When is a serve a let in soft tennis?
I · Intermediate · Serving and receiving · 1 of 6A serve that touches the net or post and lands in the proper service court is a let, and that serve is taken again. A serve is also a let if it is hit before the umpire's call, if a net serve touches the receiver or if the receiver is disturbed by an umpire's mistake or a stray ball.
How it works
- Net and in: the serve touches the net or a post and lands in the proper service court.
- Net and receiver: after touching the net, the serve hits the receiver before landing.
- Receiver at the net: after a net serve, the receiver's racket or body touches or crosses the net.
- Too early: served before the umpire's call or before the receiver was ready.
- Disturbance: the receiver is put off by an umpire's mistake, a ball from another court or an outsider.
- Both sides at once: something that would lose a point happens to both pairs together.
- Umpire's discretion: any other case the chair umpire accepts as a let.
- What follows: the same serve is taken again; a let on a second serve is still a second serve.
The glossary has the let (serve), the serve, the fault, the net, the receiving and the umpire's signals and calls.
Tricky cases
A net serve lands outside the service court. Let?
No. It is a fault.
Does a let wipe out a first-serve fault?
No. A let on the second serve is replayed as a second serve.
A ball rolls in from the next court as the receiver swings. What happens?
The chair umpire may call a let, and the serve is replayed.
How does the vice umpire show which serve was a let?
With two fingers raised for a first serve and one for a second serve.
Why the rule exists
A clipped net serve that lands in gives no fair chance to receive, and a disturbed receiver has lost the chance through no fault of their own. Replaying the serve resets the point without penalty.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| During the serve | Let | ISTF C 26 |
| During a rally | No count instead | ISTF C 36 |
| Signal | Fingers show the serve | ISTF U 11(3) |
From the rule book
International Soft Tennis Federation, Technical Rules (web text, site snapshot of 30 January 2024): Rules for Competitions, article 26; Rules for Umpiring, articles 11(3) and 16. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: the ISTF Technical Rules, published on the federation's website.