The rules, sport by sport

Badminton is played by two players or two pairs who hit a shuttle over a net and try to make it land inside the opponents' court. Every rally scores a point: a game goes to 21, with a two-point lead needed from 20-all and a cap at 30, and a match is the best of three games.

Beach tennis is played on sand, usually as doubles, and the ball is never allowed to bounce: every shot must be hit in the air and sent over the net into the opponents' court. Games use tennis scoring with a deciding point at deuce, sets go to six games, and a match tie-break to ten points replaces a third set.

Padel is played in pairs on an enclosed court: the ball must cross the net and bounce once on the opponents' side, after which it may be played off the walls. Scoring follows tennis, with games and sets.

Pickleball is played as singles or doubles on a small court with paddles and a perforated plastic ball. The serve goes diagonally across the net, and the serve and its return must each bounce before being hit. In standard scoring only the serving side scores, and a game is typically won by the first to 11 points with a two-point lead.

Platform tennis is a doubles game played outdoors on a small raised court enclosed by wire screens: the ball may be played off the screens after it bounces inside the court. Scoring follows tennis, with games, sets and tiebreakers, but each server gets only one serve.

Racquetball is played by two or four players in an enclosed court where every wall and the ceiling can be used: each shot must reach the front wall before it touches the floor, and the ball may bounce only once before it is returned. Under IRF rules both sides can score, every game goes to 11 with a two-point lead, and a match is the best of five games.

Soft tennis is played mainly as doubles on a tennis-style court: pairs hit the ball over the net after at most one bounce. A game goes to the first pair to win four points (with deuce at three-all), and a match is usually decided over seven or nine games, with a final game played to seven points.

Two players share an enclosed four-walled court and take turns hitting the ball so that it reaches the front wall above the tin before it bounces twice on the floor. Every rally scores a point, games go to 11 with a two-point lead needed from 10-all, and a match is usually the best of five games.

Table tennis is played by two players or two pairs across a table divided by a net: the ball must bounce once on the opponent's half after each stroke. Every rally scores, a game goes to 11 with a two-point lead needed from 10-all, and a match is the best of an odd number of games.

Two players, or two pairs, hit the ball over a net and try to make it land in the opposite court so the other side cannot return it before a second bounce. Points build into games, games into sets, and a match is the best of three or five sets.