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Rules

Soft tennis: rules

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.

Importance 3 out of 5Importance rating
RacketWiki EditorsVerified 25 October 20261 source

Serve

  • The server tosses the ball up by hand and strikes it before it lands, from behind the baseline between the imaginary extensions of the centre mark and the sidelineSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Articles 20 and 23 · tier 1
  • The serve goes into the diagonally opposite service court, starting from the right of the centre mark and then alternating left and rightSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Article 24.1 · tier 1
  • Each server serves two points in a row in turn, and the order of serving cannot change during a gameSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Article 24.2 · tier 1
  • If the first serve is a fault the server has a second serve; two faults in a row lose the pointSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Articles 25.2 and 27 · tier 1
  • A serve that touches the net or post and then lands in the correct service court is a let and is taken againSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Article 26 · tier 1

Scoring

  • A game is won by the first pair to win four points; at three points each the score is deuce, and a pair must then win two points in a rowSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Article 18.1 · tier 1
  • Matches are played over 7 or 9 games in principle; shorter formats (a 15-point match, or 3 or 5 games) and set-based formats are also allowedSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Article 17 · tier 1
  • If the games are level before the last one (for example 3-3 in a seven-game match), a final game is played: the first pair to 7 points wins, with deuce at six-allSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Article 18.2 · tier 1
  • Serving changes hands after each game, except in the final game, where the serve passes every two pointsSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Article 32 · tier 1

Faults and losing the point

  • A serve is a fault if it does not land directly in the correct service court, if the server tosses the ball but does not strike it, or if the server foot-faults by touching the baseline, sideline or centre mark or stepping into the courtSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Article 25.1 · tier 1
  • The receiving side loses the point if the receiver fails to return the serve legally, if the serve hits the receiver directly, or if it hits the receiver's partner before its second bounceSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Article 30 · tier 1
  • In a rally a player loses the point if they fail to hit the ball before its second bounce, or if their shot does not cross the net or lands outside the courtSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Article 35.1 · tier 1
  • A player also loses the point if the ball touches their body or clothing, if they touch the net or post, or if the ball touches the racket more than once in a strokeSource: ISTF Technical Rules, ISTF Technical Rules (doubles), Article 35.1 · tier 1

Sources

  1. ISTF Technical Rules, International Soft Tennis Federation, Web page; no edition statedsofttennis-istf.comOfficial rulebook or governing body (tier 1 of 5)