List of The Prince of Tennis characters


The Prince of Tennis manga and anime series has a large cast of fictional characters created by Takeshi Konomi; many have appeared in the musical and film adaptations. The cast of the series is largely made up of the members of the various tennis teams for the schools portrayed in the series, their coaches, and various family members and supporters.
The main character of the series is Ryoma Echizen, a 12-year-old tennis prodigy who joins the Seishun Academy tennis team. The main cast is rounded out with the other eight regular players for Seishun, all of whom have various special abilities at playing tennis. Beyond them, there are many rival schools whose players reappear during the course of the series.

Protagonists

The protagonists of the series all attend Seishun Academy, or Seigaku for short. The school is famous for its talented tennis club in which the series' leading protagonist, Ryoma Echizen, is enrolled into the school by his father, Nanjiro Echizen, a former professional tennis player and Seigaku alumn. Although Seigaku has long been known for its tennis club, the void created by Nanjiro's departure years earlier throws the team into somewhat of a slump, leaving them unable to make it to Nationals over the next several years until a first year, Tezuka, joins the team. The story picks up two years later with Tezuka now a third year. The team slowly reforms, and Seigaku pulls off its first National victory with Ryoma's addition to the team.

Ryoma Echizen

;Ryoma Echizen

Kunimitsu Tezuka

;Kunimitsu Tezuka
Tezuka is the captain of the Seigaku tennis team and its number one player, and has an unbeaten tennis record. The word "stoic" doesn't even begin to describe him. He doesn't smile, doesn't laugh, and has a very no-nonsense type of personality.
Later on, it comes out that Tezuka is indeed a very passionate person who will never surrender in his pursuit of his ideals. What are they? Why, the success of his tennis team. His determination and stubbornness are nearly unmatched. He will lead through example if it kills him - or forever destroys his ability to play.
Tezuka is aloof from his teammates but highly regarded. He is a good student, president of the student council, and is popular.
His catch phrase, "let's not be careless!" was painfully learned in his first year. As a new player, he was stronger than his seniors, and tried not to embarrass them by playing with his right hand. However, this was discovered and an enraged senpai struck him in the left arm. This injury comes back to haunt him, and eventually causes him to leave for Germany for treatment.
Tezuka's goal is to become the "pillar of Seigaku." He was challenged by the captain in his first year to become the "pillar" the team could rely on. This is how he eventually ruins his arm - he plays past the point of reason to exist as an example to his teammates.

Shuichiro Oishi

Shuichiro Oishi is the vice-captain of the club. Oishi and Kikumaru Eiji make up Seigaku's national level doubles team, known as the "Golden Pair". Oishi is known as the 'Mother Hen of Seigaku', because he constantly worries and frets for the team's well-being. He remains calm and rational in a match, allowing him to form strategies quickly. He uses the Moon Volley, a topspin lob that travels very high over the court and lands just in bounds. He can also use the "Drop Volley", a feint hit with the power of a drop shot, making the trajectory much closer to the net. He is voiced by Takayuki Kondou in Japanese media, voiced by Sam Riegel in English media, and portrayed by Hiroki Suzuki in the live action film.
He and Eiji often use the "Australian Formation", where they stand directly on the center line to confuse the opponents as to which way each player will move when the ball is placed into the opposing court. The "I-Formation" is a variation where Eiji stays below the net and Oishi serves the ball down the center. They also develop "Oishi Territory", which has Oishi focus on the net while Eiji stays in the back. It takes advantage of Oishi's ability to read the opponent while passing information to Eiji in the back. They later develop the "Synchronization" ability, which lets them play and move as if they are one person.
Despite his worrywart nature, Oishi is actually an extremely strict and disciplined leader, and a brilliant tactician on the court. His competitive nature is a stark contrast to his more timid public personality. He seems to easily become embarrassed as Kaido, but is also seen practicing proper etiquette more so than anyone else in the series because of his consideration for others.
Oishi plays the mother in the tenipuri episodes. Inui is her husband; Ryoma Echizen, Kaoru Kaidoh, and Takeshi Momoshiro are her children.
In New Prince of Tennis, Oishi earns the No. 16 badge for the U-17 first string. He is also one of the 14 middle schoolers to represent Japan at the U-17 world cup. Despite the fact that he's not the captain of the middle school representatives, Oishi represents the Japanese U-17 team as a whole on the world stage, drawing lottery slots to determine the team's initial positions for the tournament.
In the Prince of Tennis Musicals, Oishi has been portrayed by Yuichi Tsuchiya, Hiroki Suzuki, Yukihiro Takiguchi, Yuya Toyoda, Yuki Tsujimoto, Jin Hiramaki, Ikkei Yamamoto and Shun Ishida.

Shusuke Fuji

;Shusuke Fuji
Fuji is a third year student at Seishun Academy. The middle child of three, he has an older sister, Yumiko, who is very attractive and admired by his friends; his younger brother is Yuta, who was a student at Seigaku, but transferred to St. Rudolph. Fuji is a leap year baby, only getting to properly celebrate his birthday properly every 4 years. He is given the title "tensai", or genius, due to his tactical skill on the tennis court. Fuji's most famous moves are known as the Triple Counters: Higuma Ootoshi for returning smashes; Tsubame Gaeshi which runs on the ground without bouncing, effective against players at the baseline; and Hakugei, a shot that uses the wind to hop straight into the air and return to Fuji on the bounce, effective against players at the net. During the nationals, he creates more effective versions of his Triple Counters; three more original counters to deal with complex spin shots, low spin shots, and net balls; and even masters how to play with his eyes closed. In addition, Fuji has an underhand serve that seems to disappear when the opponent is about to hit it. A running gag in the series is that Fuji has interest in or else near-immunity to strange foods and drinks that others would find revolting to the point of fainting. Should he ever pass out from consuming any of the strange concoctions Inui or other data tennis characters come up with, the item in question is deemed a true terror.
He is generally very relaxed and in control, often seen with a calm and content expression on his face with his eyes seemingly closed from lightly smiling, and rarely plays at full power. He only seems to do so when he witnesses some form of injustice or wins on the behalf of others who placed their personal health at risk playing tennis. For this reason, data-driven players like Inui and Mizuki cannot predict his movements at all. Fuji later admits to Tezuka that this is due to the fact that he has zero motivation to win, at least prior to the Nationals. There are a few people that can "wake" the true player in Fuji and force him to play seriously, and these few are either nationally ranked or extremely talented tennis players. Seigaku teammates Kunimitsu Tezuka and Ryoma Echizen, Shitenhōji captain Kuranosuke Shiraishi, Hyotei Gakuen Chuto Bu regular Yushi Oshitari and Rikkaidai Fuzoku regular Akaya Kirihara have been acknowledged by Fuji to be actual challenges. When he is excited, provoked, or serious, Fuji reveals his sharp eyes: light brown in the manga and blue in the anime.
In New Prince of Tennis, Fuji laments over how he longer has Tezuka to help drive him to keep improving at tennis after the latter leaves for Germany. Fuji recreates his tennis to be more offensive in order to be more competitive at the U-17 world cup, at which he is one of the 14 middle schoolers representing Japan. His first new counter, Hollyhock Blizzard, reflects this by replacing the Higuma Ootoshi altogether, as this new counter returns opponents' smashes with a smash of his own.
Fuji is one of the few male characters in the anime who is voiced by a female voice actor, others being Ryoma Echizen, Kintarou Tooyama of Shitenhouji, Taichi Dan of Yamabuki, Youhei and Kouhei Tanaka of Jyosei Shonan, and Seiichi Yukimura of Rikkaidai Fuzoku. However, Ryoma, Kintarō and Taichi are first years, thus younger and more naturally voiced by a voice actress. Despite Fuji and Yukimura being third years, they are also voiced by voice actresses.
In the anime series, Fuji's voice actress is Yuki Kaida who also voices Fuji's sister, Yumiko. For the live-action adaptation film of The Prince of Tennis, Tenimyu actor Hiroki Aiba portrays Fuji.
In The Prince of Tennis Musicals, Fuji has been portrayed by actors Kimeru, Takashi Nagayama, who stood in during Remarkable 1st Match Fudomine due to a cast change, Hiroki Aiba, Yuuta Furukawa, Taito Hashimoto, Ryou Mitsuya, Yusuke Yata, and Yuuki Kamisato.

Sadaharu Inui

Sadaharu Inui is a highly intelligent player, who uses Data Tennis. He constantly collects and analyzes data of other players in order to predict where they hit to next and how. While he collects data pertaining to tennis, he also collects personal pieces of data, such as favorite things, personal habits, and where they have been. This, combined with his almost robotic analytical nature the fact that his eyes are rarely seen, creating no shortage of awkwardness in social situations outside the court. His style originates from his close friend, Renji of Rikkai, who played doubles with Inui before moving. He is temporarily removed from the regulars after losing to Ryoma and Kaidoh, and he becomes the team manager. He uses his data to create exercise programs for the team and creates a series of disgusting "Inui Juice" health drinks that are able to knock a person out or send them running to the restrooms, which motivates the team to train harder as the drinks are used as punishments. The negative effects of the drinks are resisted by a few, namely Fuji. He is voiced by Kenjirō Tsuda in Japanese media Erik Davies in English media, and portrayed by Hirofumi Araki in The Prince of Tennis live-action film.
Inui's data tennis allows him to predict the probability of a shot taking place although other factors can disrupt the probability. Though he relies on data, he still trains excessively to keep up with his teammates, taking on a training load 2.25x more than Kaidoh's, which is already 3x ahead of the rest of the team. This allows him to reclaim his spot as a regular by beating Momoshiro. He pairs with Kaidoh in doubles to help Kaidoh train, and Kaidoh's massive amount of stamina is used to let him play alone while Inui gathers data. Though Inui is good at predicting his opponent's movements, he can still be defeated by those who either have never shown him all of their techniques or simply surpass him on the physical level. He also has one of the fastest serves in the series. His Sonic Serve can reach 192 km/h, though it would later be replaced by the Waterfall Serve. Its arc and descent resembles that of a waterfall engulfing the opponent, and can reach 212 km/h.
In New Prince of Tennis, he helps Renji take the No. 17 spot on the U-17 first string. He and Renji both later join the intel support team for the All-Japan Representatives.
In the musicals, Inui has been portrayed by Sota Aoyama, Hirofumi Araki, Masei Nakayama, Yuuta Takahashi, Yusuke Arai, Teruma, Seiya Inagaki, and Ryosei Tanaka.

Eiji Kikumaru

Eiji Kikumaru is part of Seigaku's "Golden Pair" along with Oishi. Even so, he sometimes does doubles with Fuji and they are then called the "Dream Pair". Eiji uses "Acrobatic Play" which takes advantage of his flexible body. Eiji is also known to have the sharpest vision on the team with an exceptional talent for seeing moving objects. His main weakness is his lack of stamina which he finally overcomes through hard work and training later in the series. Though the Golden Pair seldom play without each other, certain circumstances, such as their temporary breakup when Oishi gives his spot to Ryoma, forces him to play in singles. Eiji is a friendly, sweet-tempered, and outgoing character and the youngest of a large family. He is voiced by Hiroki Takahashi in Japanese media, voiced by Steve Staley in English media, and portrayed by Osamu Adachi in the live-action film.
Eiji's flexible body allows him to reach balls with a touch of flair that few can replicate. His dives and flips often astonish the spectators and often gets grudging praise from his opponents helping Eiji focus. He focuses on the net with his "Kikumaru Beam", a sharp volley that is hit with his hand reaching around his back, and his "Kikumaru Bazooka", a smash hit upsidedown. While playing doubles, Eiji follows the lead of Oishi. The two rely on and know each other thoroughly, which allows them to predict each other's moves without any signals. They further develop this by achieving "Synchronization", letting them act together as if they were only one person. He can also play well in singles by using his "Seal Step", which uses his speed to move from one location to a new one the moment the opponents eyes leave his first location. This gives the opponent the impression that there are two of him for a doppelganger type effect, though the anime gives him the ability to hug and high five his after image, making it slightly unrealistic.
Eiji's favorite color is red; he enjoys brushing his teeth, wandering around pet shops, omelette rice, fried shrimp, and shaved ice. He was born November 28 at 6:28 am and is a Sagittarius. He has grandparents, a mother, a father, two older sisters, and two older brothers, and therefore is the youngest of a very large family, something that gives him attributes of being fun-loving and easy-going. His father is a news reporter. His favorite subject is Japanese history. He has declared that he might want to become a stunt double in the future with Oishi being his personal trainer, doctor, and still best friend. His favorite date spot is the amusement park; he loves anime/fantasy, idol magazines, and JPOP. He also looks for someone who is cheerful and someone whom he can share a laugh with in a friend. He most wants a new knitted hat. Outside of tennis, he excels in fly swatting, bug collecting, cooking, and can often be found in the gymnasium when not at the tennis courts.
In the Tenipuri Family episodes, Eiji plays the family's pet, a pink cat named Kikumaru.
In the musicals, Eiji has been portrayed by Yamazaki Ichitaro, Takashi Nagayama, Adachi Osamu, Koji Seto, Kyousuke Hamao, Takasaki Shouta, Koseki Yuta, Mario Kuroba, and Honda Reo.

Takeshi Momoshiro

Takeshi Momoshiro is known as Seigaku's "number one rascal." As the player who is the most open and friendly with everyone, Momoshiro is connected to everyone on the team on some level. Momoshiro is the closest to a true friend Ryoma Echizen can claim; the two spend much time together eating hamburgers or playing street tennis. Momoshiro and Kaidoh Kaoru are eternal rivals, and constantly try to out-do each other. This makes them efficient as a doubles pair, because the two rivals know each other so well. Momoshiro develops an affinity for playing doubles and even masters it, despite expressing a preference for singles. He loses his position as a regular after losing to Inui in the ranking matches. When Oishi injures his wrist before the match against Hyotei, Momoshiro takes his place to form a makeshift Golden Pair with Kikumaru. After that, he keeps his regular spot when Tezuka leaves for rehabilitation. He becomes the Vice-captain of Seigaku the following year. He is voiced by Masaya Onosaka in Japanese media, voiced by Doug Erholtz in English media, and portrayed by Masaki Kaji in The Prince of Tennis live-action film.
Momoshiro's signature move is the Dunk Smash, a very powerful smash performed as he jumps several feet into the air. His catchphrase is "Don", which he often says upon hitting a winner. He later develops the Jack Knife, a pro-level powerful backhand. In the anime, he develops the Super Dunk, a Dunk Smash that spins for a long time on the court before bouncing, thus confusing the opponent as to when it will bounce up. Momoshiro is good at "faking out" his opponents and is just as excellent of a tactician as Oishi on the court. His ability to read the opponent's movements and to observe their viewpoints and expression allows Momoshiro to guess where the ball will go and use techniques that will confuse his opponents. He later improves upon this ability by training in the mountains, allowing him to be more in tune with nature to the point where he can even read and predict weather patterns.
In New Prince of Tennis, his wrists suffer severe damage after being on the receiving end of a Black Jack Knife, which has twice the spin and power of his regular Jack Knife. However, he later learns the Black Jack Knife himself, and uses it to take the No. 19 position on the U-17 first string.
In the musicals, Momoshiro has been portrayed by Eiji Moriyama, Masaki Kaji, Shinpei Takagi, Tetsuya Makita, Toshihiro Nobuyama, Toru Kamitsuru, Masyu Ishiwatari, and Shuto Mashima.

Takashi Kawamura

Takashi Kawamura has a shy personality without his tennis racket, but he becomes extremely aggressive and loud once he holds a tennis racket, referred to as Burning Mode. He often shouts various English words like "Burning!", "Great!", "Come on, baby!", "Shocking!", "Victory!", and "Delicious!" while in Burning Mode. During his first year, he had a lot of power, but lacked control to the point where most of his shots were outside the court fences. He was made fun of by his peers, but his close friends stayed by him and helped him develop his control. During his third year, he became a regular and eventually meets his goal of becoming the number one power player in Japan by beating Gin Ishida. He plans to quit playing tennis after the tournament and focus on working as a sushi chef under his father with the goal of being number one in the future. He is voiced by Naru Kawamoto in Japanese media, Richard Cansino in English media, and portrayed by Yoshikazu Kotani in The Prince of Tennis live-action film.
Kawamura mainly relies on the Hadoukyuu, a very powerful maneuver that uses 120% of an arm's strength, but puts a lot of strain on his arm. He copies it from Fudomine's Tetsu Ishida, who learned it from his brother, Gin. Kawamura lowers the risk of the shot by using a Two-Handed Hadoukyuu, which decreases the power. He can use either while jumping to make the Jump Hadoukyuu, which is hard to return. He later develops the Dash Hadoukyuu, which is a regular Hadoukyuu performed during an extremely fast dash. It strengthens the shot by focusing all the momentum on the wrist, but it can break the wrist if overused. During his match against Gin, he develops a "Final Hadoukyuu" that, because he accidentally hit with racket frame instead of the gut, the ball vibrates, and thus has power far exceeding Gin's strongest Hadoukyuu, breaking the latter's wrist.
He also reappears as a candidate in the U-17 selection camp, where he loses to Jin Akutsu, but comes back to take the No. 12 position in the first string.
In the musicals, Kawamura has been portrayed by Yoshitsugu Abe, Eiki Kitamura, who stood in for Abe in the More than St. Rudolph Gakuen Musical, Yoshikazu Kotani, Kouji Watanabe, Hiroaki Ogasawara, Ikkou Chou, Sora Yaguchi , Shohei, and Kodai Takikawa.

Kaoru Kaido

Kaoru Kaido is known as "Viper" to his teammates for constantly making a "fshuuuu" sound similar to a snake while exhaling. Kaidoh trains rigorously, increasing the training program given to him by Inui to give him an abnormally high stamina, even against other characters who boast to have high stamina. He has a deep rivalry with Momoshiro, in which they constantly try to beat each other. Because they are rivals, they also know each other the best, and they can get along very well in times of need; this makes them an efficient doubles pair. He normally plays singles, though he eventually pairs with Inui, who helps Kaidoh train and develop new techniques. Kaidoh's stamina is used to let him play the other team alone, while Inui collects data. After the national tournament, Kaidoh becomes the new captain of Seigaku. He is voiced by Kōhei Kiyasu in Japanese media, voiced by David Lodge in English media, and portrayed by Kousuke Kujirai in the live-action The Prince of Tennis film.
His signature move is the Snake Shot, derived from the "Buggy Whip Shot", which is a curving forehand that keeps his opponents running. He later develops the Boomerang Snake, where the ball swerves around the net pole back in bounds. He develops the shot under Inui's advice and by working with him in doubles. He also develops the Short Snake, which goes directly behind the net player, the Reverse Snake, which is used to keep opponents guessing, and the Tornado Snake, which is a fast straight shot with a spin that cuts air resistance. He can also use Hiroshi Yagyuu's "Laser Beam", calling his version the Gyro Laser, which is an extremely fast shot with the same spin as the Tornado Snake, allowing him to confuse opponents. He also develops the Hadoukyuu Boomerang in the anime, which is developed from the Hadoukyuu that has much more strength behind a regular Boomerang shot.
Although he has a tough exterior and is cold towards others, there is a softer side to Kaidoh. Unknown to many, Kaidou enjoys playing with small animals. He is often seen playing with Ryoma's cat, Karupin, who wanders off on his own most of the time. Koharu notes that Kaido was often mistaken for a girl back in Kindergarten and was sometimes forced to wear a skirt, crying a lot as a result, implying that Kaido's tough demeanor is merely a front to hide his insecurities. This hidden vulnerability often puts Kaidou in many comedic situations as he tends to take himself way too seriously compared to his peers.
In the various TeniPuri Family episodes, Kaidoh is the young infant. Not being able to speak, he mainly just says "fssshhuuuu". Shuuko introduced infant – Kaidoh as "cutie-pie, Kaoru-chan". He is often bullied in some sorts by his older siblings, Ryoma and Momoko.
In the musicals, Kaidoh has been portrayed by Naoya Gomoto, Kousuke Kujirai, Tomo Yanagishita, Yuuichirou Hirata, Akihiro Hayashi, Ryousuke Ikeoka, Tatsunari Kimura, and Hiroki Sana.

Sumire Ryuzaki

Sumire Ryuzaki is the coach of Seigaku's tennis club and one of the school's math teachers. She helped Nanjiro Echizen develop his skills and become a professional tennis player. Her granddaughter Sakuno has a crush on Ryoma. Ryuzaki has a rivalry with her ex-mentor Mikiya Banda, a.k.a. Banji, who is the coach for Yamabuki. She constantly yells, but she is considered to be a great and reliable coach. She has a good relationship with her regulars and participates in their recreational group activities: the bowling reunion and the beach-volley mini-tournament with Rokkaku Middle School. For the Prince of Tennis live action movie, Ryuzaki's whole personality and back story was changed: she also had Ryoma's father in her tennis team a couple of years ago, and instead of being a middle-aged teacher and ex-coach to Nanjiro Echizen, she is portrayed as a young and more cheerful woman as well as a former classmate of Nanjiro's, who was her reason for playing tennis and becoming the coach. She was played by the popular singer Hitomi Shimatani.

Opponents

Fudoumine

Fudoumine Middle School is an unseeded and unknown public school with rumors of violence. It was originally unknown due to an unreasonable coach and a lazy set of senior regulars. The freshmen at Fudoumine were brutalized severely by the older tennis club members, while the coach ignored the mistreatment. Tachibana and the abused freshman attempted to rally together and form their own tennis club, but the coach and the other players find this idea absurd and try to stop this from happening. When the coach allows his older team members to attack Tachibana and the freshman, Tachibana snaps and attacks the coach. As a result, Fudoumine is pulled out of the District Tournament that year. Tachibana and the others eventually reform the club, and in the series, upsets Kakinoki in the District tournament semifinals and Hyotei in the Prefectural quarterfinals. They go on to make it all the way to the quarterfinals of the Nationals before losing to Shitenhouji. Fudoumine's uniforms are black hooded jackets with the Fudoumine logo, black shirts, white shorts, and black warm-up pants.
St. Rudolph is a team that first appears in the Tokyo Prefectural Tournament Arc and faces Seishun in the quarterfinals. The school itself only recruits students who are gifted at tennis and they only practice together once a week. The team uniform is a white shirt with brown, brown shorts, and brown warm-up pants.
Yamabuki Middle School is a national caliber team that bases their strategy on two National caliber doubles teams, supported by the National caliber Singles player Sengoku. They try to use those three weapons to defeat opponents before the matches get drawn out. When their strategy was foiled in the previous year by Seigaku's Tezuka defeating Sengoku, they recruited a second dominant singles player Jin Akutsu, with the aim to eliminate that weakness. Yamabuki's regular sports uniforms are green jackets with yellow stripes with hoods, shirts of the same design, white shorts, and green warm-up pants.
Hyoutei Academy Secondary Department is a team that uses a strict stratification and merit system, which prioritizes ability over emotion. If any regular loses a match, they are removed from their spot and only given a second chance in very rare conditions. With Keigo Atobe as their leader, the one who revolutionized the merit system on the team. Hyoutei's tennis club is composed of over two hundred members, far larger than any other tennis club in the series, which is likely the reason why they use a strict merit system for their regulars in the first place. Widely considered as the main contenders to Rikkai Dai, they instead suffered setbacks in the early tournaments, losing to Fudomine in the quarterfinals of the Prefectural Tournament, and then losing to Seigaku in the first round of the Kanto tournament, leaving them ineligible for the National tournament. They are all depressed until they receive a special invite due to the host city, Tokyo, getting to invite one extra team. According to Takeshi Konomi, Hyoutei's popularity was much higher than he expected, and it was for that reason that he chose to bring them back into the story. The Hyoutei team is one of the most popular teams in the entire series. In the official school popularity poll, they came in second losing only to Seigaku.
Josei Shonan resides in the Kanagawa Prefecture of the Tokyo region. Though they are mentioned in the manga, they only appear in the anime, where they replace Midoriyama as Seigaku's opponents in the second round of the Kantō Tournament.
Rokkaku Middle School is a team based in the Chiba Prefecture, which focuses on training local children in tennis from an early age. They have a large playground and tennis court which is often used to train. They make the Kantō Tournament semi-finals, where they lose to Seigaku. They advance to the National Tournament, but they are upset by a dark horse team, Higa.
Rikkaidai Junior High School is located in the Kanagawa prefecture and is considered to be the best middle school team, having won the Japanese National tournament the last two years. They aim for perfect wins in the matches winning the Nationals for the third year. They are fully introduced during the Kantō Tournament, where they easily crush Fudomine in the semi-finals. In the finals, however, they suffer a loss to Seigaku, and return to the Nationals to try and beat Seigaku to fulfill their 3rd win in the Nationals. They make their way all the way through to the finals of the Nationals, but they are once again defeated by Seigaku, ending their hopes of winning a third straight title. Takeshi Konomi mentioned in an interview that he was not sure who would be in the finals between Nagoya Seitoku and Rikkadai, but he decided on Rikkaidai finding them were more interesting.
Shitenhoji Middle School is one of the strongest teams in the Kansai region. Though the team loses to Rikkai in previous year's semi-finals, the members puts up the strongest fight against Rikkai with more willpower than any other team's. During the course of the series, they defeat Fudomine in the National Quarterfinals, but once again lose in the semi-finals, this time to Seigaku.
Higa Middle School is the first team from the Okinawa Prefecture to make it past the Kyūshū tournament in twenty-six years. All its players are Okinawan martial artists, and incorporate their experience in their tennis style, such as with the "Shukuchihou" method of movement. They have poor sportsmanship, and are not afraid to use nasty methods in order to win. During the series, the team makes the Nationals for the first time, and defeat Rokkaku in the first round. However, they are defeated in straight sets by Seigaku in the second round.
The American Team was part of the "Senbatsu Training Camp" and "Good Will Games" arc only seen in the anime of The Prince of Tennis.
The high school team debuted in New Prince of Tennis as members of the elite U-17 tennis camp for the All-Japan team. These high schoolers are noted as the top youth tennis players in Japan. Entry into the camp is only possible through invitation, and 50 middle schoolers from Prince of Tennis were invited to further develop their skills. The first string regularly travels abroad to compete against other high school teams from other countries. A vast majority of the high schoolers on the second string are extremely arrogant, looking down on the middle schoolers the moment they walked in the gates. However, the same majority quickly proved to be inferior to the middle schoolers in terms of skill.
Known as the Gatekeeper of Hell, Oni is a member of the 5th Court on the High School team who plays to keep all lower ranked players from moving up, intended as a means of further train the second string. He is actually the strongest player on the first string, bearing the No. 5 badge. He removed himself from first string in order to train Tokugawa to be on first string, and subsequently remained on 5th court waiting for more players that have the same passion for tennis as he had. His original goal was to become the number one player in Japan in order to inspire a group of orphans whom he played with often. Despite his tough demeanor, he has a soft side and is willing to lend a helping hand to those in need. He eventually returns to the first string in order to test the middle schoolers. On the court, Oni is the main user of the Black Jack Knife and is skilled enough to defeat Momoshiro with a racket that has only two strings on it. He is noted to be only slightly stronger than the No. 1 Byoudouin, and is on par with the No. 2 player. Like Ryoma, who gives off the aura of a samurai when playing seriously, Oni has the aura of a demon when doing the same, a nod to his name. Oni also has access to the Pinnacle of Perfection.
Originally a top player from abroad, Tokugawa is a member of the first court who had previously been humiliated in a match against Byoudouin. After that loss, he trained on the mountain and was helped by both Oni and Irie in order to get revenge against Byoudouin. His glare is apparently capable of dealing temporary Yips in the same manner as Yukimura's tennis. His tennis somehow incorporates the Divine Path of Asura, allowing him to increase the speed of his shots or make them bounce unpredictably. He also has a double-edge sword technique known as the Black Hole, which allows him to literally create a small rip in space-time to stop the ball, which from then he can almost always return a winning shot. Strangely, this power seems only seems to stop the momentum of an incoming shot and doesn't negate any pre-existing spin. Tokugawa can keep up this technique for only a half-hour at most, as any further use would make him cough up blood among other medical complications. Tokugawa also naturally possesses some level of clairvoyance, allowing him to "sense" where and how his opponents will hit to next without the use of data, referred to as premonition. This ability would later evolve even further into the Sixth Sense after he plays doubles with Yukimura, allowing both of them to see into the future with complete accuracy on their opponent's next move. Although focused, he's a very polite person, and concerned for the welfare of others. He insists that he plays honorably regardless of how much of a disadvantage that would put him at, much to Byoudouin's chagrin. He later takes Ryoga's place on the first string after the latter drops out to return to America with Ryoma.
The half-French, half-Japanese power player of the first string, bearing the No. 3 badge. His power is immense, greatly surpassing that of Ishida Gin's. Duke was previously part of the U-17 French team, where he was known as the Destroyer, up until two years ago. Byoudouin had saved Duke's younger sister from a collapsing roof of a building just before a major group league match in France at the time, where Duke would be his opponent. Unable to play properly due to his injuries, Byoudouin lost to Duke. Indebted to Byoudouin for saving his sister's life, Duke immediately jumped ship to join the U-17 Japanese team following the match. Duke is a generally a pleasant guy, referring to Byoudouin as "boss", and always lightly smiling with his eyes closed like Fuji. Most of the time, Duke appears laid back and seems to have a beer belly. In reality, when Duke flexes, he easily tears through his clothes and is shown to have a lot of muscle mass for his age. Despite this, Duke likes to hit soft shots just as much as his power shots.
The leader of the U-17 Japan team, bearing the No. 1 badge. Byoudouin is extremely aggressive and contemptuous towards the weak, which frequently puts him at odds with the more compassionate Oni. This nature came about when Byoudouin first lost to Oni in a match, but then amplified when Byoudouin protected Duke's younger sister from a collapsing roof. The injuries sustained from the accident made Byoudouin lose the subsequent match in a group league, forcing his team to drop out. The team blamed Byoudouin for the team's loss, and Byoudouin has since become bitter about any notion of self-sacrifice. Nevertheless, Byoudouin respects those that are truly strong and very much desires for the Japan team to reach the top of the tennis world. On the court, Byoudouin is known as the "Pirate of Japan" and uses a wide variety of techniques based on various cultures, even announcing their names in their native language when he uses them. Like Ryoma and Oni, Byoudouin has the aura of a ghost pirate when playing seriously, though his ability manifested only recently. Byoudouin likes to directly attack his opponents with his shots, much like Kirihara, and would often force his opponents to retire from competitive tennis permanently if they were not physically and mentally prepared to take such a beating.
No. 2 on the U-17 first string. He suffers from aviophobia and thus does not always accompany the first string to matches abroad. When he does, he travels by ship and other means of ground transportation to reach said destination. While calm and pleasant most of the time, Tanegashima likes to troll his teammates, especially Sanada, both on and off the courts. He is also seen frequently riding around in a segway and doesn't seem to train as much as the other players. On the court, Tanegashima plays a very defensive form of tennis. He possesses the ability to see and neutralize any type of spin on the ball and return it as a drop shot that hardly bounces, known as "Mu". This is heavily implied to extend to power shots as well, as Oni notes that Tanegashima is the only player in the camp that he has never beaten. He is also extremely good at "Look Over There", as he can predict his opponents' movements flawlessly in an instant, while any ordinary player would have relied on guesswork.
A player originally from the third court, who, like Oni, is much stronger than what his position implies and did not join the first string in order to train Tokugawa. He is an actor both on and off the court, faking weaknesses and struggles to either lull his opponents into a false sense of security or just to troll his teammates. He possesses a sharp insight into the personalities of others and takes a strong interest in Atobe's growth after having a match with him. At full power, Irie is an extremely fast and technical player who is able to hit winners off of nearly any and every situation, all without any flashy special moves like the other characters use. He is a very kind and pleasant individual, but his acting often gets on the nerves of those around him, as no one is ever quite sure as to whether he is currently acting or not. He also likes to play the saxophone at night. He later takes the No. 20 position on the first string and takes the No. 11 position for the U-17 world cup.
No. 7 on the first string. Ikuto is a tricky player who often engages in negotiations with his opponents before his matches, often striking a deal of sorts in order to ensure his victory, though he does seem to have ulterior motives when doing so. He also stars in a series of commercials for soft drinks and other sports related products, making him a fairly recognizable celebrity and also appears to be very well-connected to influential people around the world. This provides him with numerous resources to fuel his negotiations and support his team. He's very calm and analytical, even when pressured. However, he does show significant contempt towards his doubles partner, Tohno.
No. 8 on the first string. Atsukyou is a very sadistic player with a rude and demeaning personality to match. He is easily the most prideful and arrogant player on the first string, and won't hesitate to attack his own teammates with a tennis ball if he feels they've let go of their pride. On the court, he uses a series of dangerous moves known as executions where he directly attacks his opponents that, unlike Kirihara's and Byoudouin's brute force attacks, target specific body parts and can completely paralyze the opponent once enough executions are received. Each execution is named after a real-world execution method used in human history, depending on the part of the body targeted. Somewhat ironically, Atsukyou has a plate over his left knee from a previous unknown incident. Attacking it directly causes him great pain and warrants medical attention and brief rehabilitation.
No. 17 on the first string before Renji took the position. Akuto is a data tennis player like Inui and Renji, and actually taught Renji data tennis himself during a chance encounter when the latter was just returning home one day. Unlike Inui and Renji, Akuto's eyes can actually be seen a majority of the time. He provides intel support to the Japan team during the U-17 world cup, and even creates disgusting rice balls, known as Akuto Meshi, akin to Inui's special juices, for the team as motivation to not fail. Eating one not only knocks a person out, but also potentially dislocates all of their joints.
Ryoma's long lost older half-brother who is frequently seen eating oranges. Ryoga is Nanjirou's first child from a previous relationship prior to meeting Ryoma's mom, Rinko. Though they grew up together as kids, Ryoga was forced to separate from Ryoma after Ryoga's aunt from his late mother's side won a custody battle with Nanjirou. It is unknown how old Ryoga actually is since he's apparently not a student, though given the rules of the U-17 camp, he would have to be 15-17. Like Ryoma, Ryoga possesses a cocky and fearless demeanor, but is less stiff and doesn't give people the silent treatment as often as Ryoma would. He frequently teases Ryoma over little things and calls him "chibi-suke". He takes the No. 4 slot of the U-17 first string while they were abroad and trains Ryoma to prepare him for the world cup. Despite his immense skill level, Ryoga seems to have little interest in team competitions or even becoming a pro, and would rather just have a real match with his little brother, echoing the dream Nanjirou had for Ryoma when the former retired from being a pro. Shortly after Ryoma gets kicked out of the U-17 camp, Ryoga leaves his position behind as well and gets Ryoma to follow him to join the U-17 American team instead. The full extent of Ryoga's abilities remain unknown.
Former captain of Hyotei's tennis team, bears the No. 9 badge on the first string. Though he and Atobe have never met, Atobe credits him as the one who brought Hyotei to the national level. Of all the taciturn characters in the series, Ochi is perhaps the most stoic and unsentimental. He rarely speaks, and when prompted, usually says something along the lines of "I don't care" or "not interested". On the court, he has perhaps the fastest serve of all the Japanese players known as the Mach. Owing to his ideal height and reach, Ochi can perform high speed serves to the corners that are difficult to see, let alone return. He is also known as the Mental Assassin, as eye contact with him at close range can greatly increase the stress and anxiety a player feels, which translates into committing many unforced errors. Despite losing the No. 9 badge to Atobe, he remains part of the U-17 team for the world tournament.
Currently the youngest player on the high school first string, being only a high school 1st year. He was formerly a member of the Rikkaidai tennis team. He is described as an all-rounder and a very skilled player, but according to Renji, had habitually skipped club practices in middle school. Unlike his doubles partner Ochi, Mouri will often throw in casual comments on his current observations, making him more amiable of the two. Despite his laid back personality, he is shown to have incredible determination to win, as he forcibly dislocated his own shoulder in order to return Atobe's World of Ice at match point. Despite losing the No. 10 badge to Niou, he remains part of the U-17 team for the world tournament.
Seigaku tennis club's captain during Tezuka's freshman year. He was the only reason Tezuka stayed with the tennis club after the latter received an injury from an egotistical senpai. He is described as not being very strong, and lost to Tezuka handily during his time as captain. Eccentric, insightful, and gentle, Yamato always wore a pair of dark sunglasses and is described as "flowing as the rivers do". In the anime, coach Ryuzaki asks him for his guidance when they go to a training camp to prepare for the Kantō conference final against Rikkai. In the manga, he reappears New Prince of Tennis without his trademark sunglasses as a player on the No. 3 court, and plays against Tezuka one more time. This time, Yamato gives Tezuka a run for his money by showing his ability to trick opponents into thinking they're hitting the ball when they're actually nowhere near it. Yamato reveals that shortly before Tezuka's arrival at Seigaku, he had severely injured his arm to help Seigaku win and had to undergo surgery and rehab afterwards in order to play again. Knowing that the fear of losing and disappointing others is the only thing holding Tezuka back, he encourages Tezuka to play for himself rather than the team, advice that allows Tezuka to finally access the Pinnacle of Perfection. Tezuka is able to beat Yamato after this, and a satisfied Yamato decides to retire from competitive tennis.

Foreign Teams

The following characters debuted in New Prince of Tennis, belonging to U-17 teams from outside of Japan that have gathered for the U-17 World Cup. The rankings listed are the most recent, with Japan at No. 23. Each of the 32 countries participating can bring up to 14 high school and 14 middle school players to the competition. To represent a country, a player only needs to have an address of residence in said country, highlighting the philosophy that tennis should not have any national boundaries.

German Team

Ranked No. 1 in the world, the German Team's level of skill far surpasses that of their nearest competitor, Switzerland. They have won the U-17 World Cup nine times consecutively prior to the series' start. Tezuka joins this team after leaving Japan as a part of his pre-requisites to going pro. The U-17 German team is notable for having three pro-level players on their team for this year's World Cup despite the age restriction of 17 and under.
Pro-level captain of the German U-17 team and Tezuka's personal coach, known as the "Philosopher of Victory". Despite being only 17, Volk is considered one of the greatest up and coming pros in today's tennis world, so much so that almost everyone knows his face and name. Like Tezuka, he's taciturn, disciplined, and strict. He points out flaws in posture and character for his teammates in the middle of matches, and even offers constructive criticism or praise for his opponents where appropriate. Though he clearly holds a lot of pride in his team, he is modest, calm, and never assumes his victory is assured. He is also able to use the Whirlpool Baptism, a shot with a powerful vortex spin that forcibly spins a racket out of a player's grip. Volk rarely uses this move though, as he believes reliance on such techniques makes for a weaker tennis player.
The staff officer of the German U-17 representatives. Q.P stands for "quality of perfection" and is just a nickname for this player, with his real name and birthplace unknown. Despite not being a pro, he is extremely strong and is just as recognizable to the tennis community as Volk is. Inui and Renji describe him as snide and arrogant, but hardly careless. He views the likes of Atobe and Irie to be only a tenth of his skill level, and soundly beats them at the exhibition matches with little to no effort. He regularly gathers intel on rival teams and other teams of interest in order to make sure the German team is fully prepared to win their 10th consecutive world cup.

Swiss Team

Ranked No. 2 in the world, the Swiss Team is considered Germany's closest rival and is the only other team to have a pro-level player among their ranks.

French Team

Ranked No. 3 in the world, the French Team was also home to Duke Watanabe before he joined the Japanese Team.
The captain of the French U-17 team. He is known to be a very clever tactician, so much so that others believe that he alone will be able to somehow shift how professional tennis is played on a global scale. During the exhibition match between Germany and Japan, he was somehow able to perceive the fact that, despite Volk playing in the last match, it wasn't going to be a blowout victory like many would assume.

Spanish Team

Ranked No. 4 in the world, the Spanish Team is the last of the Big 4. Any country ranking beneath Spain are volatile in their position and constantly subject to change.

American Team

Currently ranked No. 5 in the world, Ryoma joins this team on Ryoga's invitation following his expulsion from camp. This team bears no association with the team from the Goodwill games in the anime arc or even mentions them. The team hopes to finally break into the Big 4 hierarchy this year. Oddly enough, no middle school representatives have been shown for this team, and Ryoma occupies the 14th slot of the high school representatives.
The captain of the American U-17 team. He is noted to have great mental strength and is a very strong leader. His skill level is unknown, and, like Tezuka, is very stoic and unfazed by desperate situations, though he will at least smile and express interest when conversing with others.
Known as the Birdman, Dudu is capable of jumping incredible heights, allowing him to return opponent's smashes that would otherwise bounce far and away from the court. He is a friendly, out-going individual who can be frequently found riding around on his motorcycle.
An excitable high school first-year representative who has a very feminine appearance. He is very fascinated with Ryoma's unsentimental nature and skill level, and constantly speaks up on Ryoma's behalf, even showing some degree of concern for him. For some reason, he always keeps one pant leg rolled up relative to the other. His conversations with Ryoga suggest that they have known each other for a significant amount of time.
An administrative staff member for the US team. Oliver has dreams of becoming an American U-17 representative himself someday despite not being very talented, but is pleasant and modest about it. He helps Ryoma buy time for the team by posing as Ryoga when the US team fails to show up on time for their exhibition match against the Tube Republic. Likely due his last minute call, Oliver initially lacks a lot of the mental strength necessary to play tennis competitively and falters a lot early on, but shows a surprising amount of determination to win later on. With Ryoma's subtle support, he was able to take at least one game before the two win their whole set.

English Team

Ranked No. 7 in the world, the members of this team are mostly Atobe's former grade school classmates.

Greek Team

Ranked No. 10 in the world, some members of this team greatly resemble the iconic real-world statues of characters from Greek myth and culture. Their coach, for example, resembles The Thinker by Auguste Rodin.
A high school 3rd year representative, whose namesake comes from the Greek demigod of strength and also resembles the statue of Heracles by Lysippos. He has several special moves at his disposal, least of which is an aura known as the Silver White Light of Mt. Olympus, which greatly increases his mobility. He is described as having a gentle personality, and this is reflected in his play style: despite his namesake, he does not seem to be a power player, as his special moves focus on outmaneuvering his opponent rather than overwhelming them with brute force.
A middle school 3rd year representative who is so far the only one on his team who does not have a name derived from mythology. Though a capable and agile player himself, able to jump high enough to catch Oishi's Moon Volley, he does not possess any special moves of his own.
The captain of the Greek representatives, named after the King of the Greek Gods on Mt. Olympus. Compared to his teammates, he is much more youthful in appearance, shorter, and less muscular, likely because he is only a high school 1st year. Nevertheless, he is an incredibly capable player whose skill rivals that of Tanegashima. He is one of many players who specialize in reading opponent mental states and outmaneuvering them.
A high school 3rd year representative, whose namesake comes from the Messenger of Olympian Gods.
A high school 3rd year representative, whose namesake, strangely enough, comes from the Roman God of Fire.
Middle school brothers who form a doubles pair. Apollon is named after Apollo, the Greek God of the Arts, Knowledge, and Truth. Orion is named after the hunter who was placed among the stars by Zeus. The brothers are said to be descended from a historic family of executioners, and incorporate violent play styles in their tennis, making them very similar to Tohno and Kirihara.

Australian Team

Ranked No. 18 in the world, this is the home team of this year's world cup.

Tube Republic Team

Ranked No. 32 in the world, this fictional country gained its independence from an unspecified nation just 30 years ago. The team members speak in a fictional language. Only two high schoolers have been shown, with the rest of their team nowhere in sight. Other than Japan, Tube is the only other country in the tournament whose world rank has improved as drastically following the pre-World Cup.
An obnoxiously loud and arrogant representative. Nobtail likes to play dirty. Prior to Tube's pre-World Cup match against the US, he and another representative attempted to trap the US team in the shower room by tying up their door in hopes of getting the team disqualified from the main tournament, as tardiness to a pre-World Cup match meant instant disqualification. On the court, he frequently goes out of his way to insult and taunt his opponents. While not a subpar player, Ryoma easily overwhelms him after the team arrives.

Others

;Shusuke Fuji
Fuji has remained in the top two of all the Shonen Jump character popularity polls for the series. He was number one in the second character popularity poll, and second place in every other poll.
Fuji has constantly been in the top three recipients of chocolate in the Valentine Chocolate specials of the manga, receiving the most in 2001.
;Sadaharu Inui
;Kaoru Kaidoh
Kaidoh has been placed on every single popularity poll taken for The Prince of Tennis. In the first poll taken, he came in 6th place, and moved up to 5th place in the second poll. He fell to 18th in the third poll, and moved up slightly to 17th in the fourth poll.
;Keigo Atobe

Merchandise

;Keigo Atobe
Atobe has released more character CDs than any other character in the series besides Ryoma, including two full-length albums. One of his singles reached top nine in the weekly charts, the best result for any Prince of Tennis character. Figures of Atobe have also been released.