What is teqball? Soccer meets ping pong

You have probably seen the clips: two soccer players on either side of an arched table, trading "ping pong rallies" with a soccer ball, using their heads, chests and feet. That game is teqball, and it has a Brazilian cousin called futmesa.

Both look like soccer mixed with table tennis, and in a way they are. Here is what teqball is, how it is played and what it shares with ping pong.

What is teqball?

Teqball was invented in Hungary in 2014 by Gábor Borsányi, Viktor Huszár and György Gattyán. The idea came from a pickup game: kicking a soccer ball over a ping pong table. The problem was that on a flat table, the ball bounced in awkward directions. The fix was a curved table that always sends the ball toward the receiving player.

The sport has an international federation, FITEQ, and World Championships held since 2017. It has also appeared at multi-sport events, such as the 2023 European Games, and is pushing for a place on the Olympic program.

The curved teqball table

Notice that the height at the center matches a ping pong table: 76 cm (30 in). The difference is the curve, which slopes down toward the ends. Because of it, the ball always bounces toward the receiver rather than straight up or backward as it would on a flat table.

How do you play teqball? The main rules

• No hands or arms. Any other body part counts: feet, thighs, chest, head, shoulders.
• Up to three touches. Each side may touch the ball at most three times before sending it back.
• No repeating body parts. You cannot touch the ball twice in a row with the same body part, or return it twice in a row with the same body part.
• No touching the table or the opponent during a rally.
• Games to 12 points, in a best-of-three match.
• Two serve attempts, unlike table tennis, where a faulty serve is an immediate point for the opponent.
• Edge balls are replayed, instead of counting as they do in table tennis.
• In doubles, partners must pass the ball to each other at least once before returning it.

What about futmesa?

Futmesa is a similar game that is popular in Brazil. It uses a flat table with a net and a soccer ball or similar. Hands are not allowed, and there is a limit on touches before the ball must go over.

Futmesa rules vary quite a bit between the associations and clubs that organize it: the number of touches, points per game and match format can all change. Brazilian soccer clubs use it as a warm-up and recreational activity, and it has competitions of its own. Do not confuse it with Brazilian "futebol de mesa", which is button football, a tabletop game.

Teqball vs ping pong: what they share

More than you might think:

• The structure of a rally: the ball bounces on the table and must be sent back to the opponent's side.
• A net in the middle and play in singles or doubles.
• Reading the bounce: in both sports, predicting where and how the ball will bounce is half the game.

But the differences are big. In table tennis the ball must bounce once before every shot and only the paddle can return it. Spin matters much more, because the ball is so light. And the game is much faster. If you want to learn table tennis from scratch, start with what is table tennis.

Can you play teqball on a ping pong table?

You can mess around, but it is not the same. On a flat table, a soccer ball bounces high and unpredictably, which is exactly the problem the curved table solves. Also, a regular ping pong table is not built to take the impact of a soccer ball and can warp or lose its net. If you try it on yours, use a light ball and no hard kicks.

Frequently asked questions