Your first soft tennis session: how to prepare

What to bring to a first soft tennis session

A racket, a box of 12 training balls and a pump. For a first session we recommend the aluminium Kenko STR-88, which comes strung and with an overgrip in the box. Kenko Standard balls have the same 30–31 g weight and the same 66 mm diameter as tournament balls, and a beginner will not feel the difference.

The Kenko needle pump is for the valve balls. Pressure holds for a few weeks, then you top the ball up the way you inflate a volleyball. Before leaving for the court it is worth dropping a ball from 150 cm; a correctly inflated one bounces to 70–80 cm. Clothes and shoes are as for a tennis court, because the court and the footwork are the same.

How to prepare the court for soft tennis

You play on an ordinary tennis court. The net should hang level along its whole length. On a tennis court it is usually strapped down to the court at the centre. For soft tennis you unhook the strap or prop the net up in the middle so that it is level all the way across.

What play looks like in a first session

Play is mostly doubles. One player of the pair plays at the net, the other on the baseline. Points are counted 1, 2, 3, 4, the side that first reaches 4 points wins the game, and a match is played to 7 or 9 games.

There are two serves. The ball is tossed by hand and struck before it lands, overhand as in tennis or underhand, the rules do not prescribe a technique. In doubles each player of the pair serves two consecutive points, alternating. The rest of the rules, with foot faults, net touches and the final game, are on the soft tennis rules page.

A first soft tennis session after tennis

The court, the net once the strap is off and the footwork are the same. The ball and the racket change. The ball weighs 30–31 g instead of about 57 g and bounces lower, to 70–80 cm from 150 cm. The racket weighs 210–275 g instead of over 300 g. The counting changes too, 1, 2, 3, 4 instead of 15, 30, 40, and the match goes to 7 or 9 games with no sets. The other differences are in the guide soft tennis vs tennis.

After the first session

Anyone who stays adds a second racket for a partner or takes the starter set for two with two STR-88s, 12 balls and a pump, cheaper than bought separately. Anyone who knows they are staying for the long run picks the carbon Kenko KTR-24, 210–225 g with replaceable strings. For matches you will want the TSOW-V tournament balls, the same ones played at PSTA events.