Fourteen classic Nintendo characters all compete in a tennis tournament in Mario Tennis: Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, Peach, Yoshi, DK, Paratroopa, Wario, Waluigi, Daisy, Toad, Birdo, Bowser, and Boo. Donkey Kong Jr. (hidden character) and Shy Guy (hidden character). Mario Tennis a great game that fans and non-fans of sports will enjoy alike. If you are unfamiliar with the rules of Tennis, you can learn by pausing during a game and reading the rules or just by playing.

Mario Tennis, like Mario Party or Mario Kart, is a game that is not quickly worn-out. It has several single-player and multi-player modes: exhibition, tournament, ring shot, Bowser Court, etc. If you are missing any players, you can choose computer players on difficulty levels easy, medium, hard, or intense.You start with five different default courts and can reveal more courts by winning tournaments with different characters. The courts include the hard court, the grass court, the clay court, the composition court, and the Bowser court (a tilting court in which you can use items; it is considered a separate mode).

Exhibition is a single or multiplayer mode where you can play singles (a one-on-one game) or doubles (a two-on-two game). In Ring Shot, the object of the game is to shoot the tennis ball through rings in the air. There are two different tournament modes: singles and doubles. If you choose doubles you will get a computer partner. Both have three cups: mushroom, flower, and star (each corresponds to a particular court).