BackTennis: Game, set, app match
The 2014 tennis season is winding down, with the final Grand Slam starting 25 August. We take a look at some of the best apps for updates and games
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US Open Tennis Championships
iOS and Android
Free
A scoreboard that gets updated live, text commentary, schedule details and detailed profiles of key players, along with interviews before and after matches—they are all there. This is the official app of the tournament, though, so don’t expect too much sauce and spice when it comes to controversies. But yes, for sheer information on the tournament, this app is difficult to beat.
Tennis News and Live Scores
iOS and Android
Free
If it is news that you seek about the tennis world in general, and even some players in particular, then this app developed by NewsFusion Ltd is the way to go. The app pulls the latest news from different sites and displays it in a magazine-like, flippable format on tablets and a very eye-friendly, tile-by-tile format on phones. You not only get the headlines but also the option to keep yourself updated about specific players and events you like by using a My News option. There are videos, interviews, features and a live scorecard option that goes beyond a single tournament. Also, controversy is not scorned, so be ready to see a bit of gossip too.
Virtua Tennis Challenge
iOS and Android
₹ 300 on iOS/free to download on Android; full version, ₹ 300, on Android
It has been around for almost two years and it remains the best tennis game. That perhaps tells you both how good a game Virtua Tennis Challenge is, and how little competition it has. What makes it special is not just its excellent near-console quality graphics and special effects (oh yes, there are slow-motion replays and extra camera angles) but also its incredibly intuitive gameplay, which is built around swipes —a swipe up for topspin, a swipe down for a slice, an upward arc for a drop, and so on. Yes, it does need a relatively high-end device to really work in all its glory but tennis on a mobile device does not get better than this. We would even recommend paying and getting the full version, it’s that good.
Flick Tennis: College Wars
iOS and Android
Free
A tennis game with a storyline? Well, that is Flick Tennis for you. In it, you are not just someone trying to make their way through the tennis world, you’re actually trying to do it for your coach and your dad (“This is for you, dad," your character says in a comic book-ish introduction). Even if you do not particularly like the story, there is some decent gameplay here. The game is gesture-based (a swipe with a single finger for a ground stroke, a two-finger slice upward for a slice, and so on) and in a neat touch, a line appears, tracing the direction of your stroke even as you play it. Competitors get tougher as you go up levels and there are some interesting twists in the plot as well.
Stick Tennis
iOS and Android
Free
From the developers that brought us the extremely simple, yet utterly entertaining Stick Cricket comes Stick Tennis. And in keeping with the Stick Cricket tradition, this too is an utterly simple game. There are no cutting- edge graphics and the gameplay is limited to simple taps and swipes on a court. There are no multiple viewing angles and the action seems to be too fast for comfort, but well, if you are looking for a game that you can simply grab and play for a few minutes, this is as good an option as it gets.
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