Soft tennis

Soft tennis, in which a hollow, soft rubber ball is hit over a net with a racket, is a ball game that diverged and developed not long after the emergence of modern tennis (lawn tennis) (estimated to have been around 1884). It uses courts of the same size as tennis (hard tennis) and equipment (rackets) similar in shape to tennis. Most commonly played two-on-two (doubles). Originating in Japan, the game is played mainly in East Asia and other parts of Asia, but in recent years tournaments are also regularly held in Eastern Europe. The ball is made of the same rubber but is not covered with felt. Soft tennis balls are lighter and easier to handle, but at the same time more susceptible to wind and other natural conditions. They are also easier to spin than hard tennis balls. However, too much spin often causes instability.

The development of this sport is unique for a racquet sport in that it has developed almost exclusively as a doubles sport. In the course of its development, positional specialization (specifically, the rear guard and front guard positions were specialized, and a wild goose formation was used) increased, but in recent years, all-around play has been introduced mainly from overseas, and so-called "Double Forwards" have emerged, leading to diversification of the sport. On the other hand, in the mid-1990s, Singles was officially adopted, and has continued to the present day. In the mid-1990s, the need for international promotion of singles was discussed, and original rules for singles were drafted and officially adopted. In 2003, there was a major rule revision and the game became almost the same as Tennis.