related clothing and equipment can be found here from time to time as well.

Sports Tutor: The Tennis Tutor is my ball machine of choice due to its portability, ease of use, and performance. I received exceptional customer service when debating whether or not to purchase a Tennis Tutor, and ultimately which model to choose. After owning one since 2003, I have no regrets.

**Gaming-Related Links**

2KSports: The publisher of Top Spin 2

EB Games/Gamestop: One of the better gaming retail outlets. Often publishes updated release schedules and announcements for pre-orders.

G4 TV: Long running cable network for tech and gaming geeks. Features popular shows like "X-Play," "Attack of the Show," "Web Soup," "Ninja Warrior," and more.

Gamespot: Another one of the better gaming websites, and features HD video content.

IGN: A very good source for gaming news, previews, and reviews. Their coverage of gaming news tends to be more comprehensive than most others.

TheXBFL: One of the longest running (if not the longest) online sim-football leagues on Xbox Live! The XBFL serves as the "home" for the Top Spin FAQ & Strategy Guides. Formerly a strong supporter of 2K Football, the XBFL has announced this year (2008) that they will be adopting the Madden series in addition to 2K Sports' football offering. The league's focus is primarily on quality sim-gaming, sportsmanlike competition, and a community-based environment made up of passionate football fans.

Xbox Live!: Check out game-specific forums and learn what other people are saying about your favorite (or not-so-favorite) games. You will need to log-in with a .Net username and password to gain access to the forum area.

XMG 360: Formerly XMG (Xbox Mature Gamers). I was introduced to this exclusive group of gamers back in 2003 during my initial writing of The Original Top Spin FAQ & Strategy Guide (TS1). XMG features an excellent community of informed gamers who share tips, reviews, and general gaming news (amongst other things). They also set up weekly events and tournaments spanning all genres of gaming. XMG 360 is the ideal place to join for those who are tired of all the nonsense and immaturity found on Xbox Live.

**Miscellaneous Links**

SecretIdentityPodcast.com: There are undoubtedly hundreds of podcasts discussing the world of comics, movies, TV, and games - - but none can compare to the wealth of information that Secret Identity provides on a weekly basis. Join Matman and Brian twice a week as they discuss and share their opinions on the latest comic releases, movie and TV news, RPGs, and videogames. They have an impressive network of contacts in the industry, which translates to timely and accurate information. Additionally, they have an excellent community found on their message boards. Do you have a love for the aforementioned subjects but are tired of all the flaming and immature behavior found on other boards? If so, then look no further than Secret Identity! Their podcast can be downloaded directly from their Website, or through I-Tunes.

S - The Author (and acknowledgements):

The Author:

Mr Fett

Tennis resume:

- Tennis Schooling: Nick Bolletieiri Tennis Academy & private instruction
- High school varsity tennis team captain, Collegiate/NCAA player
- Tennis teacher (adults & children)
- Worked for Volvo International Tennis Tournament in New Haven, CT ('94 & '95)
- Team stringer
- USTA member
- Brushes with Tennis Fame: Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter, Luke and Murphy Jensen, Martina Hingis
- Tennis Apparel of Choice: Adidas Barricade Line
- Tennis Shoes of Choice: Nike Air LWP ('95)
- Tennis Racquet of Choice: Prince Graphite Classic (formerly known as the Prince Graphite)
- Tennis String of Choice: Luxilon Big Banger ALU, Luxilon Savage
- Favorite Pros: Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter

Top Spin 1 Online Record	Top Spin 2 Online Record	Top Spin 3 Online Record	Top Spin 4 Online Record
Total W/L: 750-71 Win Percentage: .914	Total W/L: 220-21* Win Percentage: .912	Total W/L: 115-24 Win Percentage: .827	Total W/L: 14-1 Win Percentage: .933

Top Spin 1 Achievements:

- Top 50 Ranking (when leaderboard exceeded 80,000 players)+
- Top 100 Ranking (when leaderboard exceeded 80,000 players)+
- Career win percentage greater than 91%
- Defeated two former #1 players (at a time when they were not ranked #1)#
- Won 3 out of 4 matches against top 10 players (when membership exceeded 80,000, all four were cheesy players who exploited glitches/flaws in the game)#
- Highest ranked player played and defeated was #6 #
- Achieved over 50 "perfect matches" (aka "golden matches") without yielding a single point in best of three set matches with three games per set.#
- Longest win streak: 77 matches (including numerous wins over top 250 ranked players when membership exceeded 80,000)#
- Losses to Cheesy Gamers: 80. Losses to Sim-Gamers: 12 (losses to sim-gamers on clay (TS1): 5

+ Top Spin 1 Statistic, 80,000 players. Similar achievements made with Top Spin 2, though overall membership was considerably lower (approx. <40,000).
# Top Spin 1 Statistic Only, Membership was at or near 80,000 gamers.
> W/L totals are based on custom character usage only.

Top Spin 2 Achievements:

- Top 100 Ranking (when leaderboard exceeded 24,000 players)
- Top 75 Ranking (when leaderboard exceeded 24,000 players)
- Longest win streak: 54 matches
- Record against sim gamers (or simply non-cheesy gamers): 150-4
- Record against cheesy gamers: 70-17

* Does not reflect results from league activity, only online "pick-up" matches both ranked and un-ranked played through "Quick Match" or "Opti-Match" lobbies. League play results: 22-0 and five titles for TS2.
> W/L totals are based on custom character usage only.

Top Spin 3 Achievements:
Record against diversified players: 75-4
Record against sim-gamers: 73-1
Record against cheesers**: 42-23
Golden Matches: 8
Top 15 Ranking***
- Note, my record reflects wins and losses through matches actually played. I do not count "wins" from when my opponents disconnected prior to a match being played, nor will count any losses from where I backed out of a match prior to it being "accepted" by both parties (which happened once in error, a few times to avoid repeated play against cheesy gamers , and when delays in connecting prior to starting a match indicated the potential for severe lag).

** cheesy gamers as defined by generally accepted definition: those who rely on extreme angled serves from a wider than default positioning, rely on repeated use of the risk shot, regularly execute lobs and drop shots as standard ground strokes, stack their players with multiple (i.e. 3+) 90+ level attributes, and of course, those who intentionally induce lag during a game in an effort to negatively affect their opponents game play.

*** not much of an accomplishment when compared to TS1 and TS2 where the leaderboards were rarely reset and the overall gaming community exceeded 40,000 (TS2) and 80,000 (TS1).

> W/L totals are based on custom character usage only.

Top Spin 4 Online Record

Total W/L: 14-1
Win PCT: .933

Custom Characters:
Total W/L: 7-0
Win Percentage: 1.00
Mr Fett: 7-0
Mr Fett 3.0: 0-0
Mr Fett 4.0: 0-0

Pro Players:
W/L: 7-1
Win Percentage: .857
Andre Agassi: 6-1
Pete Sampras: 1-0

T - Custom Rosters

Mr Fett (All Court)	Mr Fett2.0 (All Court)	Mr Fett3.0 (Offensive Baseliner)	Mr Fett4.0 (Serve & Volleyer)	Female Player -? TBD
FH: 69 (+7) BH: 69 (+7) Srv: 81 (+11) Vol: 53 Pwr: 71 (+12) Stam: 72 (+3) Spd: 65 Ref: 60	FH: 74 (+15) BH: 74 (+15) Srv: 83 Vol: 59 Pwr: 71 (+5) Stam: 60 Spd: 66 Ref: 63	FH: 78 (+5) BH: 75 (+12) Srv: 62 Vol: 39 Pwr: 74 (+6) Stam: 79 Spd: 71 (+5) Ref: 62 (+12)	FH: 62 BH: 67 (+15) Srv: 87 (+5) Vol: 75 (+10) Pwr: 58 Stam: 57 Spd: 61 Ref: 83 (+15)	FH: BH: Srv: Vol: Pwr: Stam: Spd: Ref:
Breakdown S&V: 6 OB: 7 DB: 7	Breakdown S&V: 9 OB: 11 DB: 1	Breakdown S&V: 0 OB: 10 DB: 10	Breakdown S&V: 11 OB: 8 DB: 1	Breakdown S&V: OB: DB:
Coach: Damian Salazar	Coach: Juraj Durech	Coach: Mario DiPesa	Coach: Jennifer Egan	Coach:
Skills: Diesel Server, Crushing Passing Shot	Skills: Inside Out Master, Reach Swings Expert	Skills: Return Serve Counter, Fatality	Skills: Spin Serve Master, Spectacular Volleys	Skills:
W/L: 7-0	W/L: 0-0	W/L: 0-0	W/L: 0-0	W/L:
Comments: This was my very first TS4 character and the one I used to complete Career Mode with (and wrote this Superguide around). He has the potential to have a number of deficiencies without the right coach assigned to him. When bonuses are assessed to the weaker attributes, this player becomes fairly solid all around. No huge strengths, but no glaring weaknesses either. In the hands of a skilled player, this type of character can be fun to use throughout Career Mode even at the higher difficulties, but likely to be overpowered online by those who have embellished power games. For what it's worth, Toby Allen was my coach once I unlocked the Gold Coaches, and used him up until the start of Season 4 where I ramped up the difficulty to "Hard" and switched to coach Damian Salazar.	Comments: This is an improved version of my initial character. He is stronger in every category except for stamina (-12) and power (even). I find it unfortunate that one of the skills is basically a throw-away for me since I rarely hit inside-out shots.	Comments: This is my setup for a solid baseline player. His skill sets match my style of play almost perfectly. Decent speed and reflexes were more important to me than additional power. A "backup setting" I am wanting to try is 13 Offensive Baseline and 7 Defensive baseline using Sahy Rabari for my coach. Power and stamina reach 85, but speed and reflexes drop considerably.	Comments: While some gamers prefer to max out S&V with a 20-0-0 distribution, I found this setup to be effective for me. Grounstrokes are a weakness as is power, but the two coaching skill bonuses coupled with the attractive serve and volley scores result in a highly effective combo. Speed is slightly faster than that of Pete Sampras, and the high reflex score helps improve net play and return of serves considerably.	Comments:

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