In this mode, the user creates a tennis player (male or female), and enters the SPT World Tour with a ranking position of 300th, and with the goal of becoming the number 1.

The player needs to improve his ranking by winning matches and tournaments, as well as his abilities by successfully completing training minigames and academy exercises.

Its technically impressive visuals, easy to learn but hard to master gameplay, and great selection of mini-games makes Virtua Tennis 3 an ace";[28] and Ouroboros later saying of the latter, "Bloated expectations aside, Virtua Tennis is a fan service treat from the moment you open the box, and setting down the controller without blowing hours on end requires considerable willpower, even if it all comes to feel like just a more refined, balanced version of what we already played to death on the Dreamcast.

"[30] Retro Gamer gave the PSP version a score of 80%, saying, "Admittedly, it's still a great game, but when you consider that World Tour can now be purchased for just under a tenner (and an absolute bargain it is too), it's very hard to justify shelling out extra money for a near identical experience.

"[31] Gabe Boker of GameZone gave the Xbox 360 version a score of 8.2 out of 10, saying, "It provides solid online multiplayer, a career mode bursting with life, and addictive mini-games fans have come to expect.

"[33] Louis Bedigian gave the PSP version eight out of ten, calling it "a content-filled, mini-game-infused joyride that anyone can love.