Chance Shot

A screenshot showcasing the different types of Chance Shots in Mario Sports Superstars.

A Chance Shot is a special type of shot from the Mario Tennis series, first appearing in Mario Tennis Open and later appearing in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash and the tennis mode of Mario Sports Superstars.

Succeeding the Power Shot from Mario Power Tennis, these shots are more powerful than regular shots, and cause a variety of effects when they are rebounded, such as momentarily stunning a player. When a player hits the ball, a Chance Area may appear on the opponent(s)'s side of the court, somewhere in the path of the ball. A Chance Area can be of one five colors, each one featuring a Super Mario enemy or item and corresponding with the game's colors for shots. Chance Areas usually appear due to a poor rebound from the opponent. In Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, and Mario Sports Superstars it is possible for there to be more than one Chance Area at a time. In the former game, using a Leap Shot to return a ball always creates one Chance Area for the opponent. All Chance Areas on the receivers side of the court vanish upon hitting the ball, even if the receiver does not use a Chance Shot.

To use a Chance Shot, a player has to be standing in the Chance Area then hit the button corresponding to that shot as they return the ball; for example, blue Chance Shots take effect if players use their slice button while standing in a blue Chance Area. The effect of the ball is dependent on the type of Chance Shot represented. Players need to counter the type of Chance Shot with a specific shot of their own; for example, characters who have a red Chance Shot incoming can counter it more effectively with a slice shot; the counters are represented on the glowing area on the touch screen in Mario Tennis Open. In Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash and Mario Sports Superstars, a Chance Shot for a topspin, slice, or smash can be performed as a Jump Shot, which combines the properties of both.

Furthermore, some characters have stronger Chance Shots than others and some characters rebound less; Metal Mario for example has one of the strongest stunning Chance Shots in the game and takes less time getting stunned than smaller, lighter, and weaker characters such as Diddy Kong. Players can also use their simple shot button to activate and rebound Chance Shots, but their effects are weaker than manually selecting a corresponding button.

The following is a table listing all Chance Shots and their effects:

Color	Chance Area	Screenshot	Effect	Counter
Red	Fire Flower		Creates a flaming topspin similar to Mario's Iron Hammer and Bowser's Fire Breath. When opponents hit this Chance Shot, they can be drastically pushed back.	Slice (blue)
Blue	Blooper		Creates a highly curving slice with a blue sparkling trail. Players who receive this shot spin out of control for a brief moment.	Topspin (red)
Purple	Star		Similar to a Smash Shot, but this Chance Shot is much stronger. This Chance Area is redesigned in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash and Mario Sports Superstars to not use the visual of the Star item, but rather the spinning outline of a star.	Flat (purple)
Shiny and Purple	Star		Exclusive to Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash and Mario Sports Superstars. If a Jump Shot version of a flat is used, it becomes an Ultra Smash, a special Jump Shot version of the above smash. This Chance Area is larger than normal.	Flat (purple)
Yellow	Cheep Cheep		Creates a curving extreme lob that bounces at the back edge of the court. Players who receive this get stunned for a brief moment.	Slice (blue)
Gray	Bob-omb		Creates an even lower drop shot than a normal one.	Topspin (red)

Gallery

Mario Tennis Open

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  Topspin Chance Shot

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  Slice Chance Shot

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  Smash Chance Shot

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  Lob Chance Shot

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  Drop Shot Chance Shot

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Italian	Colpo di fortuna[?]	Lucky shot
Portuguese	Pancada Crítica[?]	Critical Hit
Spanish	Golpe Afortunado[?]	Lucky Shot

Trivia

• The sound that plays when a Chance Area appears, as well as when a star icon appears in Mario Tennis and Mario Power Tennis, is the "are you sure?" sound effect from the original Mario Party.