Tiebreak “Full Release” Review: A Disappointing Attempt at a Modern Tennis Game
Tennis fans, it seems we’re once again left without a satisfying game to immerse ourselves in. The world of tennis video games has been severely lacking for years, with few titles doing the sport justice. While indie developers have created some great games, they often fall short in terms of modern gaming standards. What’s worse, many tennis games have been released with high expectations, only to be abandoned shortly after their release.
In 2024, fans pinned their hopes on Tiebreak, a game that promised to deliver on modern tennis gaming. Unfortunately, it seems like we’ve been served another disappointment. Here’s why Tiebreak misses the mark and falls short of becoming the tennis game we’ve been waiting for.
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The Hope for a Tennis Gaming Savior
For years, tennis gamers have been starved for a modern, well-designed, and satisfying game that captures the excitement and strategy of the sport. The most recent attempt, Topspin 2K25, left players frustrated due to its buggy and unfinished state. This paved the way for Tiebreak to capture the hearts of tennis fans.
But despite the initial hype and promises, Tiebreak has proven to be another letdown. With gameplay flaws, lackluster mechanics, and a series of non-gameplay-related issues, it’s clear that this title isn’t the tennis game we hoped for.

Gameplay:
Where Tiebreak Falls Flat
Tennis video games live or die by their gameplay.
Unfortunately, Tiebreak’s gameplay is as broken as it gets.
Let’s break down the many issues it has:
Serving—A Missed Opportunity
Serving in tennis games is critical—it can change the flow of the match. But in Tiebreak, serving is completely uninspired. Despite a recent overhaul in early access, serving here is basically just a point-starter. In fact, most players online prefer returning, which tells you everything you need to know about how unsatisfying serving is.
Against AI, things don’t get better. The AI seems to predict your serve placement with unnatural precision, which is a cheap and unrealistic fix. The aggressive serve is difficult to execute, especially for new players. The interface for timing serves is poorly designed and misleading. Worst of all, safe serves can only be directed to the middle of the court. And the CPU often resorts to underarm serves—even when you’re not prepared for them—leading to endless free points.
Returning—It’s Just Plain Broken
Returning serves in Tiebreak feels like cheating. By holding both triggers before your opponent hits the ball, the game automatically moves you to where the serve is going to land. It completely eliminates the skill involved in reading a serve or positioning yourself for the return.
The result? You can execute incredibly strong, well-placed returns without any effort. It’s especially noticeable online, where players exploit this broken mechanic to outplay opponents without skill or strategy. In short, returning is not only unrealistic but also makes competitive play feel hollow and unsatisfying.

Movement—A Laughing Stock
Tennis is all about movement. The way you position yourself on the court is crucial to winning points. But in Tiebreak, movement is an absolute mess. The “scramble sprint” mechanic is just ridiculous. All you need to do is hold down both triggers to get a super-fast sprint that has no drawbacks—there’s no stamina depletion, and the sprint recharges after each point.
This turns every match into a sprinting fest, removing the need for strategic positioning. It also looks terrible, as players move with unrealistic speed and precision. Compared to indie tennis games like Tennis Elbow 4, where movement feels nuanced and skill-based, Tiebreak’s movement is a joke.
Making matters worse, the game often locks players into animations that either warp them across the court or slow them down unnaturally. One moment your player is stuck in the mud, and the next they’re rushing full speed to the opposite side of the court. This inconsistency makes it impossible to strategize or react realistically in fast-paced rallies.
Shot Balance—A Tug-of-War Between Updates
In a game like Tiebreak, shot balance should be carefully considered, yet it’s another area where the game falls short. Every patch seems to favor a different shot. In earlier versions, topspin was the dominant strategy, while later updates overpowered flat shots. For the release, topspin is once again king, making the game feel like a one-dimensional topspin simulator.
The issue isn’t just poor balancing—it’s that Tiebreak’s core mechanics lack the depth needed for proper shot variety. There’s no precise timing for shot release like in Tennis Elbow 4 or strategic placement like in Full Ace. As a result, Tiebreak struggles to make any shot feel rewarding.
On top of that, running forehands and defensive lunges are overused, breaking the flow of rallies and making everything feel repetitive.

Unrealistic Physics and Surface Dynamics
The lack of realistic ball physics is another glaring issue. Slices float through the air like balloons, sometimes bouncing higher than topspin shots, while other times they barely leave the ground. The inconsistency here makes certain types of shots either overpowered or useless.
Shot speeds are also wildly inaccurate. Players regularly hit balls with the speed and intensity of a table tennis match. Only when using lower-rated players do the rallies start to feel remotely realistic. With higher-rated players, it’s like playing tennis on the moon—completely devoid of gravity and realism.
Tiebreak also adds different court surfaces like grass and clay, but sadly, these are purely cosmetic. The game doesn’t account for the differences in how a ball should react on these surfaces. Grass courts should result in faster rallies with lower bounces, while clay courts should slow the ball down with higher, more pronounced bounces. None of that is present in Tiebreak.
The ball behaves the same way regardless of whether you’re playing on grass, clay, or hard courts. This not only kills the immersion but also removes any strategic consideration for surface types.

The Broken AI: An Absolute Disaster
If you’re thinking that single-player might still be enjoyable, think again. The AI in Tiebreak is, without exaggeration, one of the worst I’ve ever seen in a sports game.
On the highest difficulty level, the computer makes laughable mistakes. Unforced errors abound, especially when dealing with shorter balls or playing at the net. During doubles matches, the CPU spends the majority of the time lobbing the ball, completely ignoring any opportunity to hit volleys.
The result? They make constant errors and fail to win points.
In one particularly sad example, I played a doubles match where the CPU ended the set with 0 net points won, 0 winners, and 25 unforced errors—all on the highest difficulty setting.
To make matters worse, players can easily beat top-ranked opponents like Novak Djokovic with low-rated characters, showcasing how broken and consistently bad the difficulty settings are.
And don’t even get me started on the career mode.
Career Mode: More Bugs, More Frustration
Tiebreak’s career mode has potential. You can create your own player, work your way up the rankings, and even unlock perks as you progress. The player editor is well-done, allowing for detailed customization of your avatar. However, that’s where the positives end.
For starters, leveling up your player is pointless. Despite earning experience points, my player’s stats never increased. I made it to level 5, yet my stats remained stuck, making progression feel utterly broken.
There’s also a bug that prevents players from unlocking animations by winning charity events, which are supposed to be part of the game but simply don’t show up for some users.
Also, you get high ranking extremely fast in Tiebreak’s career mode. This is because other computer-controlled players don’t gain proper amount of points.
Adding insult to injury, previous patches didn’t retroactively fix these issues for existing careers, meaning you’ll likely have to restart your career from scratch once the developers finally fix the mode.

Online Play: A Buggy, Laggy Mess
Many players turn to online modes for competition, but Tiebreak fails here too. Crossplay doesn’t seem to work (at least on my PC version), and finding matches is a painful process. On the rare occasion that you do connect to an opponent, lag and high ping turn the match into a guessing game, with balls teleporting across the court.
But, even in optimal conditions, the online matches are rather underwhelming. Expect to face a barrage of topspin shots and little variation in playstyle. The lack of meaningful strategy or skill-based movement drags down the experience, making online play feel just as broken as single-player modes.
The Few Positives—Graphics, Licensing, and Animations
Tiebreak isn’t without some redeeming qualities. Visually, it’s one of the best-looking tennis games out there.
The game boasts over 120 licensed players, many of whom are impressively modeled with lifelike face scans. The animations, especially for groundstrokes, are also well done. Djokovic’s serve routine, for example, feels super authentic, by keeping you waiting for ages while he gets ready for a serve. These type of similarities to real life players are a nice touch for tennis fans.
But, unfortunately, good visuals aren’t enough to save a game so deeply flawed at its core.

Final Thoughts:
A Game Not Worth Your Time
In conclusion, Tiebreak is a deeply flawed tennis game that fails to deliver on its promises. From broken gameplay mechanics and unbalanced shots to the lack of realistic physics and surface dynamics, this game falls short in almost every fundamental gameplay aspect. The career mode is basically unplayable, the AI is laughable, and the online experience is marred by lag and poor matchmaking.
While Tiebreak may have some visual appeal and a roster of licensed players, it’s not enough to save the game from its glaring problems. If you’re a tennis fan looking for a satisfying video game experience, you’re better off sticking with Tennis Elbow 4 or Full Ace.
Let’s hope future updates can address some of these issues, but as it stands, Tiebreak is not worth your time or money.