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Tennis Elbow 4 Game Cover

About Tennis Elbow 4

Tennis Elbow 4 is a single player and multiplayer sport game. It was developed by Mana Games and was released on January 23, 2026. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Tennis Elbow 4 is the successor of Tennis Elbow 2013, acclaimed by many Steam reviewers as the most realistic tennis simulation ever. TE4 pushes even deeper the realism of the tennis rallies by providing completely rehauled ball, strike & player physics. Created by and for tennis fans, Tennis Elbow 4 is a tennis simulation with an easy and intuitive learning curve, but with exceptional gameplay …

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Reviews

97%Audience ScoreBased on 572 reviews
gameplay76 positive mentions
music3 negative mentions

  • Extremely realistic and immersive gameplay capturing the nuances of real tennis, including footwork, shot variety, positioning, and shot timing.
  • Deep and rewarding career mode with extensive player progression, tournaments from various eras, and customization, enhanced further by a vibrant modding community.
  • Highly responsive and active solo developer who continuously improves the game with updates, listens to community feedback, and provides exceptional mod support.
  • Outdated graphics and somewhat clunky animations, especially in player movement and volleys, detract from immersion though are somewhat mitigated by mods.
  • Steep learning curve and initially unintuitive controls that require time and effort to master, which may be frustrating for casual players.
  • User interface and menus are often criticized as unintuitive, clunky, and not user-friendly, causing navigation difficulties especially with controllers.
  • gameplay

    224 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    34% positive mentions, 63% neutral mentions, 3% negative mentions

    Tennis Elbow 4 delivers the most realistic and in-depth tennis gameplay available, praised for its nuanced mechanics, authentic ball physics, and strategic depth that closely mirrors real tennis. Although it has a steep learning curve and less polished graphics, the gameplay is highly rewarding and addictive, providing diverse, engaging experiences unmatched by competitors. Its strong career mode, extensive customization, and active developer support further solidify it as the top choice for tennis purists valuing gameplay over visual flair.

    • “Tennis elbow 4 stands above all other sport simulation games due to its intuitive gameplay and amazing career mode, featuring realistic mechanics and engaging polish.”
    • “The gameplay is incredibly realistic, capturing not just the sport’s mechanics but also its rhythm, tactics, and thrill, setting it apart from other tennis games.”
    • “If you care about gameplay depth and authentic tennis, tennis elbow 4 is easily the best tennis sim available — bar none.”
    • “It definitely has a steep learning curve, as you have to learn how to position yourself properly to hit the ball at the right spot, set up your shots for better accuracy, and adapt to different court surfaces, each with different speed, friction, and bounce behavior, all adding another layer of depth to the gameplay.”
    • “The mechanic relies on timing and a bit of randomness, and it can feel stiff compared to the fluidity of rally play.”
    • “But this mechanic causes extremely unrealistic plays when both players are close to the net, as they end up exchanging an impossible sequence of automatic volleys.”
  • graphics

    110 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    23% positive mentions, 57% neutral mentions, 20% negative mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely described as outdated, basic, and not on par with modern AAA titles, often compared to older-generation visuals like those from the PS2 era. However, most reviewers agree that while the animations can be somewhat clunky and the visual presentation lacks polish, these shortcomings do not detract from the deeply realistic and rewarding gameplay experience. Fans appreciate that the game's focus is on tennis simulation and mechanics rather than flashy visuals, with mods further enhancing the look for those interested.

    • “The modding community makes up for that in a huge way, and for me - someone who usually values beautiful graphics - I just completely forget about it during match and I get enchanted from the ball physics and realistic courts.”
    • “The biggest complaint I hear about Tennis Elbow is the graphics and sure it doesn't compete with other games in that sense (that have much bigger budgets and large dev teams compared to a single dev on Tennis Elbow) but the graphics are still quite good I think and don't deter from the game's immersion.”
    • “Awesome game, the graphics are great and the avatar's movement is surprisingly smooth and realistic.”
    • “Tennis Elbow 4 looks like it time-traveled from 2005 and forgot to upgrade the graphics.”
    • “Brutal visuals, clunky presentation.”
    • “The only drawback, which ties into the point above, is that the graphics and animations aren’t AAA level - there’s no budget for motion capture with real players, and graphics are not astonishing.”
  • optimization

    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    25% positive mentions, 50% neutral mentions, 25% negative mentions

    The game is generally well-optimized, running smoothly at high settings on mid-to-high-end hardware with good controller support. However, some performance drops occur during audience cheering and occasional stuttering and graphical glitches are noticeable. Overall, optimization is solid but could be improved in specific areas like heat management and crowd rendering.

    • “Setup: GTX 1070, Ryzen 5 1600, and 16 GB of RAM, the game runs smoothly at over 60 FPS in 4K at maximum graphical settings with 3D courts enabled.”
    • “I also use a DualShock and this game is optimized for Xbox controllers.”
    • “Another issue is the optimization of the audience, which greatly affects the FPS during moments of cheering.”
    • “Optimization has a problem: the computer's heat dissipation is insufficient, causing frame drops.”
    • “Some stuttering occurs between points, along with noticeable graphical glitches on certain courts.”
    • “The game is optimized for Xbox controllers, but not for others like DualShock.”
  • music

    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    33% positive mentions, 17% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions

    The game's menu music received mixed feedback, with some finding it enjoyable and others considering it uninspired, while the gameplay features no music at all. Overall, opinions on the music are divided, and the menus could benefit from visual and auditory improvements.

    • “Great menu music.”
    • “And really nice menu music, by the way!”
    • “Music is off during gameplay and menu music is a bit of a throwaway.”
    • “Additionally, the menus and music are not pretty and could use a facelift.”
    • “No flashy graphics, no licensed music, no sponsors or ads.”
  • monetization

    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    33% positive mentions, 17% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions

    Users express disappointment with the heavy focus on microtransactions in recent tennis games, contrasting it with the simpler enjoyment of older titles. They criticize modern sports games for prioritizing monetization and superficial features over deep gameplay, leading to a less authentic and more commercialized experience.

    • “It brings you back to the simplistic feeling of just having fun without the pressure of microtransactions.”
    • “I used to love sports games, but in recent years I gave up on them because they are either giant corporate offerings from EA/2K which are more focused on microtransactions and fluff, or they are cartoon-y with simple gameplay.”
    • “More recently, I've had the misfortune of supporting Tennis World Tour back in 2018 which in truth was just a quick cash grab with nothing but shallow gameplay.”
  • grinding

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding in the game is engaging and enjoyable, featuring intense rallies and immersive crowd animations that make progress feel rewarding. However, some users find career mode management tedious and unintuitive, with silent auto-advancements causing missed opportunities. Overall, leveling up and advancing can feel seamless and addictive, especially with mod support enhancing the experience.

    • “Modifying settings and the player is tedious and the career calendar is not intuitive; I've missed character development and entire tournaments because there are silent auto-advancements.”
    • “You will find yourself grinding XP and ranking points without noticing the time fly by.”
    • “Played tiebreak and loved crowd excitement and animations and back and forth grindy rallies.”
  • atmosphere

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    60% positive mentions, -20% neutral mentions, 60% negative mentions

    The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its realistic stadiums and progression through tournaments, creating an engaging environment. However, some users feel the atmosphere, especially during slam tournaments and crowd reactions, could be more lively and immersive. Overall, the ambiance is promising but has room for enhancement in crowd interaction.

    • “The animations, the atmosphere, and the progression through tournaments all feel promising.”
    • “Realistic stadiums: the xkt mod introduces beautifully rendered stadiums that perfectly capture the atmosphere of iconic tennis venues.”
    • “The audience and its applause grew louder, the atmosphere rose.”
    • “This game is almost perfect, maybe just a bit lack of atmosphere in the slam tournaments, but it's only details.”
    • “I thought, well, that's some PES-like atmosphere on the court, barely applauding from the audience.”
    • “The animations, the atmosphere and the progression through tournaments all feel promising.”
  • replayability

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    75% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 25% negative mentions

    The game offers exceptional replayability through real-world tournaments, an authentic ranking system, and a goal-driven career mode, providing a depth that surpasses its competitors.

    • “The addition of real-world tournaments and an authentic ranking system adds immense replay value.”
    • “This gives TE4 replay value far beyond its competitors.”
    • “The tennis gameplay easily outpaces modern competitors, and the career mode offers tremendous goal-driven replay value.”
    • “Replayability?”
  • stability

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game demonstrates strong overall stability with no major glitches reported after extensive playtime, though occasional stuttering and minor graphical issues appear on some courts.

    • “Some stuttering between points and little noticeable graphical glitches on certain courts.”
  • emotional

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Users praise the game for delivering a deeply authentic and emotionally engaging tennis experience, evoking nostalgic feelings while offering exciting, modern gameplay. The community's creative mods further enhance this connection, adding to the game's emotional appeal.

    • “I want to send my heartfelt thank you to the developer, Manu, for creating such a deeply authentic and addictive tennis experience, and to all the amazing mod creators who’ve expanded the game with stunning courts, players, outfits, and more.”
    • “Tennis Elbow 4 made me feel like I was back in 2004, but with a turbo-charged racket!”
  • character development

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Character development in the game is hindered by a tedious interface and an unintuitive career calendar, leading to missed progress and events due to automatic, silent advancements.

    • “Modifying settings and the player is tedious, and the career calendar is not intuitive; I've missed character development and entire tournaments because there are silent auto-advancements.”
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Play Times

25h Median play time
216h Average play time
16-520h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Tennis Elbow 4 is a sport game. Common tags for Tennis Elbow 4 include 3D, realistic, indie, esports, modern and others.

Tennis Elbow 4 is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, Mac OS, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 216 hours playing Tennis Elbow 4.

Tennis Elbow 4 was released on January 23, 2026.

Tennis Elbow 4 was developed by Mana Games.

Tennis Elbow 4 has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Tennis Elbow 4 for its gameplay but disliked it for its optimization.

Tennis Elbow 4 is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Tiebreak, Full Ace Tennis Simulator, Tennis Elbow Manager 2, AO Tennis 2, Super Mega Baseball 3 and others.