IMG International Tour Tennis

IMG International Tour Tennis is a tennis game for the Sega Mega Drive from 1994, carrying the name of IMG — the agency that represented much of the real-world tennis elite. That licence is the game's main draw: a roster of 32 real professionals to take out onto the circuit. The edition found here was released under the label of the Brazilian distributor Tec Toy.

The backbone is the tour: seventeen stops around the world, a ranking to climb and four different court surfaces that noticeably change the pace of rallies and the behaviour of the ball. The rotation of surfaces is what gives the career its flavour — a player who steamrolls opponents on hard courts can struggle badly on grass and has to rebuild an entire game plan. On top of that comes multiplayer for up to four people, so proper doubles matches at one console are on the menu.

Compared with the flashier arcade tennis games of the day, this title leans towards the sober, structured side of the genre. Its appeal is less about spectacular rallies and more about the long haul of a season: working through the calendar, watching your name creep up the ranking, adapting to whatever surface the next stop brings.

Honest verdict: it is a solid mid-tier sports title rather than an immortal classic. The presentation is matter-of-fact, and anyone after five minutes of quick fun is better served by leaner arcade rivals. If you enjoy the framework of a full season, though — and especially if you can gather three friends for doubles — there is still a decent helping of tennis here that holds together.

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