How do you serve in soft tennis?
B · Beginner · Serving and receiving · 4 of 7The server tosses the ball up by hand and hits it before it lands, from behind the base line between the centre mark and the sideline. The serve goes to the diagonal service court, first from the right and then from the left. The server waits for the chair umpire's score call and for the receiver to be ready.
How it works
- Start: the serve begins when the ball leaves the server's hand in the toss.
- End: it is complete when the racket strikes the ball before it lands.
- Where from: behind the base line, between the centre mark and the sideline, extended.
- Where to: the diagonally opposite service court.
- Order of courts: first from the right of the centre mark, then from the left.
- Timing: after the chair umpire calls the score and the receiver is ready.
- Second serve: allowed after a first-serve fault.
- One arm: a player who can use only one arm may toss the ball with the racket.
- Judgement: the chair umpire decides when a serve is complete.
The glossary has the serve, the servers and receivers, the fault, the double fault, the receiving and the chair umpire, vice umpire and linesmen.
Tricky cases
The server tosses the ball and lets it drop without swinging. Retake?
No. In soft tennis a toss that is not hit is a fault, unlike tennis.
The server serves before the umpire calls the score. What happens?
A let, and the serve is taken again.
Can a server serve underarm?
The rules require a toss by hand and a strike before the ball lands, and set no style, so yes.
Where does the first serve of a game go?
To the right-hand service court from the server's view.
Why the rule exists
Waiting for the umpire's call and the receiver keeps the serve fair. Allowing a racket toss lets players with one arm compete on equal terms.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A dropped toss | A fault | ISTF C 25.1(2) |
| Tennis | A caught toss is retaken | C |
| One-armed players | Toss with the racket | ISTF C 20.2 |
From the rule book
International Soft Tennis Federation, Technical Rules (web text, site snapshot of 30 January 2024): Rules for Competitions, articles 20 to 24, 25.2 and 26.1(1). Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: the ISTF Technical Rules, published on the federation's website.