Sega's many franchises come together for a tennis tournament spanning the varied worlds created by them in the last twenty years. Sixteen characters over fifteen different Sega game series are represented, as are ten different courts based on those same franchises.
Exhibition and Tournament modes are included in the game. The first is a simple vs mode, whereas the tournament allows the player to unlock new characters and courts over a series of matches and other challenges, all related to tennis but also drawing heavily on the video game represented. Singles and doubles can be played by either humans or AI, with the player being able to choose their doubles partner.
The Sega Superstars Tennis game features online play for those who have a PS2 console, but it's missing from the Wii version, which instead has three different control modes using the Wii Remote and Classic Controller. The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions do include online play.
Each character in the game has a special move that can be used during a tennis match, relating to their character. For example, Beat from Jet Set Radio has a power that allows the ball to grind against the net and shoot off at a random point, making it difficult to return.
Minigames are included as both one-offs and part of the tournament. These include a Target-hitting game, a House of the Dead zombie killing game, a Space Harrier game, a Puyo Puyo game, a Virtua Cop game, and a Samba De Amigo-related game.