Asian Games 2023: What is the difference between Soft Tennis and Lawn Tennis?

Soft Tennis differs from Lawn Tennis in that it uses soft rubber balls instead of hard yellow balls and a different scoring format.

Lee Bok Soon and Min Soo Kyoung of the Republic of Korea compete against Harumi Gyokusen and Ayumi Ueshima of Japan in the Women’s Team Final in Soft Tennis during the 15th Asian Games on December 3, 2006 in Doha, Qatar. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Soft tennis is one of the 61 sports disciplines featuring at the 19th Asian Games, being held in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8.

Soft tennis, first introduced as a demonstration sport at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, has been part of Asiad as a medal event since the 1994 edition in Hiroshima.

The International Soft Tennis Federation , established in 1973, is the premier soft tennis governing body. The sport differs from lawn tennis in that it uses soft rubber balls instead of hard yellow balls. Also, the singles matches follow a best-of-seven games and the doubles ties follow a best-of-nine games format.

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The player or the pair that wins four points in a game wins the game. If the score is tied at 3-3, the first to win two consecutive points clinches the game.

In case the match is tied at three-games all (singles) or four-games all (doubles), a seven-point deciding game is played to decide the winner.

The court dimensions are same as that in lawn tennis. The height of the net is decreased in the centre for lawn tennis but in soft tennis, it stays uniform at 1.07m from one post to the other.

When and where will Soft Tennis be played at Asian Games 2023?

The Soft Tennis will be held from October 3 to 7 at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Tennis Centre.

How many categories are there in Soft Tennis at Asian Games 2023?

There are five medal events in Soft Tennis at Asian Games 2023:-

• Men’s Team (a tie features one singles and two doubles matches)
• Women’s Team
• Mixed Doubles
• Men’s Singles
• Women’s Singles

Which country has won most gold medals in Soft Tennis at Asian Games?

South Korea has won 25 gold medals in Soft Tennis at Asian Games, the most by any country. Chinese Taipei is second with eight while Japan is third with seven gold medals.

Has India ever won a medal in Soft Tennis at Asian Games?

India is yet to win an Asian Games medal in the sport, but has participated in the 2010 and the 2018 editions, sending eight and 10 participants respectively.

India’s Squad for Soft Tennis at Asian Games 2023

Men - Jay Meena, Aniket Chirag Patel, Rajveer Mahendrasinh Amaliyar, Aditya Dubey, Rohit Dhiman

Women - Aadhya Tiwari, Tushita Singh, Nikita Bishnoi, Raga Sri Kulandaivelu Manogarbabu, Anusha Nelakuditi