How to play
Top Tennis.

W A S D or Arrow keys

Move to the ball. For a stationary swing, movement stops during the first 0.18 seconds: hold left/right to aim across the court, up for a deep shot, or down for a short shot.

Space

Swing for a return. Your stroke adapts to the ball’s height and position. You need to move into reach and trigger the shot yourself.

Space then Space

On serve, press once to toss. Press again near the top of the toss to strike. These are two separate presses, with time between them.

Double Space

For a return, press twice within 0.22 seconds and before contact to add power. You can also hold Shift and press Space. A power shot needs 38 energy; energy recovers between shots.

Q / E

Prepare a short / deep shot. Press the same key again to return to a neutral shot. Up/down override this preset during the swing.

Hold C / PRO / LEGEND

Hold while aiming a normal or deep drive for safer placement inside the lines. Useful with power; release C during the wind-up for the full angle. Movement, serves, drops and lobs keep their usual controls.

R / PRO / LEGEND

Prepare a lob, then press Space to swing. Aim left/right; press R again to return to a normal shot. A lob uses no power. After a match, R starts a rematch at every level.

P / F

Pause a computer match / toggle fullscreen. The on-screen pause and fullscreen buttons provide the same actions.

~ / `

Busted Mode: hide the game behind an editable spreadsheet. Press the same key to return. Shift is optional. See how it works.

Need to look busy? Switch from the court to a mock spreadsheet with one key.

1. Hide the game.During a single-player game, press the ~ / ` key. Shift is optional. On most US keyboards, this key is below Esc. The spreadsheet covers the game, play pauses, and sound stops.
2. Enter some numbers.Click a cell and type text or numbers. Use the arrow keys to move between cells, Tab to move right, or Enter to move down. Shift+Tab moves left; Shift+Enter moves up.
3. Return to the court.Press the same ~ / ` key again, even while you edit a cell. Play resumes with your previous sound setting. If the game was already paused, it stays paused.

The court is your controller

Play with touch.

Build the point, one shot at a time.

1. Start with a calm serve.Press Space or tap to toss, then strike near the top. Do not double tap immediately: the second serve input should follow the ball’s rise.
2. Move early, then swing.Meet the ball within reach and press slightly before contact. Directional input during the wind-up changes aim, so allow yourself room to prepare.
3. Find a safe target.A central return gives you more margin. Try short and deep shots to move your opponent, and recover your position after every hit.
4. Add power when you are balanced.A second press before contact upgrades the return. Late or stretched power shots are harder to place; watch the reserve before committing.

A little repetition goes a long way

Practise the overhead.

Practice mode feeds repeated high lobs so you can work on movement, smash timing, and power. Move under the ball, then press Space or tap before it reaches your hitting zone. Smashes count as successful only when they land in the opponent’s singles court. Net and out shots reset your streak; perfect contacts and best speed count only on successful smashes.

Choose from six courts: New York, London, Paris, the desert, the beach, and the Moon. The destination courts use hard-court play; the Moon keeps Earth gravity.

PRO is the tactical challenge in Single Game and Tournament. Use depth and angles to stretch the opponent, then watch its recovery. A difficult save can leave a weaker reply and space for your next shot. Change direction behind its movement, follow a deep ball with a drop, or lob a committed net approach. Vary your placement as it learns repeated patterns.

LEGEND takes this challenge further. Its CPU recovers faster and adapts more strongly to repeated shots. Elite opponents leave smaller openings and test your weaker wing. Build sustained pressure and prepare for a counterdrop or a recovery lob when you draw the CPU forward. Choose your finish carefully. Your player’s controls and shot rules stay the same; a lower-rated player makes the challenge harder.

On keyboard, hold C while aiming a normal or deep drive to leave more room inside the lines. Use this placement when adding power from an imperfect contact; release C for the full angle when the opportunity is clear. On touch, use a smaller sideways joystick movement for a similar placement choice.

Press R or tap LOB on mobile before your swing to prepare a lob; select it again to cancel. Aim left/right and swing with Space or HIT. The highlighted LOB button shows the selection. In PRO and LEGEND, drop-shot reliability depends on the player’s touch rating, and deep drives from within 4.8 m of the net go out. Use a neutral shot, a short shot, or a lob when appropriate.

Short matches. Familiar scoring.

The same match format is used in the 32-player tournament. Win five matches in the knockout draw to take the title.

Point rules are the same at every difficulty. Your first bounce must land inside the opponent’s singles court; lines count as in. Once it lands in, a second bounce outside the lines still wins you the point. Net errors and first-bounce outs lose the point. A first serve fault gives you a second attempt; a double fault gives the receiver the point. Let serves are replayed without changing the score or serve number.

A few useful answers.