Net and wall games
Net and wall games are court games where either a net separates the opponents or a wall serves to reflect the ball to the opponent. The object of these games is to hit or throw the ball or bird over the net (direct style) or against the wall (indirect style) back to the opponent. Play typically begins with one side serving the ball/bird by initially tossing or releasing it and then hitting/throwing it over the net or to the wall. This then starts a rally, in which the sides alternate hitting/throwing the ball/bird. Players then score points whenever the opponent fails to return the ball/bird back. The criteria on what is considered a valid return varies between each sport (such as the number of times the ball may be touched or bounced on a player's side before it must go back).[1] Games in this category are non contact sports.
Examples
[edit | edit source]Sports like Real tennis, Padel and Wallyball use both net and walls. On the contrary, some sports like Four square, Ballon au poing, Tamburello and Crossminton have the same logic of wall and net games, even they do not use any of them.
The Los Angeles Daily Times reports: "Net sports are unique in that the equipment is light, portable and affordable, and partners and opponents are easy to find. The sports are easy to learn, and the social aspect of the game[s] appeals to those who find the health club to be an isolationist palace of mirrors."[2]
Net and wall games usually include:[2][3][4]
- racquet sports such as tennis, badminton, pickleball, table tennis, squash, racquetball.
- volleyball, crossnet, footvolley, Jokgu, headis, roundnet, American handball, Throwball or sepak takraw, where players must hit/throw the ball with the body.
- Some sports like Basque pelota include both the use of hands and the use of equipment depending on the discipline.
The three most popular net and wall games (tennis, badminton, and volleyball) usually involve arching of the back when serving or spiking/smashing the ball or bird.[4]
Although basketball, hockey, water polo, Football and other sports have netting around the goal area designed to more clearly indicate when goals are scored, they are not considered "net games", since the net is not used to separate the teams involved. Similarly, lacrosse sticks have a loose netting that is used to catch and fling the ball, but again lacrosse is not considered a "net game".
Comparison
[edit | edit source]| Sport | Image | Country of origin | Governing Body | Number of players[5] | Type of ball | Style | What it is allowed to play with | Allowed form for returning the ball | What divides turns | Allowed service form | Number of touches before return | Maximum number of bounces allowed before return | Scoring | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body | Equipment | ||||||||||||||
| Volleyball | Indoor[6] | File:Triple block (Serbia vs China, Grand Prix 2017).jpg | United States | FIVB | 6 | Inflatable | Direct | Any part | - | Hitting | Net | Overarm, underarm | Up to three (excluding touch by failing block), not successively by the same player | None | Points, sets |
| Snow[7] | File:Youth winter wikicamp 2025 04.jpg | Austria | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Beach[8] | File:USMC-111007-M-UV915-234.jpg | United States | 2 | Up to three, not successively by the same player | |||||||||||
| Beach 4x4[9] | File:Attacco Mazzulla Nellina finale scudetto 4x4.jpg | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Sepak takraw | File:Sepak Takraw - Ancient sport.jpg | Southeast Asia | ISTAF[10] | 3 | Hollow woven | Direct | Except upper limbs | - | Hitting | Net | Volley kick | Up to three (maximum of 2 successive by same player) | None | Points, sets | |
| Fistball | File:Fistball Server.jpg | Italy | IFA[11] | 5 | Inflatable | Direct | Upper limbs | - | Hitting | Elevated rope | Overarm, underarm | Up to three, by different players | Up to 1 before each player touch | Points, sets | |
| Throwball | File:SOSV Throwball.jpg | India | International Throwball Federation[12] | 7 | Inflatable | Direct | Hand | - | Throwing | Net | Overarm | 1 | None | Points, sets | |
| Teqball | File:Teqball jatek.jpg | Hungary | FITEQ[13] |
|
Inflatable | Direct | Except upper limbs | - | Hitting | Net | On flight | Up to three | 1 on table (no volley allowed) | Points, sets | |
| Tchoukball | File:Tchoukball Geneva Indoors 2022 - Nations Cup - Final Women - Olivier Renaud (52577441059).jpg | Switzerland | International Tchoukball Federation[14] | 7 | Inflatable | Indirect | Except below knee | - | Throwing | Rebounder | Up to three passes | None on floor | Points | ||
| Tennis | Lawn[15] | File:Anastasiya Yakimova, Damen-Tennis-Bundesliga Moers.jpg | England | ITF |
|
Filled with air, non inflatable | Direct | - | Racquet | Hitting | Net | Overarm, underarm | 1 | 1 | Points, games, sets |
| Beach[16] | File:NYLB08 3620.jpg | Italy | None | ||||||||||||
| Badminton | File:Badminton at the 2012 Summer Olympics 9410.jpg | England | BWF[17] |
|
Shuttle | Direct | - | Racquet | Hitting | Net | Racquet pointing downward | 1 | None | Points, games | |
| Pickleball[18][19] | File:Pickleball Players.jpg | United States |
|
Hollow | Direct | - | Racquet | Hitting | Net | Ball must bounce past opponent no volley zone | 1 | 1 | Points, games | ||
| Table tennis | File:AG 23 Table Tennis 31.jpg | England | ITTF[20] |
|
Filled with air, non inflatable | Direct | - | Racquet | Hitting | Net | Two mandatory bounces (first on own court and the other on the opponent one) | 1 | 1 on table (no volley allowed) | Points, games | |
| Squash | File:SM Final Damer Squash 2021.jpg | England | World Squash[21][22] |
|
Filled with air, non inflatable | Indirect | - | Racquet | Hitting | Wall | 1 | 1 on floor | Points, games | ||
| Crossminton | File:Speedminton players.png | Germany | International Crossminton Organisation[23] |
|
Shuttle | Direct | - | Racquet | Hitting | Lines on floor | 1 | None | Points, sets | ||
| One wall[24] | File:Bloemketerp072007 2.jpg | Compromise rules among folk games | CIJB[25] |
|
Indirect | Hand | - | Hitting | Wall | 1 | 1 on floor | Points, sets | |||
| International[26] | File:Jeu-balle-international-2016.jpg |
|
Filled with air, non inflatable | Direct | - | Line on floor | Points, games | ||||||||
| Valencian pilota | Llargues[27] | File:Pilota de llargues a Sant Joan d'Alacant 3.jpg | Spain | 5 | Solid |
|
- |
|
On flight |
| |||||
| Frontó[28] | File:XIII Diputació de València de Frontó a Almussafes (2).jpg | 2 | Indirect | Upper limbs | Wall | 1 on floor | Points | ||||||||
| Basque pelota | Frontball[29] | Spain | FIPV[30] | 1 | Filled with air, non inflatable | Indirect | Hand | - | Hitting | Wall | 1 | 1 on floor | Points, games | ||
| Frontenis | File:2013 Basque Pelota World Cup - Frontenis - France vs Spain 46.jpg |
|
- | Racquet | |||||||||||
| Jai alai | File:Jai alai México -i---i- (32607855773).jpg | Solid | Xistera | Throwing | |||||||||||
| Xare | File:Xare Irura 01.jpg | 2 | Xare | ||||||||||||
| Padbol | File:Argentina vs Panamá.jpg | Argentina | International Federation of Padbol Associates[31] | 2 | Inflatable | Direct and indirect | Except upper limbs | - | Hitting | Net and wall | Kick after bounce | Minimum 2, maximum 3 (not successively by the same player) | 1 on floor | Points, games, sets | |
| Padel | File:Vigo Open 2019 de World Padel Tour - 3.jpg | Mexico | FIP[32] | 2 | Filled with air, non inflatable | Direct and indirect | - | Racquet | Hitting | Net and wall | Underarm | 1 | 1 on floor (no volley allowed) | Points, games, sets | |
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ The minimum (or typical, if there is one) number of players per team on the field is shown.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).