January 18, 2022, Kalypso Media made the headlines of video game media by releasing the teaser for its new tennis game: Matchpoint Tennis Championships. With a CGI rendering that feigned in-game gameplay trailer rendering, we inevitably placed our expectations on this title that almost came out of nowhere. It's difficult at the moment to sulk when you know how rare tennis games are and that no one has been able to do better than a Top Spin 4, released 11 years ago. But the real gameplay video has just brought us back to the harsh reality, with indeed a result clearly far from our expectations. Of course, we will wait to have the game in hand before losing hope, but the frozen animations and the hazardous placements of the players on the ground lead us to believe that it is not with him that we will have the worthy successor to Top. Spin 4. However, this gameplay trailer is there to give us some pointers on the game content and game mechanics.
We start with an overview of the character editor, with the possibility of shaping your avatar from head to toe, outfit and accessories included. Then it's off to a Career mode that you will have to complete to enter the best ATP rankings, knowing that you will have to travel around the globe. But it will also be possible to play the pro players of the circuit, and even if certain legends like Federer, Nadal and Djokovich are not in the game (they are expensive in license fees), we can catch up with Andrey Rublev, Benoît Paire , Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev or even Kei Nishikori on the men's side. On the game system side, we do not know if the timing will be one of the key elements of the gameplay, but the placement seems to be essential to return the ball correctly. On the other hand, we deplore that on the clay courts, there is no trace of footsteps, which somewhat distorts the immersion.
The release of Matchpoint Tennis Championships is expected for July 7 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
