14 DAY TRIAL // 
Casper Rud is a very good tennis player, working with great trainers, backed by a massive academy that tries to offer the best possible conditions for him to develop his talents. But he is a little fragile emotionally and my attempts to motivate him don’t always generate the response I was looking for. And so, he is losing matches in the quarter and semi-finals.
His opponents are rarely better players but they tend to be in stronger form and it seems that their coaches are better at player interactions. Rud is very good at winning his own serve, especially when he can put power behind them, and often gets close to getting those crucial breaks. But the mental fragility often costs him when the pressure is on, as it did in a big final when he failed to win any tiebreaks in a four-set match.
So it’s back to the planning board. I decide to put him on a more physical training regimen and skip a few smaller tournaments to see the kinds of results he will get. And I tweak his match tactics, trying to limit the potential for unforced errors and offering him more space for creativity. He might not win a Grand Slam in 2023 but his potential might lead to years of domination later down the line.
Tennis Manager 2023 is developed and also published by Rebound CG. I played on Steam on the PC. This a sports management simulation that allows tennis fans to take charge of the biggest stars of the sport or of capable up-and-comers as they reach for success.
Gamers will create a character, choosing an experience level and general approach. They then take control of a full tennis academy (one can be created from scratch but there are also pre-made options) and have to make money, expand the facilities, and hire the best people to work with their group of players.
The game features interactions, with both the athletes themselves and the press, but don’t expect too much from the writing. Some of the lines feel forced and there are moments when I suspect a real-world manager wouldn’t use any of the provided options.
The game is much better when players actually manage the athletes in their academy. The most important decisions are about training and match strategy. Take a look at the people you’re managing, think about their abilities, and then explore the many ways in which they can approach a match. Is it better to set a strong physical training regimen and then try to overwhelm opponents? Is careful defensive play the key to defeating a capable opponent?
Tennis Manager 2023 features all real-world tournaments, now with added national teams and Olympic competitions. Winning one of the big four (Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open) is a significant achievement and requires careful planning to get the training and the form right. Gamers also have to master the art of coaching from the sidelines.
The game delivers full 3D matches with no direct control. But there are still options to affect a player’s on-the-court performance. Choose the intensity of play for different situations, decide how the match tactical approach can be tweaked to improve performance, and simply talk to the player to give him a boost. This is the trickiest part of the experience and it takes trial and error to find the right way to get through a tough match.
Tennis Manager 2023 requires some knowledge of the actual sport. Because of licensing issues, the names of the athletes themselves are slightly different from their real ones. But finding the best match strategy for a player is easier when you’ve seen a few of his or her matches and understand strengths and weaknesses.
The management mechanics are good, if not very innovative, and well-suited to the simulated sport. Players will need to test out ideas, see how the athletes react, then tweak again until they find the right combination that can lead to success. There’s also a system to identify and sign talents for the future.
The game provides options to delegate certain aspects to the computer and focus on coaching during actual matches, which saves some time and allows gamers to focus on the most important moments. But make sure to directly play all matches that matter, because the simulation system seems a little wonky, often giving inferior players wins that would never happen in the real world. I would also love more feedback when I change match tactics for a big player.
Tennis Manager 2023 uses an interface that feels almost lifted tab for tab from an older Football Manager title. It might not be sleek but it is very functional, allowing players to quickly get information and tweak training, strategy, or other aspects of their academy. All matches can be viewed in their entirety, using a choice of four cameras and multiple speed settings. Players aren’t very detailed and there are moments when the racket doesn’t seem to connect to the ball.
But the match graphics are good enough to create tension and give players some visual indicators of how their players are performing. The same cannot be said of the sound design. Match effects are not impressive, the crowd is generic. Even worse is the very repetitive soundtrack. I suggest subscriptions to some sports-focused podcasts to replace it.
The Good
- Tennis sim mechanics
- Range of options
- Potential to create narratives
The Bad
- No real names for athletes
- Simulating matches creates some strange results
- Needs some more feedback on some player choices
Conclusion
I also like playing out matches, trying to evaluate the situation to find the best way to tweak tactics and improve player performance. The problem is that simulated matches often deliver weird results, something that the developers need to tackle. For the more die-hard tennis fans, the lack of real names for players will be the biggest barrier to entry. But Tennis Manager 2023 has a good strong core and shows how well the sports management formula can work for sports other than football.
A review key was provided by the publisher
