I literally only got this game yesterday, it's the first time I've ever played a video game and I'm finding it really good. You can set the options to play using either the stylus or buttons, the Tennis School tutorial will adjust accordingly. Personally I'm using the stylus and it's easy now I've got the hang of it. The tutorial takes you through various different moves and shots and lets you practice before you start playing for real.
I'm playing as Rafa in Career Mode and have so far won three tournaments (Stockholm, Detroit and New York). I'm replaying them each several times to gain extra credits to boost my skills before I tackle Athens, because as an earlier reviewer noted, there is a significant step up in difficulty along with the prize money. 50 credits will add a slice to your skill bar in one of five key areas which you develop throughout the game. As well as credits, you also earn prize money which you can spend on new kit for Rafa to make sure he's always fashionably dressed for each tournament. I've not been able to afford a new racquet yet, but those can be changed too if you have the money.
As I say, I'm in the early stages of playing this game, but I'm having a lot of fun and found it very difficult to put my DS down last night! It's easy to get started and you can go back and practice in the Tennis School any time to refresh yourself on how to do which shots. As a novice gamer (and a big Rafael Nadal fan), I would really recommend this game to anyone.

rafa nadal equals new super mario bros.And has better graphics than you may have heard!!!

I bought this on the strength of the other reviews and was sorely disappointed. Top Spin 2 is far better. This game has poor graphics and is too easy. It is unrealistic and I didn't see the point of having 2 screens. Don't bother

I'm not a hardcore gamer by any means and have always found sports games difficult to master - I favour games that require brain power rather than thumb power. However, I am a tennis fan and when I read that you could play this game using the stylus rather than the control pad, I thought I'd give it a try.

Using the touch screen to control your strokes is a novel idea and I've found that so far, it works brilliantly. Play can be just as fast and furious as it would be using the control pad, and it's a lot quicker to grasp the basics, particularly after using the helpful tutorial feature. So far I've been playing in 'career mode' which enables you to create a player and acquire credits for winning, which you can then spend on improving aspects of your game. You also win money to spend on new equipment, but as this seems to have no effect on your game as far as I can tell, all it does is enable you to to change your player's appearance.

Tournaments are played on different surfaces, which is a nice touch, although I've yet to determine whether it affects the gameplay - at this early stage it's hard to tell whether you get long baseline rallies on the clay courts, or a serve-and-volley game on grass. The graphics are good with the players moving in a highly believable way, and the sound effects are also decent.

At this stage, my only real complaint is that now that I've won the first three tournaments (in Stockholm, Detroit and New York, with prize money of ??300 and ??500), the next available tournament is in Athens, with a prize money of ??3,000, and is *vastly* more difficult than the preceding tournaments. So basically, I've had to play the first three tournaments many times to build up enough credits to improve my game to the extent where I stand a chance of even returning my opponent's serve in Athens.

Apart from that, though, I've found this game entertaining and addictive, particularly as each tournament carries additional challenges which are fun to try to beat (such as winning three games without dropping a point, or serving five aces).

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[...] In fact if you didn't have the option to use the D-pad I would have given this game one star.
The whole stylus idea i.e using the pen to play your strokes just doesn't work, especially when you try the game on the harder settings. So if you are thinking of buying the game and you want to enjoy it you're best sticking to the D-pad. This is where the game really comes into it's own.
There is a comprehensive career mode, but on the down side there are no familar faces apart from Rafa. The graphics aren't to bad and the gameplay using the D-pad works well. So if you were a bit let down by Top Spin 2 then this is the game for you.
The controls are nice and simple: A for Stroke shot, X to lob, B for top spin and Y for the special shots. The more you hold the button down the more power you'll add to your shot.
There is a degree of customisation, things to buy with your tournament winnings rackets etc., a bit like in Virtua Tennis but nothing to really blow you away though.
All in all this is a decent little game if you are looking for a tennis game to play on the DS. Maybe not a must buy for everyone but worth ago if you are suffering from Wii elbow.