Sega Superstars Tennis brings together Sega's iconic franchises for a tennis tournament that takes players on a journey through the company's most beloved worlds. The game features sixteen characters from fifteen different Sega series, as well as ten courts inspired by these franchises.
The game offers two main modes: Exhibition and Tournament. In Exhibition mode, players can engage in versus matches against AI or human opponents using various control schemes. In contrast, the Tournament mode allows players to unlock new characters and courts by completing a series of matches and challenges. Singles and doubles matches are available for both solo play and co-op with an AI partner.
Notably, Sega Superstars Tennis offers online multiplayer in its 360 and PS3 versions, but this feature is absent from the Wii version, which instead includes three unique control modes using the Wii Remote. The game also features a variety of special moves for each character, reflecting their unique abilities and personalities.
The game includes several minigames that can be played as standalone experiences or integrated into the tournament mode. These include Target-hitting games, zombie-killing challenges inspired by House of the Dead , Space Harrier-style shootouts, Puyo Puyo puzzle-solving, Virtua Cop shooting galleries, and Samba De Amigo rhythm-based mini-games.