Mario Tennis Fever arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 with the biggest roster in series history: 38 playable characters spanning heroes, villains, babies, and even some surprising enemy picks. Whether you want to swing with raw Power, outmaneuver opponents with Speed, or baffle them with Tricky spin shots, this roster has a playstyle built for you. Here's everything you need to know about who's on the court, how each type plays, and how to unlock every hidden face on the selection screen.
How Many Characters Are in Mario Tennis Fever?
The game ships with 38 total playable characters, split between an initial group you can use right away and a larger batch you earn through play. That number beats out Mario Tennis Aces, which capped its final roster at 30 characters.
- Starting roster: 18 characters unlocked from the moment you boot up the game
- Unlockable roster: 20 characters earned through matches, tournaments, and special challenges
Mario Tennis Fever Best Characters for Singles and Doubles
Who Do You Start With?
The 18 characters available immediately cover a wide spread of types and playstyles:
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Pauline, Wario, Waluigi, Toad, Toadette, Luma, Yoshi, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Donkey Kong, Boo, Shy Guy, and Koopa Troopa.
That's a solid foundation, but the most interesting characters (and some series newcomers) are locked behind progression.
What Are the Six Character Types in Mario Tennis Fever?
Every character on the roster belongs to one of six distinct playstyle categories. Your choice here shapes your entire approach on the court.
The in-game Character screen displays individual ratings for Speed, Power, Control, and Spin on a 5-point scale, which helps you fine-tune your pick beyond broad type labels.
Mario Tennis Fever Best Characters for Singles and Doubles
Who Are the Series Debut Characters in Mario Tennis Fever?
Six characters appear in a Mario Tennis game for the very first time:
- Nabbit: The rabbit thief from New Super Mario Bros. U makes his tennis debut
- Goomba: Grips a racket in its mouth for the first time in series history
- Piranha Plant: A potted version joins the court
- Baby Luigi: Luigi's infant form enters the series officially
- Baby Wario: First appearance in a home console Mario Tennis title
- Baby Waluigi: A brand-new character created specifically for this game, making his debut in the entire Mario franchise
Baby Waluigi is the headline newcomer here. He's never appeared anywhere in the Mario universe before this game, making him a genuinely historic addition. Wiggler also returns after an absence going back to 2004, and Baby Mario and Baby Peach are back for the first time since 2012.
Best Characters for Singles
Early competitive discussions point to a meta shaped by powerful bruisers and deceptive spin specialists.
Top-tier picks for singles play:
- Blooper (Tricky): Frequently cited as the strongest singles character right now, thanks to curved shots that create angles most opponents simply can't reach
- Bowser (Power): Raw shot weight ends rallies fast, especially effective against Speed-types who can't overpower him
- Wario (Power): Similar to Bowser but with slightly different court coverage
- Donkey Kong (Power): His combination of reach and shot strength makes him a consistent top-tier threat
- Rosalina (Tricky): Mixes above-average base stats with deceptive spin, giving her versatility that pure Tricky characters lack
- Petey Piranha (Power): Massive frame dominates the net and punishes weak returns hard
Boo and Kamek are strong disruptors at the competitive level, forcing timing errors through extreme spin. Mario and Yoshi remain reliable picks, though they sit below the top tier in a power-heavy meta.
Best Character Pairings for Doubles
Doubles success in Mario Tennis Fever comes from pairing characters whose strengths cover each other's gaps. A team that collectively covers Power, Speed, Control, Defense, and Trick is difficult to beat.
Proven high-synergy pairings:
- Waluigi + Peach: Waluigi's defensive reach at the net pairs perfectly with Peach's precise placement from the baseline
- Bowser + Toad: Toad's speed retrieves what Bowser's slow movement can't reach, while Bowser finishes points with power shots
- Rosalina + Waluigi: Height advantage against lobs combined with tricky spin and defensive coverage
- Boom Boom + Boo: A defensive wall that also produces unpredictable curving returns, making this pairing frustrating to play against
The standard doubles formula puts the stronger hitter at the front to punish weak returns, with the quicker or more technical character managing the baseline. Double-power teams like Bowser and Petey Piranha can overwhelm opponents but struggle against high-retrieval setups.
Also worth noting: coordinating Fever Racket effects in doubles is critical. Teams that create court hazards benefit from having at least one fast character to chase down escape shots.
Mario Tennis Fever Best Characters for Singles and Doubles
How to Complete the Full Roster Fast
If you want everything unlocked as efficiently as possible, follow this order:
- Grind match counts first. Short matches (1-game sets or tiebreakers) count toward your total. Reaching 100 matches unlocks 7 characters and 14 color variants automatically
- Clear tournament cups. Mushroom, Flower, and Star Cups in both Singles and Doubles unlock all the Baby characters and Nabbit
- Tackle Trial Towers. Complete the Tower of Resolve, Tower of Growth, and Tower of Trickery using your strongest characters and best rackets
- Finish advanced challenges last. Score Attack modes and co-op Ring Shot challenges are the toughest requirements; save them for when you're comfortable with the game's mechanics
Playing human doubles matches counts toward both players' match totals simultaneously, making co-op sessions an efficient way to grind milestones.
Mario Tennis Fever Best Characters for Singles and Doubles
Mario Tennis Fever sets a new benchmark for the series with its massive 38-character roster, innovative type system, and unlock path that's rewarding without the grind walls. Whether you're dominating singles with Blooper's curveballs, synergizing doubles duos like Bowser and Toad, or collecting every debutant from Baby Waluigi to Goomba, this is peak Mario sports action on Nintendo Switch 2.
Get more Mario Tennis Fever guides here.