Tennis is one of the most watched sports in the world, providing a fast-paced, strategic type of sport that you can’t take your eye off for a minute or you could miss a match-defining shot. The sport also involves a lot of tension and the momentum builds throughout the match.
There are numerous parallels between tennis and playing online slots, and the tension, momentum and pace we just mentioned are good examples. However, there are many more links between tennis and slot machines that are perhaps not as obvious.
For example, rallies are one of the most exciting elements of tennis and winning the point after a long and well-earned rally feels like a more valuable point. Part of this is due to the psychological advantage of a win of this nature. With slot games, a win can feel bigger when following a higher number of reel spins and longer playing sessions.
Tiebreaks are another aspect of tennis that adds more excitement and drama, much like sudden death bonus rounds in slots. These are just a few of the commonalities but there are many more when you start to delve a bit deeper.
Tennis has a broad fanbase, with popularity across large areas of the world including Europe, the US and Australia where the Grand Slams take place. The game has a fairly simple game format compared to many other sports, with clear rules.
For all of these reasons, tennis has transcended other forms of entertainment, such as being the theme for movies, video games and more recently tennis has provided inspiration for slot game options. Tennis is usually a one vs one activity, which replicates the player vs machine in slots and the audiovisual aspects of tennis like cheering crowds, as well as ball and trophy imagery, work well in slots too.
How Tennis Influenced Video Gaming
In some of the earliest developed PC games, variations of tennis were very popular. Simplistic games like Pong allowed game designers to use minimal graphics to create a game very similar to tennis, where the player moved the racket (one thick line) across the baseline to meet a ball to hit it back to an opponent.
Since these early game versions, we have seen Wii Tennis transform the tennis video gaming landscape, allowing players to imitate the actions of taking tennis shots with the Wii remote and motion sensors.
iGaming Experiences Inspired By Tennis
Let’s take a look at some of the tennis themed iGaming experiences you can find at online casinos:
Tennis Champion
This slot game from Spinomenal features players, rackets, tennis balls and lots of other tennis themed graphics and sounds to appeal to tennis fans. As a slot option, it has a relatively low RTP of 92.3% and the best paying symbol is the tennis ball. Exciting features include wilds, scatters and multipliers to add to the fun and there are bonus rounds that are tied into the tennis format.
Centre Court Slot
Named after the most famous tennis court in the world, Wimbledon’s Centre Court, this tennis themed game from Games Global has an RTP of 95.51%. Maximum winnings are 5,000 times your stake and there are plenty of tennis themed features including wilds, scatters, bonus games and free spins awarded. Graphics are a combination of tennis players and card symbols with balls, rackets and sweatbands thrown into the mix.
Tennis Stars
Another must-play slot for tennis fans is the Tennis Stars slot from iGaming giant PlayTech. With high user ratings and lots of enhancing features, one of the best elements of this game is the engaging soundtrack and tennis sound effects. If you are lucky enough to land wild symbols on reels 2,3 and 4 you can look forward to receiving 15 free spins.
These are just a few of the most popular tennis themed slots but you will also find others that are based on a combination of sports including tennis. What people love about tennis themed slots is that it is a game that most people are familiar with, and the basic rules provide a sense of control instead of stepping into the unknown.
Add this to the audiovisual opportunities such as trophies and crowd cheers to heighten wins and you have a winning slots formula. With slot options offering different RTP levels, you will always be able to find a tennis themed slot to suit your iGaming preferences at the most popular online casino platforms. Tennis and slots make a great combination for fast-paced game sessions, engaging gameplay and simple rules that are easy to follow.
