In 2011, TopSpin 4 was released with Metacritic scores in the low to mid-80s. Despite the seemingly successful launch, we would not see another game in the franchise for 13 years. 2K’s relaunch of the series captures a satisfying snapshot of tennis in video game form, a beginner-friendly training system, and plenty of depth to satisfy fans of Career Mode and online play. Tight controls and a great roster of real-life pros make TopSpin 2K25 a wonderful game for sports fans and a great revitalization of a series I didn’t know I was missing.

Hanger 13, the developer behind the Mafia series, takes its first stab at the TopSpin franchise in this relaunch for Xbox and PlayStation consoles. The studio succeeded in just about every way you could hope for when it comes to what one could imagine a tennis sim would offer. It’s strange to think in the last decade or so, we’ve seen more tennis games starring Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom gang than actual pros. Regardless, having a true title back with such a welcoming gameplay learning curve, a great array of brand collaborations, and a wonderful roster is great.

TopSpin 2K25 invites players to begin at the TopSpin Academy where you can get a feel for the new timing meter. Depending on the speed and distance of the shot from your player, you’ll need to time your return to a bar that works quite well. While I’ve found changes to the shot meter in NBA 2K to make playing the game feel unnatural, the timing meter in TopSpin is easy to learn and relatively challenging to master. That gives players plenty of room to improve as they test out an exhibition or online play, or if you’re like me, as a budding star in the surprisingly deep Career Mode.

Creating a character is fun enough, but assigning attributes and picking gear is the first time we see the 2K virtual currency integrations creep in. While it’s not as egregious as other series like NBA 2K, something is frustrating about your player’s stats being rough around the edges to begin with the dangling carrot of spending real money to improve right in front of you from the start. It’s standard in these types of games now, so I’m not complaining that TopSpin is uniquely bombarding the player, but it’s still worth mentioning. That said, it’s not necessary to spend a dollar outside of purchasing the game.

In Career Mode, you begin as a low-ranked tennis pro and play tournaments to move up the leaderboards. Every time you play a tournament, you use energy. Interestingly, you also lose energy making long treks to far-away tournaments around the globe, so you have to manage your energy carefully. Playing a tournament in Athens, Greece, and then flying back to Atlanta in the U.S. for a back-to-back showing will likely earn you a minor injury. Every time you rest, however, you risk losing ranking spots, so it’s a fun challenge to pick and choose tournaments to play.

In between tournaments, Career Mode players can take on various challenges for fun unlockables such as gear, celebrations, and other ways to customize their player. Once you complete TopSpin Academy, I’d say hopping into Career Mode is a great way to learn the ins and outs of the game. Things like purposefully missing the shot meter for wonky shots and rushing the net for aggressive volleys come second nature the more time you spend playing the game. That depth of creativity on the court makes TopSpin 2K25 stand out within the first 5-10 hours you play.

That’s about all it took for the game to sink its teeth into me. The relatively arcade-like gameplay feels so accurate to actual tennis that you’re getting the best of both worlds. Presentation-wise, the courts and arenas you play look fantastic. Player bodies and movements look great as well, although facial animations sometimes look a little off in pregame cutscenes and minor camera cuts in between sets. There were no performance issues for me, but I found that the need to have your game connected online deemed Xbox Series X’s Quick Resume futile, which was a bit disappointing.

In terms of pros, you have a great roster of today’s rising stars and the GOATs of the sport. Serena Williams can play against Naomi Osaka and up-and-comer Carlos Alcaraz can travel in time to face off against Andre Agassi. Many stars have unlockable alternative outfits tied to the game’s Season Pass, the Centre Court Pass. Again, you don’t need to purchase these passes, but they offer a wide variety of items and cool looks from tennis’ past. These things don’t mean anything to me, and I felt like I unlocked enough by simply playing, but the option is there for tennis die-hards.

With minor animation wonkiness and the ever-annoying presence of microtransactions, the complaints about TopSpin 2K25 are minor and pose no threat to a wonderful experience. I’ve hopped off MLB The Show 24, something I often don’t do until late summer, to spend more time with this title. For a returning series to pull me away from a game that earns hundreds of my gaming hours each year is a personal feat worth praise. For others, the controls and feel of playing TopSpin are too good to pass up if you’re even casually into tennis or tennis games.

I could certainly see this game getting folks into watching real tennis, especially if they’re experiencing the one-two punch of this title and the release of the love triangle tennis film Challengers starring Zendaya. To those people, I say welcome aboard. Tennis is played year-round essentially and even collegiate tennis is a wonderful watch. As a great relaunch of the TopSpin franchise and easy gateway into the real sport, TopSpin 2K25 offers a lot to players and does quite a great job at reaffirming itself among the best sports video games.

An Xbox Series X review copy of Topspin 2K25 was provided by 2K for this review.

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TopSpin 2K25

$69.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Great relaunch of a popular sports franchise
• Tight controls and a great new timing meter for perfecting shots
• Nice roster of pros
• Career Mode and TopSpin Academy acclimate newcomers to the game quickly

Cons

• Facial animations and real-life players look off sometimes
• Microtransactions typical of a sports game are present, but not game-breaking