Although it doesn’t seem to be causing the same fever as previous instalments, Mario Tennis Fever launched on Nintendo Switch 2 with pretty graphics to bring a huge collection of characters and Fever rackets to the screen. These new elements come as true game changers, and if you’re playing online, you’ll see that it’s almost always those with the best special rackets, provided they know how to use them, who win the matches.
But how do you unlock all the rackets in Mario Tennis Fever so you can use the best ones? And how do you get the characters with the best stats? The game tells you as you go, match by match, and you can also check the Rewards menu, but here are the complete lists of the necessary achievements along with our recommendations.
How to unlock all the characters in Mario Tennis Fever
Mario Tennis Fever has 38 (!) playable characters, the largest roster in the series’ history. The first 18 are available by default, while the remaining 20 have unlock conditions. Namely, in order of list and indicating the playing style:
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Mario (All-Around)
Luigi (All-Around)
Peach (Technical)
Daisy (All-Around)
Rosalina (Tricky)
Pauline (Speedy)
Wario (Powerful)
Waluigi (Defence)
Toad (Speed)
Toadette (Technical)
Luma (two colours) (Technical): Play 15 tennis matches to unlock the Super Mario Bros. Movie design.
Yoshi (Speedy) (eight colours: 25, 60, 80 matches, S in 2P Score Attack, S in 4P Score Attack, S in Piranha Plant challenge, S in Auto Tennis).
Bowser (Powerful)
Bowser Jr. (Tricky)
Donkey Kong (Powerful)
Boo (Tricky)
Shy Guy (Technical) (seven colours: 35, 65, 85, 100 matches, plays single Ring Shot, play doubles Ring Shot).
Koopa (Speedy) (four colours: 45, 70, 90 matches)
Kamek (Tricky): Play 1 tennis match.
Spike (Power): Play 5 tennis matches.
Diddy Kong (Speedy): Play 10 tennis matches.
Chain Chomp (Power): Play 20 tennis matches.
Birdo (All-Around): Play 30 tennis matches.
Koopa Paratroopa (Technical) (four colours: 40, 75, 95 matches).
Petey Piranha (Powerful): Play 50 tennis matches.
Piranha Plant (Tricky): Complete the Piranha Plant Challenge on Advanced difficulty (Score Challenges).
Boom Boom (Defensive): Reach the top of the Tower of Resolve (Trial Towers).
Blooper (Tricky): Complete Ring Shot (4 players) on advanced difficulty (Score Challenges).
Dry Bowser (Defensive): Reach the top of the Tower of Trickery (Trial Towers).
Dry Bones (Tricky): Complete Auto Tennis on advanced difficulty (Score Challenges).
Baby Mario (All-Around): Win the Mushroom Cup singles tournament.
Baby Luigi (All-Around): Win the Mushroom Cup doubles tournament.
Baby Peach (Technical: Win the Flower Cup singles tournament.
Wiggler (Defensive): Complete the Ring Shot (2 players) on advanced difficulty (Score Challenges).
Nabbit (Speedy): Win the Flower Cup doubles tournament.
Goomba (All-Around): Reach the top of the Tower of Growth (Trial Towers).
Baby Wario (Powerful): Win the singles tournament in the Star Cup.
Baby Waluigi (Defensive): Win the Star Cup doubles tournament.
Who is the best character in Mario Tennis Fever?
Until we’ve had a few weeks of competitive online play, we won’t be making a complete list by tiers, but we can give you some initial recommendations. For now, we have Pauline as our main, who is infallible and versatile with her speed, although she is quite weak on the return. We’ve also had very good results with Rosalina’s lob shot effects and her high yet balanced stats. Finally, as always, Boo’s maximum effect greatly confuses opponents, even on weak serves.
At the moment, we would say that these three are the most reliable characters, but also try Koopa or Koopa Paratroopa and Piranha Plant to reach all the impossible balls.
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How to unlock all the Fever rackets in Mario Tennis Fever
There are 30 Fever rackets, and the first six are available by default. Here’s how to get the rest, some of which are incredibly decisive on the court:
Personal Racket
Flame Racket
Ice Racket
Lightning racket
Ty-foo Racket
Mud Racket
Mini Mushroom Racket: Complete the next part of the story: JV class.
Fire Bar Racket: Complete the next part of the story: Rank E.
Ice Flower Racket: Complete the next part of the story: Rank D.
Star Racket: Complete the next part of the story: Rank C.
Tornado Racket: Complete the next part of the story: Rank B.
Pokey Racket: Complete the next part of the story: Rank A.
Shadow Racket: Play 2 tennis matches.
Fire Barrier Racket: Play 4 tennis matches.
Freezing Racket: Play 6 tennis matches.
Amp Racket: Play 8 tennis matches.
Swerve Racket: Play 12 tennis matches.
Inky Racket: Play 14 tennis matches.
Banana Racket: Play 16 tennis matches.
Volcano Racket: Play 18 tennis matches.
Ghost Racket: Play 22 tennis matches.
Golden Dash Racket: Play 24 tennis matches.
Chargin’ Chuck Racket: Play 26 tennis matches.
Spiny Racket: Play 28 tennis matches.
Magic Racket: Play 32 tennis matches.
Bullet Bill Racket: Play 34 tennis matches.
Thwomp Racket: Play 36 tennis matches.
Shova Racket: Play 38 tennis matches.
Metal Racket: Play 42 tennis matches.
? Block Racket: Obtain all the other rackets.
What is the best Fever Racket in Mario Tennis Fever?
This depends a lot on your playing style (and the same could be said for the characters), but at the moment we are still seeing better results with some standard rackets, such as the Ice Racket with its skating rink effect, or the Mud Racket for drop shots. Of the more advanced rackets, we find the Amp Racket to be the most interesting strategically and the most fun. If you deploy the sparkies across the opponent’s court, you will create an insurmountable barrier to hit the balls to the other side. However, our favourite and most used in these early days is the Shova Racket which, although not the most spectacular, pushes the opponent back when they try to return your shot, leaving them very exposed to drop shots or approaches to the net.
That said, in the A ranks of the qualifiers, we see many players with the Spiny Racket, especially Koopas and Koopa Paratroopas. It is a delightful nuisance for the opponent, greatly hindering their movement around the court and sapping their energy.
How to unlock all the courts in Mario Tennis Fever
Academy Court (Mushroom): Get yourself admitted to the Mushroom Tennis Academy in the story.
Academy Court (Sand): Get admitted to the Mushroom Tennis Academy in the story.
Academy Court (Ice): Get admitted to the Mushroom Tennis Academy in the story.
Airship Court (Air Fortress): View the tutorial at least once.
Piranha Forest Court: Select “Forest Court” in “Special Match” and play a match.
Waluigi’s Pinball Court: Select “Pinball Court” in “Special Match” and play a match.
Racket Factory Court: Select “Racket Factory Court” in “Special Match” and play a match.
Wonder Court: Select “Wonder Track” in “Special Match” and play a match.