There is nothing better than a good game of soccer tennis with your friends at training. The best thing about it, besides just being fun to play, is that playing soccer tennis can actually help you improve some aspects of the game to become a better player.
There are not defined rules to play soccer tennis. Everyone plays it the way they want to. However, there are some general rules that most people use to play the game and that are the most known ones.
In this article, I will not only teach you how to play the game, but also give you some great tips to be the best at it and make your friends be amazed after you beat them all.
Also, to increase the fun, I’ll recommend you some modifications to the rules you can use to make the game even more interesting.
How to set the court
When it comes to specific dimensions to determine the size of the court it is impossible to say. Because the game is so informal and just happens at the moment, no one actually measures the dimensions of the court they’re playing at.
I guess the best way to tell what size the court should be is depending on how many players are playing. In soccer tennis there is not a defined number of players that can participate at the same time. Your could play 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, 3 vs 3, and so on.
Most of the times I play 2 vs 2, and what I do to measure my team’s square is just take about 2.5 to 3 long steps between the center net and the end of my side. I usually take the same amount of steps to measure the width of my part of the court too.
The other team should do the same thing. Just make sure that both sides are exactly the same size. If the other team’s side is smaller than yours, your team will be in a disadvantage because it will be harder to put the ball inside the opponent’s side and easier to put it in your side.
The more players play, the bigger the court will be. I think that the best way to tell if the court has the correct size is to play some games and look if you feel comfortable with the size. You’ll know if you need to make it bigger or smaller.
To play it is not necessary to have a net. Most of the times I play I don’t even have one. However, when we do have one, it is even more fun and challenging. If you have the money, I would recommend buying a soccer tennis net, but it is not something extremely necessary at all.
Basic rules to play
Once again, I want to clarify that there are not determined rules for the game. Everyone plays it differently with small modifications to it. The ones I will mention are the ones I have found more common in all the places I have played soccer tennis.
- The serve: I have seen two ways people serve. The first and most common is to drop the ball to let it bounce once in your side and then slightly kick it with your foot to the opponent’s side.
The second most common one is to throw the ball with your hands making it bounce first in your side and the second bounce in the opponent’s side. This one is ideal for beginners.
Special notice on the serve: In some places, they will make you serve again if you don’t make your serve returnable according to the opponent’s criteria. Just don’t make any fancy tricks and serve simple.
- Touches: This is what varies the most. In some places you’re allowed to do a maximum of three touches per team, not allowing the same player to touch the ball two consecutive times.
Sometimes you will be forced to make the 3 touches in order to return the ball to the opponent’s side, not allowing to block the shot in the net.
For me, this is the best and most productive way to play the game because forcing you to make the three touches makes it a lot more challenging and will help you improve you’re ball control and juggling skills.
- Bounces: The ball is only allowed to bounce once, but you can return it without letting it bounce if you wish to. If the ball bounces a second time in your side, it will be a point for the other team
You can use anything but your hands to dominate the ball. Wins the team that reaches the established points the quickest. Usually the max points to win are 7, 11, 15 or 21. Depends on how much time you have to play.
Here is an example of Bayern Munich players playing soccer/football tennis at training. Watch how they serve, the amount of touches to return the ball, and the amount of bounces.
Fun modifications
If you want to go more hardcore, you can make some great modifications to the rules to make the game even more intense.
No bounces
You can try to play by the same game rules, just that the ball is not allowed to bounce, this one is very hard to do and challenging at the same time
Unlimited touches
I love this one because it boosts your creativity a lot and doesn’t limit your team to 3 touches. You’re allowed to do all the freestyle tricks that you love and to make more elaborated plays.
Header only
If you thought playing with no bounces was hard, this one is even harder. You’re no allowed to let the ball bounce and every touch you do should be with your head.
Create your own rules!
This is the best thing about soccer tennis, you can create the rules as you go to make the game more fun and interesting for everyone. Tryout everything that comes to your head, create punishments for the loosing team, make the loosing team buy a Gatorade for the winning team, etc. Boost your soccer master mind!
Tips to beat all your friends
- Choose a good team: As everything in soccer, this is a team game. You can’t do everything by yourself and sometimes you will be forced to make 3 touches before returning the ball to the other side. Remember that the same player can’t touch the ball 2 consecutive times.
- Maintain your distance: One of the most common mistakes in beginners is that they play too close to the net. This doesn’t allow you to react and take time to think what to do. Always maintain a good distance from the net, so when the other team shoots a fast ball to your side, you’ll have more time and space to react.
- Let it bounce: After the ball bounces it looses speed, making it easy to control. Controlling an air ball is way harder than controlling a ball that just bounced. Maintaining your distance from the net will give you necessary space to let the ball bounce and to return it.
- Use your head: Your first touch should always be up, to your teammate’s head. Returning and controlling the ball with your head is easier. It also helps to return the ball to the opponent’s side with a lot more power and speed over the net than you would with a lobbed kick over the net (unless you do a bicycle kick, which is pretty hard).
- Practice practice! The more you play soccer tennis, the better you’ll get at it. You’re ball control and juggling skills will get better over the time and you will have more chances to dominate in the field.
Benefits of practicing soccer tennis
You must be asking yourselves: But how will playing soccer tennis help me be a better player? Isn’t it a waste of time?
Not at all!!
Actually, playing soccer tennis will have more benefits than you can imagine. One of them is the improvement of teamwork. Because it is so fun to play, teammates have a great time with each other and the relationships among them get stronger and stronger. It is fundamental that team members have great links and chemistry among one another.
Also, while playing they better their communication. Soccer tennis requires lots of talking between teammates in order to connect well.
In the technical side, ball control is also improved. Without you noticing, you are working in your ball control technique every time you touch the ball, pass it to your teammate, and make a header. Soccer tennis can significantly make your in-game ball control technique better.
It works very well to relax from the daily routine. Training everyday in your physical conditions, game strategies and others, can make you feel mentally and physically tired. Soccer tennis is a good exercise once a week to help you clear your mind and relax to come back even better.
For this reasons, almost all big professional clubs like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona practice a lot the game of soccer tennis. Not everything can be running around and making boring drills.
Soccer is also about having fun! And you? Are you ready to have fun playing soccer tennis?