Play Styles

A play style describes a character's general approach to the game. It reflects where they like to position themselves on the court and the way they try to win points. While Prince of Tennis largely follows real-world classifications (e.g. All-Rounder), there are also some additions and specifications.

Aggressive Baseliner

Aggressive Baseliners stick to the baseline and use their offensive power to create an advantage. The offensive power of an Aggressive Baseliner can have different origins.

Some Aggressive Baseliners use their physical strength to push back the opponent or send them flying (e.g. Kawamura Takashi) whereas others rely on their ball control to take charge of rallies (e.g. Nakagauchi Sotomichi). In rare cases, there are also Aggressive Baseliners who dictate play with their speed (e.g. Kirihara Akaya).

All-Rounder

All-Rounders have the athletic ability to adjust to different circumstances. Also known as all-court players, they're comfortable from any area of the court and can either attack or defend as the situation demands.

Right-Rounder

A style exclusive to Migihashi Itarou. Migihashi has little interest in the left side of the court and only plays an "all-court" game if the ball ends up on his right side.

Counter Puncher

Counter Punchers stick to the baseline. They play a consistent game and try to extend rallies until their opponent makes an error. Depending on how they draw errors, Counter Punchers are further divided into the following styles:

• Defensive Counter Puncher
• Offensive Counter Puncher
• Technical Counter Puncher

Defensive Counter Puncher

Defensive Counter Punchers focus on returning as many shots as possible to drain the opponent's stamina.

As of Pair Puri Vol. 10, the following Defensive Counter Punchers are known:

• Hitouji Yuuji
• Kaidou Kaoru
• Konjiki Koharu
• Jackal Kuwahara

Offensive Counter Puncher

Offensive Counter Punchers try to return each shot as quickly as possible. This way, the opponent has less time to prepare for their next shot, making it more likely to force an error.

As of Pair Puri Vol. 10, the following Offensive Counter Punchers are known:

• Kai Yuujirou
• Kamio Akira
• Oshitari Kenya
• Shishido Ryou

Technical Counter Puncher

Technical Counter Punchers analyze their opponent's abilities and try to counter the opponent's strongest move.

As of Pair Puri Vol. 10, the following Technical Counter Punchers are known:

• Fuji Shuusuke
• Ibu Shinji
• Minami Kentarou
• Ooishi Shuuichirou
• Yamato Yuudai
• Yanagi Renji

Free Styler

A style exclusive to Akutsu Jin. Akutsu's unorthodox style of play is based on his perfect balance, flexibility and agility. These traits allow him to move in ways others cannot and attack from any position.

None (Depends on the match)

A style exclusive to Kabaji Munehiro. Kabaji's ability to copy the opponent's moves means his style changes depending on who he plays.

Serve and Volleyer

Serve and Volleyers play the net, relying either on their agility and quick reflexes or their height to catch up to the opponent's shots. To advance to the net, characters generally employ one of two strategies.

One possibility is that the character has a strong serve (e.g. Inui Sadaharu). A strong serve forces the opponent to return the ball to predictable spots. This limits the range the server has to cover when coming into the net. Furthermore, serves are a so-called closed skill. This means the opponent cannot interfere with the execution of the serve, which increases the strategy's consistency.

If a character doesn't have a strong serve, they can still serve and volley if they're fast enough (e.g. Kikumaru Eiji). In this case it's beneficial if the character has the physical ability to deal with shots aimed at their feet and shots that would normally be out of reach. However, because of the way tennis has changed over the years, this style has become less popular.