Top Spin 2K25

When Jimmy Connors for NES came out many years ago, the key to bringing home the victory was this: a series of simple and immediate controls, not very faithful to realism but certainly impactful in the arcade world.

Con la serie Top Spin and its many incarnations, the concept of tennis simulation has changed radically since those years and never as in this last period has interest in racket sports (no, I'm not talking about Padel, but rather its older brother) risen to very high levels in Italy, thus promising very fertile ground for the arrival of Top Spin 2K25, the next version of the longest-running tennis series of all time, which promises many new features coming on April 26, 2024.

Announced also for PlayStation 5, a next-generation console on which the game delivers excellent graphics, to the point of making our knees feel scraped when we try to return our opponent’s forehand, the new chapter of the series returns to shine in grand style: judging by the roster available at launch, we can have high expectations, but we can also give the developers a scolding: at the moment, our national Sinner is not present among the selectable athletes, and we are a little disappointed, let’s admit it, however Berrettini has been confirmed and is a partial but tasty consolation.

Developed by Hangar 13, a relatively young American software house that already brought us Mafia III, Top Spin 2K25 boasts the presence of all, or almost all, of the main tournaments on the world circuit, and the courts naturally include every existing type of surface, to guarantee players the optimal experience in terms of realism and strategic aspect: playing tennis means having significant physical fitness, certainly, however it is mental strength and psychological resilience that make the difference in a match, and this particular aspect seems to have been implemented by the developers.

La serie Top Spin has always stood out for the care put into the naturalness of the players’ movements and the immersion sought in the gameplay experience on the court, therefore the new installment for next-generation consoles bodes well for Top Spin 2K25 being crowned the best game of all time in its genre.

The ability to face human opponents online and the ton of single-player modes comfortably seated in our home Wimbledon, namely the living room, ensures hours and hours of exciting aces and smashes, moreover the game offers the possibility of starting a career by including an editor that will allow us to create our own video-game version, with which to face Sampras and his genius or Federer’s perfect shots, a mode that will make happy those who wish to try their hand at climbing to the title starting from the very lowest rung.

I find it particularly beautiful, and meaningful, that the tutorial is entrusted to McEnroe, a legendary player who was historically rather less calm during his matches: the rackets he destroyed in his fits of anger cannot be counted on the fingers of one hand.

This brings me to talk about the roster of athletes confirmed so far: in addition to Serena Williams among the legends and Murray among the active players, it is clear that the DLCs will be bringing the delicious desserts to the table in the future, called Sinner and Djokovic.

Straight, backhand, point. Rematch?