RealSports Tennis is a tennis simulation video game for the Atari 2600 that offers both single-player and two-player modes, along with two pre-set difficulty levels, “slow” and “fast.” Before starting the game, players need to name their character, a unique feature for an Atari 2600 game.
In single-player mode, the player, wearing a blue shirt, plays tennis against an AI opponent in a red shirt. In two-player mode, one player competes against another player locally. Players can move both vertically and horizontally on the screen. To serve, players use the single button on the Atari 2600 controller. After the serve, any further shots are automatic if the ball makes contact with the player.
Scoring is displayed at the top of the screen. For every ball that lands in the opponent’s court, players earn 15 points. After reaching 30 points, they only receive 10 points for each additional ball. Once a player earns 40 points, they win a round. The number of rounds won goes up to 6. After winning 6 rounds, a new set is opened at the top of the screen, which again goes up to 6. The first player to win two sets of 6 rounds wins the game.