SEGA SPORTS TENNIS by Darrell Wong (DKW 001)
World Tour guide
++ Stuff for CJayC ++
Date completed: 1/28/02
Version: Final (w/corrections)
E-mail: wongd012@hawaii.rr.com
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### IMPORTANT NOTICE ### (added July 2003)
I'm overwhelmed by the sheer number of responses I got to this little FAQ, and
even more so by the number of foreign respondents. Never in my wildest dreams
that I'd be getting as much feedback as I had for...well, something I did
completely on a whim. (In contrast, my Ready 2 Rumble FAQ, which I poured my
heart and soul into, generated about 3 responses total, and don't even ask
about Ready 2 Rumble Round 2.)
While I'm certainly grateful, I noticed that a some respondents have some
misconceptions. Since I don't know of any message board or chatroom that
covers this sort of thing, I have to say it here.
Anyway, if you're going to respond to this FAQ, please know that:
* I rented this game once. It was a long, long time ago. I do not intend to
play this ever again. I'm done with this game. Therefore, I do not need any
advice, strategies, insights, etc. If you feel the need to share them, the
best thing you can do is write your own FAQ. No, really. If it's any good, I
guarantee he'll put it up.
* The moment I saw the eye-popping things the NES Game Genie could do, any
concerns about honor or correctness or satisfaction etc. I *may* have had (if
in fact there were any) were blown to pieces. In other words, DO NOT try to
argue any aspect of cheat devices with me. The Gameshark stays in the PS2.
I'm not budging a micrometer on this.
* Please do not get pedantic and harp on how King and Queen aren't as hard as I
said they were, all right? The sheer desperation of trying to get something,
anything, past those overpowered demigods was bad enough; I don't need anyone
calling me a damn LIAR. Remember, too, that this was a rental, so I didn't
exactly have the months of time (let alone the months of *patience*) to learn
how to beat them clean.
* Above all, do not tell me that I suck, or that I'm just not trying hard
enough, or I need to get better, or I need to become a real player, or I'm a
disgrace to PS2 players, or any of that junk. I am free of macho issues. Any
messages that try to convince me otherwise will be deleted with no reply.
Okay? Okay. Thanks to all future respondents for your understanding.
On with the FAQ!
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This is a guide to the events and items in the World Tour. Since I used
Gameshark codes to max out my players' stats, I didn't spend much time
training, so I won't be covering that.
++++++++
Overview
++++++++
There are a number of changes from Virtua Tennis' World Tour, particularly how
money is handled and how events are set up.
The first thing you do, of course, is create the players, one male and one
female. Of the options you have, the most critical ones are height and weight.
Taller players have more powerful serves and can reach higher balls but have
less mobility. Heavier players are strong but slow. It's up to you whether to
create big, strong players ("Philippoussises"), small, speedy players
("Changs"), average players ("Kafelnikovs"), or one of each. Don't worry about
your clothing or wristband selections; the others are available in the first
shop (as well as several others, of course).
Next up, home placement. This has no bearing on gameplay; it's just a map
location for your "home base". You can even put it in water. I prefer the
northern coast of South America; it's stationed nicely amidst the stores and
isn't too close to any of the events.
Once these are done, the tour begins. You start at an initial rank of 300 and
increase it by winning events. All the events happen at a specific quarter (or
"week") of a specific month of the year, so it's a good idea in the early going
to play events as soon as they are available. Your other options are training
and resting. Training increases your abilities, while resting allows both
players to recover their stamina. Remember that only one player can train per
quarter, and neither player *ever* recovers any stamina without rest.
All matches are played on one of four surfaces:
HARD: Whatever the material (asphalt, concrete, stone, etc.), hard courts are
fast and have high bounces. This is the "fairest" surface because it doesn't
favor any particular style or strength. Players of all stripes...baseliners,
net players, forehand and backhand hitters, hard servers, all-around
players...are on equal footing.
There are more World Tour events on hard courts than any other, so it pays to
build up all your players' attributes.
CLAY: Called "mud" by some sportscasters, this soft surface has fairly high
bounces, like hard, but takes a lot of speed off the ball. Because of the
slowness, long rallies are common, and a single set between two strong clay
courters can take over an hour. This surface favors baseline hitters and
punishes power players, particularly serve-and-volleyers.
Much of your clay court success on the World Tour hinges on "hitting it where
they ain't". Strong, accurate ground strokes are a must.
GRASS: The exact opposite of clay; fast with low bounces. Long rallies are
rare, and many points are decided on the serve. This surface favors net
players, particularly serve-and-volleyers. Clay court specialists are at a
tremendous disadvantage on grass; many don't even attempt to play on it. When
two big servers meet on grass, it's not uncommon for every set to go to a
tiebreaker.
Grass matches on the World Tour are fast-paced, often harrowing affairs. Foot
speed, serve ability, and volley ability are all extremely valuable.
CARPET: An artificial surface also known as Astroturf, or turf for short. It
produces fairly low bounces and is *extremely* fast. Only a few real-life
tournaments are played on carpet, most of them quite prestigious.
Carpet in the World Tour takes grass' speed and ratchets it up a notch.
Baseline rallies are frenzied scrambles; net battles resemble ping-pong
matches. This is by far the toughest surface in Sega Sports Tennis. To put it
in perspective, the two most difficult matches in World Tour *and* the regular
game are on carpet.
If you actually decide to go through with training (rather than entering codes
like a normal person :-D), the only advice I can give is to learn what works
and don't give up. The tasks are really, really difficult, and it can take you
an incredibly long time just to get them down. (The wrong kind of "replay
value".)
++++++++++
Shop items
++++++++++
There are a total of five shops, four of which you get by winning events. In
the order that you get them, they're Equator, Nomad, Iceberg, and Statue (I
forgot the name of the first one). The one ironclad rule is to always get the
necessities (rackets and doubles partners) before the luxuries (everything
else). Thankfully, most of the choices for the former are pretty easy.
RACKETS: This is the one item that directly affects your game, so make sure you
always have the best one available. Whenever you obtain a racket (either by
buying it or winning a special event), you get both a men's and a women's
model, so both players can use it. Check the racket selection of each new shop
as it opens and buy the best racket you can afford (provided it's better than
the one you have right now, of course). You should have to buy no more than
three upgrades in the entire World Tour, so don't sweat it. Once you win
either Head racket (see below), you should never have to pay for another tool.
DOUBLES PARTNERS: 2 months equals eight quarters, the quarter you pick your
partner up being the first one. In general, you want to get someone who does
good on the surface you're about to play on. Also, if the match is longer than
2 games, he/she also should be a decent server.
Pioline has a very good all-around game. Enqvist and Haas are also good and
usually know how to play to their strong sides. Moya is a clay court
specialist, so don't pick him for any other surface. Norman is so-so, but he
can easily dominate lesser events. Rafter and Henman are offensive powerhouses
and make great net players, especially on grass. Kafelnikov is a fine
all-around player and has a ton of hustle, but he tends to be TOO aggressive,
to the point of encroaching on your side and making occasional bad shots.
V.Williams and Davenport are great full-court players. Seles has a ton of
power and excels at the net. Both Pierce and the younger Williams have
blistering baseline shots. Sugiyama and Stevenson are pretty good. Avoid
Sanchez-Vicario at all costs; she occasionally makes good shots but is slow and
has absolutey zippo hustle. I played with her twice and was flabbergasted by
the number of easy balls she simply gave up on.
COURTS: Buy them and they become selectable in Exhibition mode. Note that if
you start a new World Tour game, you lose all your obtained courts and have to
pick them up again.
APPAREL: Plenty of outfits to choose from. For your man, there are shirts,
shorts, and two pairs of long pants (one slacks, one jeans) in the last shop.
The woman has shirts, skirts, full-body dresses, shorts, and tank tops
(including two sports bras). Dresses are filed under "shirts" in the apparel
selection screen; picking one, of course, negates the skirt selection.
ETC.: Wristbands and shoes to complete the look. As with the rackets, both
men's and women's models are provided for each purchase. The last shop has
four pairs of shoes supposedly specialized by surface. I say "supposedly"
because I tried them, and I wasn't able to detect any appreciable difference in
my players' performance. They're fancy accessories, nothing more.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Complete event calendar
+++++++++++++++++++++++
All the events are listed in the order they show up on the calendar. The prize
money is always evenly divided among the rounds, e.g. an $81,000 event with
three rounds gives you $27,000 per round won. A few events also award a racket
if you win it. Unfortunately, most of them aren't of any use because by the
time you're good enough to win the event, you probably have a better racket
already. (There are two very notable exceptions, explained below.)
The Challengers series makes up the level 1 events; they're bottom-rung
tournaments for players just starting out. The opponents are very weak, so
even inexperienced players should be able to win them. They're good for
getting a feel of the game and testing your players' abilities. Level 2 events
are relatively minor tournaments, often used as "stepping stones" to the big
events. The opponents are a little tougher; you'll need some training and
decent equipment to beat them. Level 3 consists of the corporate-sponsored
"super" tournaments. They have strong fields and are usually pretty tough to
win. Level 4 is the "Grand Slam", the richest, most prestigious tournaments.
Needless to say, they're a tremendous challenge for even the most elite
players.
"Year first available" means the first year you'll be eligible for this event
if you play and win every event as soon as it becomes available.
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January #1 - open date
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January #2 - Bridgestone Cup
Level 2 women's doubles
Location: Hong Kong, China (hard)
Required rank: 250
Duration: 2 rounds, 3 games
Prize: $40,000
Year first available: 2
In all likelihood, this will be your first tournament of the second year. The
equitable surface and match length mean that you'll need both volleying and
groundstroking ability (preferably power; accuracy isn't as important in
doubles). Your teammate should also be balanced.
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January #3 - Challengers I
Level 1 men's singles
Location: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (hard)
Required rank: none
Duration: 2 rounds, 2 games
Prize: $20,000
Year first available: 1
The first tournament you can enter. Both opponents are very weak, so you
should be able to win it on your first try. The best strategy is to go right
to the net and end each point as quickly as possible. Don't spend a lot of
time trading groundstrokes, which just increases your chances of a bad shot.
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January #4 - open date
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February #1 - Australia Challenge
Level 4 men's singles
Location: Melbourne, Australia (hard)
Required rank: 80
Duration: Single match, 6 games
Prize: $140,000
Year first available: 3
The first Grand Slam event; expect a very hard, very tight match. Unless your
man has both maximum or near-maximum stats and a great racket, he doesn't stand
a chance. There are no secrets to winning this...either you got it or you
don't.
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February #2 - Australia Challenge
Level 4 women's doubles
Location: Melbourne, Australia (hard)
Required rank: 90
Duration: Single match, 6 games
Prize: $120,000 / SP Lite 2000
Year first available: 3
Just a grueling hardcourt doubles match. As with the other Australia Challenge
tournament, always go in with high stats and a strong racket. Having a good
all-around teammate doesn't hurt either.
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February #3 - open date
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February #4 - Challengers II
Level 1 women's singles
Location: Gold Coast, Australia (hard)
Required rank: none
Duration: 2 rounds, 2 games
Prize: $20,000
Year first available: 1
The first woman's tournament you can enter, also a snap.
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March #1 - open date
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March #2 - Evian World Doubles
Level 2 men's doubles
Location: Cape Town, South Africa (hard)
Required rank: 260
Duration: 2 rounds, 3 games
Prize: $36,000
Year first available: 2
As with Bridgestone Cup, both your man and his partner should be balanced in
their abilities. Pioline is probably your best bet.
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March #3 - Head International
Level 3 men's doubles
Location: Barcelona, Spain (clay)
Required rank: 120
Duration: 2 rounds, 3 games
Prize: $80,000 / Head IS18 Chip System
Year first available: 2
A good combination is Moya set to Baseline (Haas is also a good choice) and
your player fairly close to the net, but not right at the net. Let your
teammate take the groundstrokes and keep your eyes open for put-away chances.
This is a very important event to win because it gives you the Head IS18 Chip
System, which is a *superb* racket. Once you have it, you'll probably never
need another.
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March #4 - Head International
Level 3 women's singles
Location: Barcelona, Spain (clay)
Required rank: 110
Duration: 3 rounds, 3 games
Prize: $81,000 / Head i.Radical OS
Year first available: 2
A long, tough women's event. Your opponents play the baseline game very well,
so stay calm and don't try to force anything. It'll probably take you at least
three tries to win this. When you do manage to win, you'll get a very worthy
prize, the powerful Head i.Radical OS, probably the last racket you'll ever
need.
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April #1 - open date
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April #2 - Challengers III
Level 1 men's doubles
Location: Casablanca, Morocco (clay)
Required rank: none
Duration: 2 rounds, 2 games
Prize: $20,000
Year first available: 1
The first doubles Challengers; even easier than the singles ones. If you
really want to romp, pick Kafelnikov.
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April #3 - open date
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April #4 - Fuji Film Ladies
Level 2 women's singles
Location: Miami, USA (grass)
Required rank: 270
Duration: 3 rounds, 2 games
Prize: $33,000
Year first available: 1
Attack the net aggressively and you'll make mincemeat of the weak field here.
If you see a lob, get in position quickly for the easy overhead winner.
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May #1 - Opel Grandprix
Level 3 women's doubles
Location: Berlin, Germany (hard)
Required rank: 180
Duration: 2 rounds, 3 games
Prize: $64,000
Year first available: 2
This is level 3, so get those stats up or you'll get run ragged. And
definitely go with a balanced teammate.
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May #2 - Opel Grandprix
Level 3 men's singles
Location: Berlin, Germany (hard)
Required rank: 170
Duration: 3 rounds, 3 games
Prize: $66,000
Year first available: 2
Prepare yourself; this one's a grind. All your stats...footwork,
groundstrokes, volleys, serve, everything...have to be up for this.
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May #3 - open date
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May #4 - Weider Tennis Classic
Level 2 men's singles
Location: Doha, Qatar (clay)
Required rank: 280
Duration: 3 rounds, 2 games
Prize: $30,000
Year first available: 1
Typical level 2. Use the basic clay court game; hammer away from the baseline
until he makes a mistake, then go for the kill.
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June #1 - French Cup
Level 4 women's singles
Location: Paris, France (clay)
Required rank: 60
Duration: Single match, 6 games
Prize: $180,000 / Big Spoon 297c
Year first available: 3
Allow me to be blunt...you will get absolutely *creamed* the first few times
you play this. Trading baseline shots all day is suicide, so mix up your shots
a LOT and be sure to capitalize on each and every mistake. Good luck.
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June #2 - French Cup
Level 4 men's doubles
Location: Paris, France (clay)
Required rank: 70
Duration: Single match, 6 games
Prize: $160,000 / Hi-Guard 89
Year first available: 2
Use the same strategy for Head International and prepare to get ground into the
mud the first, second, and possibly fifth time you play this.
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June #3 - open date
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June #4 - Challengers IV
Level 1 women's doubles
Location: Vancouver, Canada (grass)
Required rank: none
Duration: 2 rounds, 2 games
Prize: $20,000
Year first available: 1
A shade tougher than the previous Challengers tourneys, but still a cakewalk.
Any partner will do.
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July #1 - There are two events on this date
- IBM Tennis Tournament
Level 2 men's doubles
Location: Doha, Qatar (clay)
Required rank: 220
Duration: 2 rounds, 3 games
Prize: $48,000
Year first available: 1
Another typical level 2. Play one person close to the net (either you or your
teammate) and it's an easy win.
- England Trophy
Level 4 women's doubles
Location: London, England (grass)
Required rank: 50
Duration: Single match, 6 games
Prize: $200,000 / Super Classic 160a
Year first available: 3
Only steel nerves, potent volleys, and, oh yes, a whole bunch of tries will
give you any chance at victory. It's pound or be pounded here, so pick a
*hard* volleyer (Seles is the best; V.Williams and Davenport are also good),
send both players to the net, and give 'em everything you got.
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July #2 - England Trophy
Level 4 men's singles
Location: London, England (grass)
Required rank: 50
Duration: Single match, 6 games
Prize: $220,000
Year first available: 3
Indescribable...and indescribably *hard*. Suffice to say that your man had
better have a cannonball serve at the very minimum.
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July #3 - Challengers V
Level 1 men's singles
Location: Casablanca, Morocco (clay)
Required rank: none
Duration: 2 rounds, 2 games
Prize: $20,000
Year first available: 1
The fun-'n'-easy run continues. This is a good place to test your
groundstrokes.
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July #4 - open date
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August #1 - Volvo Challenge
Level 3 women's doubles
Location: Stockholm, Sweden (hard)
Required rank: 150
Duration: 2 rounds, 3 games
Prize: $72,000
Year first available: 2
Essentially the same as Opel Grandprix. If you're good at doubles (and you
should be at this point), this one shouldn't take more than two tries. Again,
a balanced teammate is the best.
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August #2 - Volvo Challenge
Level 3 men's doubles
Location: Stockholm, Sweden (hard)
Required rank: 160
Duration: 2 rounds, 3 games
Prize: $70,000
Year first available: 2
Very similar to the women's event and should also be played the same.
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August #3 - open date
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August #4 - Citizen Women's Hardcourt
Level 2 women's singles
Location: Hong Kong, China (hard)
Required rank: 230
Duration: 3 rounds, 2 games
Prize: $45,000
Year first available: 1
One of the easier 3-rounders. Play to your woman's strengths and it's in the
bag.
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September #1 - US Super Tennis
Level 4 men's doubles
Location: New York, USA (hard)
Required rank: 30
Duration: Single match, 6 games
Prize: $240,000 / Octex Ti 235
Year first available: 3
Your opponents get to just about everything, and they cover the court very
well. Be relentless on the attack and keep a sharp eye out for even the
slightest opening. The best partner is Rafter or Pioline.
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September #2 - US Super Tennis
Level 4 women's singles
Location: New York, USA (hard)
Required rank: 20
Duration: Single match, 6 games
Prize: $260,000 / Air Razor 230 Ti
Year first available: 3
Bleah. This is a monster event, even with maximum stats and the best possible
racket. Good luck...you'll need a *ton* of it.
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September #3 - open date
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September #4 - Challengers VI
Level 1 women's singles
Location: Vancouver, Canada (grass)
Required rank: none
Duration: 2 rounds, 2 games
Prize: $20,000
Year first available: 1
A good place to iron out your net game. Don't worry about being lobbed; you
always have plenty of time to react.
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October #1 - open date
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October #2 - Wilson Cup
Level 2 women's doubles
Location: Miami, USA (grass)
Required rank: 210
Duration: 2 rounds, 3 games
Prize: $50,000
Year first available: 1
The first level 2 tournament available to you. Go to the net and set your
partner on Normal (anyone except Sanchez-Vicario or Seles works fine). If an
opponent lobs, your partner is in a perfect position to slam it down her
throat.
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October #3 - Yonex Open
Level 3 men's singles
Location: Moscow, Russia (carpet)
Required rank: 130
Duration: 3 rounds, 3 games
Prize: $78,000
Year first available: 2
Welcome to the fast stuff, big guy. Don't even think of entering this unless
you have plenty of speed *and* excellent shot control. Unless you can make
your opponents run, you're going to get pounded. A hard serve also helps.
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October #4 - Yonex Open
Level 3 women's singles
Location: Moscow, Russia (carpet)
Required rank: 140
Duration: 3 rounds, 3 games
Prize: $75,000
Year first available: 2
Same as the men's side, except that shot control is even more important.
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November #1 - Challengers VII
Level 1 men's doubles
Location: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (hard)
Required rank: none
Duration: 2 rounds, 2 games
Prize: $20,000
Year first available: 1
Same ol', same ol' Challengers. Win it any way you like.
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November #2 - open date
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November #3 - Dunlop Men's Indoor
Level 2 men's singles
Location: Cape Town, South Africa (hard)
Required rank: 240
Duration: 3 rounds, 2 games
Prize: $42,000
Year first available: 1
A good event for "cutting your teeth" for level 2 matches. The opponents are
only slightly harder than in the Challengers series.
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November #4 - open date
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December #1 - Tennis Magazine Cup
Level 2 mixed doubles
Location: Los Angeles, USA (carpet)
Required rank: 200
Duration: Single match, 6 games
Prize: $60,000
Year first available: 1
This is a mixed doubles event, so both your champs take part (and both need a
rank of 200 or better). Take control of the stronger player and play close to
the net; the other should be on either Baseline or Normal, depending on his/her
abilities. This is the by far the hardest tournament of level 2, so you'll
definitely need something more than typical level 2 players.
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December #2 - Hitmaker Cup
Level 3 mixed doubles
Location: Singapore (grass)
Required rank: 100
Duration: Single match, 6 games
Prize: $90,000 / Sharpness F285
Year first available: 2
A fast-paced event that can turn ugly in a hurry. Both players' volley stats
should be maxed out or close to it.
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December #3 - There are two events on this date
- Challengers VIII
Level 1 women's doubles
Location: Gold Coast, Australia (hard)
Required rank: none
Duration: 2 rounds, 2 games
Prize: $20,000
Year first available: 1
One final Challengers to close out the year. My only advice is to pick the
same partner you're going to take to Bridgestone Cup.
- SPT Final
Level 4 mixed doubles
Location: Tokyo, Japan (carpet)
Required rank: 10
Duration: Single match, 6 games
Prize: $280,000 / King Stinger 85
Year first available: 3
The hurting never ends. No advice I can give here...except to have plenty of
aspirin handy. This one's just plain IMPOSSIBLE. It'll probably take you as
long to beat this as all the level 1, 2, and 3 events *put together*.
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December #4 - Super Exhibition
Level 5 mixed doubles
Location: Court of the King (carpet)
Required rank: 2
Duration: Single match, 6 games
Prize: $300,000 / special court
Year first available: 3
(This doesn't appear until you win every other event and have a ranking of 2
for both players. When you do, you'll see this under "Level 5" in December.)
This...ugh. Blargh. Yuck. You're up against King and Queen here. For those
of you who've never played them...well, consider yourselves lucky, as they're
*completely invincible* and give up a point approximately once per Presidential
administration.
Think I'm exaggerating? I wish. Lessee...for starters, they get to
everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. Spike it 110 MPH into the corner? No
problem. And all their shots land in, *especially* the dive shots. And they
have mighty good placement on these supposedly "desperation" shots, too. And
they instantly find...and hit...each and every opening. And their power would
put an Olympic weightlifter to shame. Yes, including Queen. (If Bobby Riggs
had taken *her* on, he would've been lucky to *live* long enough to get stomped
6-0, 6-0, 6-0.) And they do everything right. And they walk on water...well,
maybe not, but considering how effortlessly they glide over the turf, I
wouldn't count it out.
See, this is why I use Gameshark codes. Because I couldn't have won this
without codes. And none of the videogamers in my family could beat this
without codes. And it's no fun at all playing them without codes, anyway.
So anyway, if you haven't gotten to them yet, fair warning. And if you happen
to be one of the people who's managed to beat them without any codes...well,
I'm utterly flabbergasted and never believed that it was possible. That's all
I really got to say.
================================================================================
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Special guide (C)2002 by Darrell Wong, all rights reserved.
http://home.hawaii.rr.com/dkwff
