Noob guide to TE ITST Tour. Keys to success.

[djarvik]

Hello fellow NOOBs! I was (and in a way still am) one of you and I would like to share with you some things that helped me and some things that I think will help you to succeed in ITST TE Tour. Some of them you know, but some I am sure you don't, so keep reading, even if the first few things sound like something you are familiar with.

This is not necessarily a guide to "how to play TE", but rather a guide on how to succeed at tour level.

- What tournaments should I play?
- What player should I use?
- How often should I change my player?
- Should I play against AI?
- I do all that now, but I still struggle with game-play. Mainly returns. What do I do?
- I feel slow on the court against a competition of my ELO level, what do I do?
- How do I improve my positioning on court? Tennis Basics.
- My opponents with similar ELO hits harder then me, why?
- Quality shots? What are they?
- How do I hit on the rise?



What tournaments should I play?
As long as ranking allows you, you should join the lowest rank acceptance Future (50+,60+). Chances are that is where most of the players your level will be. Draws are usually consist of 16 players and you are able to play these at the same time with the Pro tournaments, but don't rush into Pros. Instead of joining a Pro Tournament of the week, join a Doubles event. There is a lot of benefit for singles in playing Doubles matches. You will learn to volley better, you will be paired with a good AI character and can learn a lot by watching what he does on the court. Once you start getting to Semi-Finals consistently on Future level, it is time to start joining Challenger and Pro event. Opt for a Challenger if both start on the same day.

What player should I use?
You may have your own favorite player, a player you would like to use, but I would reconsider if this player does not align with what I am about to say. To give yourself the best chance to improve the first thing you need to look for in a player is Speed. Nothing is more important to your future improvements than ability to hit balls, many of them. Speed would allow you to do just that. Being constantly on defense and on the run is the best thing you can do for yourself. It will teach you how to position yourself better for the shots, it will increase your hand-eye coordination and it will bring consistency to your game. Do not fall into a trap of thinking that a Big Serve is the way to go. This is very short sighted and will lock you into this style of play for a long time. The big serve is easy to time and you will get used to it, making a move to a different player very painful. It is very misleading, it may make you think you are better than you really are. Of course if you like that style and want to perfect it - go ahead, although I would still suggest you learn to move and rally with a faster player. So a perfect beginner player would be someone like Djokovic or Murray. Both are solid from both Forehand and Backhand, both are fast players, both have good serves and good reach on animations. After getting comfortable with these players you can make a move to more specialized guys like Federer and Wawrinka if you prefer the one handed backhand attacking type of player or move to any other preferred type.

How often should I change my player?
This is the biggest mistake I made and keep making is: switching players too often. When playing on the tour, competitively, every little advantage counts. Switching to another player is a big deal, especially at beginner level of play. Animations vary from player to player and getting used to a new set of animations can take a while (I don't fully feel the player unless I spend a full week with him). So pick a player and stick with him for at least 2 tournaments - that is about 2-3 weeks. At times it would feel like you are losing because of this player choice, or that your player is inferior somehow to opponents, but try to resist the temptation to go "player hunting". Sure, a fresh player can make you feel good for a few points, but when the game/set is on the line it is always important to "feel" the player and know you can rely on certain things about him. With new player it will feel a bit like a roller coaster - some great things followed by some not so great. If you do decide to change a player, don't forget to change your tactics as well. Certain players are better at certain things than others, so you either have to adjust the tactic to fit the new player or, the better option would be to pick a player that better compliments your current tactic and develop that tactic further. I am a big proponent of Compliment instead of Supplement: meaning if you feel you time the Forehand better than Backhand, look for a player with good forehand, if you feel you are better at hitting the net than staying on baseline - find a player with decent volley stats, if you feel you serve better than return - look for players with strong serve stats.

Should I play against AI?
Yes and no. It's a complicated answer but I will try to elaborate. First it is important to understand that playing with AI was recommended in the past because the tour was small and fining opponent that is at your level or slightly higher was hard work, so the alternative was to play AI with similar level and get better at playing AI. Nowadays the tour is large enough to find opponents all day long. So I would recommend to do as follows: first choice should always be to play against a human player, in tournament or outside of it (friendly matches). Use chat, there are always players ready to play there. Enter Doubles Tournaments! - this will give you a perfect mix of AI and human players and will allow you to experience both. If you cannot find an opponent - then opt for AI play. My problem with playing AI is that it is vastly different from playing a human. To win AI you need very specific tactics, repetitive tactics. The game becomes very scripted and your overall strategy suffers as your human opponent are better able to spot and adapt to these tactics. But playing AI does have benefits, however you can have the same benefits and more with a human player.

I do all that now, but I still struggle with game-play. Mainly returns. What do I do?
Return are probably the hardest basic thing to learn in TE. Learning a decent serve is by far easier, so is hitting good rally shots. Good return is first and foremost a result of a good hand-eye coordination. Basically, the shorter is your internal response time to what you see on the screen the better you will be at it. Once you see where the serve goes, your eyes send the information to your brain, then your brain interprets it and gives a command to your fingers to press the button, then the muscles in your finger triggers by your CNS (Central Nervous System), the muscles react and you see result on the screen. Your brain analyzes the situation once again and goes through the process again. It is a continues flow of information not unlike the internet upload/download system. So it is natural that to get better at returns you need to improve that process. It is also worth noting that CNS is responsible for making the best connection between your brain and muscles and it reinforces this connection the more you use that Pattern. It is like a channel of water in the ground and CNS making that channel wider and deeper every-time it is used, much like a flow of water widens the river and is able to carry more water volume. So simply speaking - the more you use it the better you will be at it. CNS gets greatly affected by you being tired or nervous or drinking alcohol, even over-eating. (CNS firing much better on empty stomach with a bit of a hunger, keep that in mind for your important matches). So now that we covered that, where do you start? ...it is hard to learn or create a CNS pattern when you either guessing or being aced all the time, right? So what you need to do is move all the way back on returns. As far as you can get. Press any shot button to trigger the Autopos and watch the opponent serve. Once he makes contact with the ball try to spot the direction of the that ball, where is it going, and release the shot button previously pressed once spotted. Follow the direction and shift your concentration on point of impact/contact - where you will meet the ball. Make sure your player is one step behind that point to allow for the racket to swing freely and avoid bad positioning, "body shots". As you get more comfortable returning in this fashion, or rather making contact with the ball, start moving up. One step at a time. It may take a while before you are able to return and react from default position but it is well worth the road. Stick to it.

I feel slow on the court against a competition of my ELO level, what do I do?
First make sure you picked the right NOOB friendly player. Then make sure your ELO and your opponents ELO is similar, and you did not overlooked a "1" or a "2" or even a "3" in front of it. If it all checks out, then you likely have a problem with either court positioning, which I assume is not the case as you decided to pick up Tennis Elbow so you must know some tennis basics, enough to re-position semi-correctly, or a hand-eye coordination (see above). Both are correctable issues and all you need is time. Some people have a very responsive CNS that can create and reinforce new patterns very fast, while others are not so lucky. That is purely genetics. But with enough practice all people can reach roughly the same results. So if you feel slower then your competition of the same level, and not for one match against one opponent who could be on his way to a much higher ELO, but a consistently slower - then please review tennis re-positioning manuals online and follow my advise on returns, the speed will come.

How do I improve my positioning on court? Tennis Basics.
Check this wonderful contribution by C4iLL if you are looking to improve your re-positioning and general movement on the court: https://projects.invisionapp.com/share/6Z2MC5D43 (password = ITST). It is a short slide presentation that outlines tennis positioning in general and how it relates to Tennis Elbow game.

My opponents with similar ELO hits harder then me, why?
That is likely a result of wrong positioning for the shot. There are two aspects to movement in TE: first is getting to the ball - easy to understand and easy to learn (hard to perfect), second is actual positioning for the shot. It is not enough to be in the balls landing area, its not enough. It is enough at the very beginning stages as getting more balls over the net (regardless of shot quality) will get you points and won matches, what will separate you (or your opponent) from each other is how well you position for the actual shot. To him hard you need to position well and make sure every shot you hit is a quality shot. The game will reward you and give you cues with sound when you do it right.

Quality shots? What are they?
These are shots that are hit with a sweat spot of your racket strings. You can hear, feel, see the result. Your goal as a player is to him as many quality shots in a rally as possible, preferably more then your opponent. That will almost always result in you winning the point. You have to hit the shot not only on the strings, but at the perfect height of the ball for any given shot. BTW - all shots are effective when hit in the absolute sweat spot. The perfect height of the ball is about waste high with the ball going down, not up (hitting on the rise is another subject). Try to always position yourself so that you not only hit with strings of the racket - but also at the right height. You can take it further a it once you are comfortable and add something called "shoulder height acceleration" to that mix. When you hit an accel (hard shot) and the ball is approximately shoulder height - you will get even more powerful shot (the game adds bonus to that shot). You would need most times to step inside the court to take advantage of it. I have also notices that all other shots have their own sweet spot height for them, for example Top spin works better when the ball is lower a bit then normal. But these are insignificant.

How do I hit on the rise?
First thing you would need is a player with a good Counter stat. That stat allows you to take the ball earlier, the higher the stat the better. This is a more advance tactic and if you reading this guide you maybe too early to try it. But if you would like to I will describe the best practices. There might be a time while attacking your opponent you will find yourself inside the baseline and the ball coming to your feet. That is the time to try to hit it on the rise, although I would recommend to move back as a first option. The best option to use when hitting on the rise is regular shot (b1). They are the safest and if you will move out of the way of the ball (not hit with your body) you will get it over the net 9 out of 10 times and the shot can be very effective if you manage to hold the direction enough. You will be taking time away from the opponent. Another option would be to use Slice, also a safe shot but a slower one and best hit as a surprise, wrong footing for example. But my absolute favorite and a bit risky shot on the rise is "regular short" shot. Since you are attacking, chances are your opponent is fairly far behind the baseline, thus hitting that shot results in short cross, creating and angle that will put the opponent in a world of trouble. While it sometimes results in a winner, do not bet on it, think of it as a setup shot FOR the winner. Opponent will be late to that shot - so stay inside the court. Top spin also works as a on the rise shot, but personally I find it less effective than the ones I described and quite risky. Accels and short accles require absolutely perfect timing and at this point I would not use them until you master the other shots. But they do work even if risky.

If you guys have any questions or want me to cover a topic - please let me know. Remember, this guide is targeted towards New players.

[C4iLL]

Very good insights here ! On service return, I invite beginners not to charge and release the button, but just taping at the very last second a button (we call this a counter).

To complete, check this link if you want to improve your repositioning/movement : https://projects.invisionapp.com/share/6Z2MC5D43 (password = ITST).

---

This work is no more available, sorry for the beginners.

[Dakra]

This link is no longer valid.

[o SenSei o]

Now that's a good post. I follow this page since years (easily over a decade) and played online Tennis since the times of the very first Top Spin 1 which was in fact the only tennis game i ever really mastered and played on highest level. No top spin version after the very first one, excited me as the original in those old times.

I already noticed how great Tennis Elbow is, but never got a hang on it, cause I felt like there are not many possibilities to practice it as a beginner against all the elite dudes or better players, also in terms of general activity for the ITST mod, I could never really estimate.

funny aspect is that I bought tennis elbow 2013 three times. I got two keys for the standalone version, cause i once lost my first key and in the end of 2016 I decided to support the steam version also. however, I would love to master tennis elbow, cause i love playing virtual tennis and think it's the only future for virtual tennis in the next years, cause no developer is in the making of a tennisgame for the new generation consoles and so on.

I also already signed up in the managames forum and saw the plans for tennis elbow 4, what makes me even more excited.

anyway, I will start playing tennis elbow again and see how far i can get, cause in terms of gameplay, it's the most insane tennis simulation i ever got a hand on.

I got a second nice ps4 controller here, with a d-pad that is optimal for the games movement and a pc to run this game anyway, so why not.

I just need to start training.

[inseedious]

Now that's a good post. I follow this page since years (easily over a decade) and played online Tennis since the times of the very first Top Spin 1 which was in fact the only tennis game i ever really mastered and played on highest level. No top spin version after the very first one, excited me as the original in those old times.

I already noticed how great Tennis Elbow is, but never got a hang on it, cause I felt like there are not many possibilities to practice it as a beginner against all the elite dudes or better players, also in terms of general activity for the ITST mod, I could never really estimate.

funny aspect is that I bought tennis elbow 2013 three times. I got two keys for the standalone version, cause i once lost my first key and in the end of 2016 I decided to support the steam version also. however, I would love to master tennis elbow, cause i love playing virtual tennis and think it's the only future for virtual tennis in the next years, cause no developer is in the making of a tennisgame for the new generation consoles and so on.

I also already signed up in the managames forum and saw the plans for tennis elbow 4, what makes me even more excited.

anyway, I will start playing tennis elbow again and see how far i can get, cause in terms of gameplay, it's the most insane tennis simulation i ever got a hand on.

I got a second nice ps4 controller here, with a d-pad that is optimal for the games movement and a pc to run this game anyway, so why not.

I just need to start training.

Welcome! I just have two suggestions for you:
- despite having a very long and sometimes flat learning curve, Tennis Elbow is also a matter of talent. If you are talented, as a beginner you will be way stronger than some players with much more experience. Anyway, you can start playing Futures and Challengers, where you'll surely encounter lots of players with similar levels to yours;
- play with analog, dpad is crap . And be sure to bind one shot only per key: do not use key modificators (i.e. X+up must not be different than X+down).

[o SenSei o]

Now that's a good post. I follow this page since years (easily over a decade) and played online Tennis since the times of the very first Top Spin 1 which was in fact the only tennis game i ever really mastered and played on highest level. No top spin version after the very first one, excited me as the original in those old times.

I already noticed how great Tennis Elbow is, but never got a hang on it, cause I felt like there are not many possibilities to practice it as a beginner against all the elite dudes or better players, also in terms of general activity for the ITST mod, I could never really estimate.

funny aspect is that I bought tennis elbow 2013 three times. I got two keys for the standalone version, cause i once lost my first key and in the end of 2016 I decided to support the steam version also. however, I would love to master tennis elbow, cause i love playing virtual tennis and think it's the only future for virtual tennis in the next years, cause no developer is in the making of a tennisgame for the new generation consoles and so on.

I also already signed up in the managames forum and saw the plans for tennis elbow 4, what makes me even more excited.

anyway, I will start playing tennis elbow again and see how far i can get, cause in terms of gameplay, it's the most insane tennis simulation i ever got a hand on.

I got a second nice ps4 controller here, with a d-pad that is optimal for the games movement and a pc to run this game anyway, so why not.

I just need to start training.

Welcome! I just have two suggestions for you:
- despite having a very long and sometimes flat learning curve, Tennis Elbow is also a matter of talent. If you are talented, as a beginner you will be way stronger than some players with much more experience. Anyway, you can start playing Futures and Challengers, where you'll surely encounter lots of players with similar levels to yours;
- play with analog, dpad is crap . And be sure to bind one shot only per key: do not use key modificators (i.e. X+up must not be different than X+down).

all right thx for the tips mate.