Top Spin 4 taking to the court in 2011

When Take-Two shuttered PAM Development in 2008, the future of the French development house's Top Spin series was left in the balance. However, the franchise will live to serve another set; 2K Sports announced today that Top Spin 4 was in development at 2K Czech, the studio responsible for recent hit Mafia II.

Top Spin 4 is being developed for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii and is due out sometime in 2011. The game will feature 25 playable real-life tennis professionals, including a number of the sport's "most iconic legends."

The only player confirmed so far is Andre Agassi, whose "well-manicured mullet" will serve as a preorder incentive for those looking to acquire the game on the PS3 or Xbox 360. In his late career, the now-retired Tennis star close-cropped his hair and now shaves his head.

"Dozens" of up-and-coming tennis stars will also be featured in the game, according to 2K. This roster is marginally larger than Top Spin 3, which featured 20 playable characters from the current ATP and WTA tours and several players from the past.

While 2K is trumpeting the game's "revamped pick-up-and-play controls," it has not confirmed any support for either Microsoft's Kinect motion-sensing camera system or Sony's Move peripherals. When contacted by GameSpot, 2K Sports said "information about Move and Kinect will be announced at a later date." It is also not known at this stage if any players in Top Spin 4 will be platform exclusive--in Top Spin 3, current world number one player Raphael Nadal was only playable on the PlayStation 3.

The Top Spin series started out as a Microsoft-published Xbox exclusive in 2003, before the original title in the series was ported to the PC and PS2 in 2004 and 2005. This was followed by Top Spin 2 in 2006--for Xbox 360, PC and portable platforms--and Top Spin 3 in 2008, which was released on the Xbox 360, PC, and Nintendo DS, as well as being the first outing for the series on the PS3.