I want to add a guide for those that can't get the ace serves to work (or don't want to play that way). To be honest, it isn't necessary, and I think seeing that 'trick' mentioned so much put me off ever trying for this achievement back in the day.
The other guide makes a lot of great points, so does the walkthrough. As with all things, the more you read, the more likely it is that you'll find something that works for you. There are, however, some areas in the other guide that I'll be contradicting.
First, though, let's begin with the obvious. Set the matches to 7 points, 1 game. There are 11 characters, and 10 matches each tournament. That's 110 matches to win. The good news is you can lose a match or restart as often as you like. You never lose progress. Since you'll be playing so many matches, I suggest you try enjoying the game. You'd better play through some easy tournaments first with various characters to get a feel for things. Once you're winning comfortably, move up a level.
Now let's keep it simple. For my play style, I never used side-spin except on service. Backspin and topspin are all you need. Whether you play offensive (topspin) or defensive (backspin) will depend on your character. Some characters, e.g Mark, Jesper, Solayman, can play ultra aggressive and dominate the opponent in most situations. Some characters, e.g. Luc and Haley are mixed. How you play will depend on your opponent. They do not have the power to play topspin against someone like Mark, for example. Finally, with certain characters like Kumi or Liu Ping, I played 80-90% defensive.
I will provide examples for each of these play styles, namely offensive, mixed, and defensive.
Since we’re not ace serving, we will attempt a variety of services. In table tennis, you want to keep your opponent guessing, and this principle worked for me in this game. The opponent is not cheap and, as far as I can tell, does not read your inputs at all. Nevertheless, you want to get good spin on the ball. Practice serving if you need to.
When the rally begins, short-wide shots are your friend. That means pulling the left analogue stick back slightly. This will force your opponent out of position. Keep them pinned down that side, and let your meter build up. Once you’re in focus mode, these wide shots will force an error. Smash it wide.
During these rallies, you want to be pressing A as early as possible. That means as soon as the ball comes off your opponent’s bat. You must focus on positioning. Having played a shot to the wide-left, position yourself on the right. This will allow you to gain extra focus for your meter. Most of the time, the computer is quite predictable. There are certain characters, e.g. Liu Ping and Mark, that can play effectively down the line, but for the most part they will play it diagonally across the table.
Let’s see how this looks in practice.
Mark vs. Luc*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Mark is a great choice for playing topspin. He's strong on both sides, and generates a lot of power. Here we literally put Luc on the floor with relentless topspin. At 1-1, we have a full focus meter and our backhands are too much for Luc to handle. Notice how at 3-1 I serve to the forehand and gamble on a cross table return. It doesn't go where I expect, but we're still able to play a nice backhand. This is why it's almost always worth taking a chance, as the risk of being punished is quite low. If the ball comes back to the forehand, we are positioned to push the opponent very wide. If the ball comes center, like it did, we can still make the shot easily. In my experience, the ball will end up down the backhand so rarely that it's not worth worrying about.
Solayman vs. Juergen*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***We have a terrible start to this match. I did not pay attention to Juegen's sidespin on service. It's very easy to play these off the table. If you're really struggling, you can play them straight. A wide return will give you an early opportunity to win the point, though. Later I settle on serving to his backhand. Nothing special -- just backspin from the default starting position. He almost always returned to our backhand, allowing us to get into position early and get him off balance. He then gave us many chances to smash the ball past him.
Jung Soo vs. Mark*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Mark is tough opponent especially when you attack him. He returns the ball quickly, which gives you little time to react. As you can see, the game plan of playing the ball wide quickly falls apart in the opening stages of the first rally. We eventually manage to work ourselves into position to win the point. Backspin serves to his backhand also gave us nice openings to attack. Typically you wouldn't play this aggressive against Mark as he punishes weaker characters.
As you can see, not everything goes to plan. You will lose some points. You will make mistakes, you will make poor decisions, and sometimes you will have bad luck. But we stuck to the plan. We won points by forcing the opponent wide with pure topspin. Mark is one of the tougher opponents to play aggressively against, and it may be advisable to use a mixed or defensive approach. Let’s take a look.
[videos coming soon]
The key to winning is your special meter. It is so important that you may even find yourself losing a match while remaining in an advantageous position over your opponent. Once your meter is full, you can unleash an onslaught of topspin, forcing your opponent into weaker shots and draining their special meter in the process.
With mixed characters, you can play aggressively against some opponents. In fact, against certain opponents, it’s necessary. You should always be aware of what isn’t working. If you’re struggling in backspin rallies, switch to topspin. If your opponent is dominating forehand rallies, serve to the backhand. It sounds simple, but don’t keep trying the same thing over and over. It’s for that reason, I don’t recommend the ace serves. It’s a play style that will drive you crazy. You must be adaptive.
You must also be patient with mixed characters. Build up your focus meter. Short-wide backspin shots and good positioning will allow you to fill your meter in one or two rallies. Don’t worry if you lose a few points. You’ll turn the game on its head once you have a full green focus meter. Once the meter is full, play aggressively like we practiced before, but try to serve long and with backspin.
Finally, we have the defensive characters. Now it may be that these characters are amazing with sidespin; that is their strength, but we aren’t using sidespin. We’re going to be using backspin exclusively. These characters cannot attack effectively because their shots are too weak. You must have full focus before attempting a topspin shot. Hopefully, you will pick up points via forced errors. Much of the time will be spent containing your opponent with, you guessed it, short-wide backspin shots.
[videos coming soon]
General tips
+ Get into position before your opponent hits the ball.
+ Gamble on your opponent playing across the table.
+ Make your shot as soon as your opponent strikes the ball.
+ Aim wide and short by pulling back diagonally on the analogue stick.
+ Play to the opposite side when your focus meter is active or when you see an obvious opportunity.
- Do not continue to aim your shot after hitting the ball. It will move your player out of position.
- Do not hesitate to change your shot direction mid-swing.
- Do not keep trying the same tactic over and over if it isn’t working.
+ Enjoy the game. Play in short bursts if you’re finding it a little draining.