Mario Tennis Fever, launching exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 on February 12, 2026, will feature 38 playable characters, the most in franchise history according to Nintendo’s recent social media reminder. The previous record holder was Mario Tennis: Power Tour on Game Boy Advance with 36 characters, while the most recent entry Mario Tennis Aces managed 30. Nintendo confirmed Peach and Daisy join the roster along with 36 other characters including Donkey Kong with his refreshed design from Donkey Kong Bananza, Bowser, the Baby Mario crew, Rosalina, Yoshi, Petey Piranha, and notably Baby Waluigi making his series debut after fans spent years wondering why Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, and Baby Wario existed but Baby Waluigi didn’t.
The announcement came via Nintendo’s social media on January 6, 2026, capitalizing on the tennis pro tour season kicking off to remind players that pre-orders are now live for the first major Switch 2 exclusive of 2026. IGN reported during September’s Nintendo Direct reveal that Mario Tennis Fever introduces Fever Rackets as the core mechanic, with 30 different rackets each granting unique abilities like freezing the court, duplicating yourself with a shadow racket, or shrinking opponents with a mushroom racket. Players build up their Fever gauge through rallies then unleash Fever Shots that change depending on equipped racket, adding strategic depth beyond just timing returns correctly.
What Makes 38 Characters Special
The 38-character roster represents a significant jump from Mario Tennis Aces’ 30 characters, though Aces expanded its roster considerably through post-launch DLC adding characters monthly throughout 2018-2019. Fever appears to be launching with the full 38 at release rather than drip-feeding them through updates, giving players immediate access to the complete cast. This roster size puts Mario Tennis Fever behind only Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (48 racers with DLC) and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (89 fighters) among Mario sports and party franchises for sheer character variety.
The roster diversity matters because Mario Tennis emphasizes character-specific playstyles more than Mario Kart or Smash Bros. Characters fall into distinct categories like All-Around, Speedy, Technical, Powerful, Tricky, and Defensive that dramatically affect court positioning, shot strength, and movement capabilities. Yoshi plays completely differently than Bowser, who functions nothing like Rosalina. With 38 characters presumably spanning all these archetypes, players should find multiple options matching their preferred playstyle rather than being forced into specific characters because only one or two suit their tactics.
Reddit user RedHairedRedemption joked about the roster including “Mario, Baby Mario, Dr. Mario, Surgeon General Mario, Teen Mario, Retired Mario, and Chris Pratt,” highlighting a common criticism of Mario rosters relying heavily on Mario/Luigi/Peach/Daisy variants rather than pulling from the broader Mushroom Kingdom cast. However, confirmed characters like Petey Piranha, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Rosalina suggest Fever is pulling from deeper Nintendo benches than just Mario palette swaps, though the Baby variants (Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, Baby Wario, Baby Waluigi) do pad numbers somewhat.
Baby Waluigi Finally Arrives
IGN specifically noted that Mario Tennis Fever features Baby Waluigi “for the first time ever,” ending one of Nintendo’s strangest character omissions. Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, Baby Daisy, Baby Wario, Baby Rosalina, and even Baby Donkey Kong have all appeared in various Mario spin-offs, but Baby Waluigi remained conspicuously absent despite his adult counterpart being a fan-favorite character appearing in virtually every Mario sports and party game since Mario Tennis 64.
The omission spawned countless fan theories about why Nintendo refused to acknowledge Baby Waluigi’s existence. Some joked that Waluigi simply appeared fully formed as an adult without childhood. Others speculated Nintendo viewed Waluigi as Wario’s friend rather than Luigi’s rival, making a baby version conceptually weird. The most cynical theory suggested Nintendo never properly integrated Waluigi into official Mario lore, treating him as a spin-off-exclusive character without canonical backstory. Whatever the reason, Mario Tennis Fever finally acknowledges that if Baby Wario exists, Baby Waluigi should too.
Baby characters in Mario Tennis typically play as Speedy or Tricky archetypes, emphasizing agility over power. They cover the court quickly, return shots adults can’t reach, and rely on placement over baseline domination. If Baby Waluigi follows this pattern, expect him to play similarly to Baby Luigi with Waluigi’s characteristic lankiness translated into extended reach despite small size. The Adventure Mode reportedly stars the Baby characters according to IGN’s September coverage, suggesting Baby Waluigi gets meaningful story integration rather than just roster padding.