Mario Tennis Fever Gets New Update for March 2026

Mario Tennis Fever has received a new update mainly focused on the balancing of playable characters and selectable rackets, but also making a slight change to shot behaviors that will affect the vast majority of matches. Version 1.0.2 of Mario Tennis Fever aims to increase fairness in the roster, not letting any character get too over or underpowered, while also tacking on some additional personality to their individual play styles.

The first Nintendo Switch 2-exclusive game of 2026, Mario Tennis Fever has been a moderate success for Nintendo since its release on February 12. It’s generated generally positive reviews from players and professional critics alike, and it also fills a void in the series left by the nearly eight-year gap since the release of Mario Tennis Aces on the original Nintendo Switch. While nostalgia certainly plays a role in that success, much of its appeal lies in the zany special shots that different Fever Rackets can produce and the stacked Mario franchise roster of close to 40 different characters.

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Many of the new changes to characters in Mario Tennis Fever are built around the issue of shot stability, and how close characters need to get to ensure that the ball goes exactly where they want it to after a hit. An increase in this shot stability distance formula has been added for four characters — Baby Peach, Dry Bones, Shy Guy, and Toad. Meanwhile, four others — Donkey Kong, Petey Piranha, Roslaina, and Wiggler — get a slight nerf to their chances to hit the ball stably from a distance.

Petey Piranha and Donkey Kong also get a little less acceleration in their movement speed, as it will take a little longer for them to begin running after players first set them into motion. Donkey Kong fans will be the ones most heavily affected by the new patch, as he is the only character with three different changes, also receiving some motion adjustments that affect his hit detection when players are moving him to the left or right. Rounding out the list of character changes, Diddy Kong’s shot and serve strength sees some slight increases in version 1.0.2, to an unspecified degree.

A similar set of balancing changes has been applied to six of the Fever Rackets in Mario Tennis Fever. Many of these changes shorten the length of time that their special skills are active, with the Metal and Star rackets losing two seconds, the Magic and Ghost rackets losing three, and the Golden Dash Racket as the biggest change of them all, having its effect period reduced from 12 seconds to just eight. Most of these rackets also get some additional bonuses as a trade-off, with the Metal and Star rackets able to deflect Spinies while their effects are active, and the Ghost Racket giving players an extra half of a second to see shot trajectory when setting up a lob. The screen drop effect of the Inky Racket has also been altered, as the ink will now start dripping down twice as quickly after first hitting the screen.

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In addition to these character and racket-specific changes, there are also some general patch notes, including some basic bug fixes and one gameplay change that will affect most matches and game modes in Mario Tennis Fever. Performing a charge chancel, which is a double-tap of the shot button that cancels out a charged shot in order to allow the player to reach an incoming tennis ball, will no longer cause a player’s controlled character to leap or slide, which takes away a little visual flair for the sake of giving players more control. The only situations in which these new rules will not be applied is when multiball is in effect, in which case, Mario Tennis Fever will follow the same behavior as it did after the addition of the 1.0.1 patch.

Mario Tennis Fever Version 1.0.2 Patch Notes

Changes to Character Specifications

Changed specifications of some characters.

Diddy Kong

Slightly increased the strength of shots and serves.

Dry Bones

The distance the ball can be hit back stably from has been increased slightly.
Slightly increased the ability to aim for the sidelines.

Baby Peach

The distance the ball can be hit back stably from has been increased slightly.

Toad

The distance the ball can be hit back stably from has been increased slightly.

Shy Guy

The distance the ball can be hit back stably from has been increased slightly.

Donkey Kong

The distance the ball can be hit back stably from has been reduced slightly.
Made it so you start running a little later when moving.
The motion extended significantly beyond the hit detection area while moving left or right, so his motion has been adjusted.

Petey Piranha

The distance the ball can be hit back stably from has been reduced slightly.
Made it so you start running a little later when moving.

Rosalina

The distance the ball can be hit back stably from has been reduced slightly.

Wiggler

The distance the ball can be hit back stably from has been reduced slightly.

Changes to Fever Racket Specifications

Changed specifications of some Fever Rackets.

Golden Dash Racket

Effect period has been shortened from 12 seconds to 8 seconds.

Metal Racket

Effect period has been shortened from 10 seconds to 8 seconds.
While the effect is active, you are now able to defeat Spinies from the Spiny Racket.

Star Racket

Effeect period has been shortened from 10 seconds to 8 seconds.
While the effect is active, you are now able to defeat Spinies from the Spiny Racket.

Magic Racket

Effect period has been shortened from 15 seconds to 12 seconds.
If the racket is already a Frying Pan, the motion of it transforming into a Frying Pan will no longer occur. (You still take damage to your HP.)

Ghost Racket

Effect period has been shortened from 15 seconds to 12 seconds.
For lobs, the time for it to disappear has been lengthened by 0.5 seconds, giving you slightly more time to see the trajectory of the shot

Inky Racket

The time from when ink gets on the screen to when it starts dripping down has been cut in half.

Changes to Shot Behavior

Made an adjustment so sliding and leaping do not occur when you perform a charge cancel. (However, the behavior remains the same as Ver. 1.0.1 for multiball.)

Other Changes

Fixed a bug where ratings were not being adjusted on the last day of each month at 5 P.M. (Pacific time).
Fixed a bug where the event would not proceed after the “In the Sky” battle in Adventure. Also adjusted it so the event will progress if you resume from save data following that point where the event does not proceed.
Several other adjustments and fixes have been made to improve the gameplay experience.