What ball is used in soft tennis?
Officials' detail · Following a match · 2 of 2The ball is rubber, filled with air and usually white. It weighs 30 to 31 grams, is 6.6 centimetres across and must bounce 70 to 80 centimetres when dropped from 1.5 metres on the match court. The racket can be any size, shape or material, but both faces must play the same.
How it works
- Material: rubber, air-filled; white in principle.
- Weight: 30 to 31 grams.
- Size: 6.6 cm across, give or take 1 mm.
- Bounce: 70 to 80 cm, measured at the bottom of the ball, after a drop from 1.5 m with no force.
- Tested on the match court: the bounce is checked on the surface the match will use.
- Racket frame: any material, weight, size and shape.
- Racket face: flat, strung evenly and the same on both sides.
- Strings: crossed and fixed to the frame; they may not make the ball fly unpredictably.
- Choice of ball: where a choice is offered, the pair that won the toss picks it.
The glossary has the ball, the racket, the toss for serve or side, the guide to competitions, the court surfaces and the soft tennis.
Tricky cases
Is the ball pumped up?
The rules say only that it is air-filled and must meet the bounce test. Balls are inflated to reach it.
Can the ball be coloured?
White is the rule in principle; a competition guide states the kind of ball used.
Can a player use a tennis racket?
The rules set no size limit, so a racket meeting the face and string rules would pass. Soft tennis rackets are lighter and made for the soft ball.
Who picks the ball when there is a choice?
The pair that won the coin toss. In team events, the two teams' representatives decide.
Why the rule exists
Testing the bounce on the match court allows for the surface and the air pressure on the day. Rackets with the same two faces stop players gaining spin or swerve from special stringing.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ball | Rubber, 30 to 31 g | ISTF C 13 |
| Racket | No size or weight limit | ISTF C 14 |
| Kind of ball | Named in the competition guide | ISTF O 17 |
| 2004 edition | Bounce 75 to 80 cm; the current text allows 70 | ISTF 2004 C 13 |
From the rule book
International Soft Tennis Federation, Technical Rules (web text, site snapshot of 30 January 2024): Rules for Competitions, articles 13, 14 and 16; Rules for Umpiring, article 23(7); Rules for Operations of Competitions, article 17. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: the ISTF Technical Rules, published on the federation's website.