Net and wall games are

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

games where either a net separates the opponents or a

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

serves to reflect the ball to the opponent. The object of these games is to hit or throw the

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

over the net or against the wall 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). Sports like

Real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

, Padel and Wallyball use both net and walls. Some sports like

Four square Four square (also called handball, champ, four squares or box ball) is a global sport played on a square court divided by two perpendicular lines into four identical boxes creating four squares labelled 1–4 or A–D. Four square is a popula ...

, Ballon au poing,

Tamburello Tamburello, named Tambass in Piedmont, is a court game invented in the northern provinces of Italy during the 16th century. It is a modification of the ancient game of pallone col bracciale, bearing the same general relation to it as Squash ...

and Roundnet has the same logic of wall games using the floor or trampoline in the rebounding function. 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 appeals to those who find the health club to be an isolationist palace of mirrors." Net and wall games usually include: * racquet sports such as

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

pickleball Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played i ...

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

, squash,

racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase vel ...

. *

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, crossnet, footvolley, Jokgu, headis, roundnet,

American handball American handball, known as handball in the United States and sometimes referred to as wallball, is a sport in which players use their hands to hit a small, rubber ball against a wall such that their opponent(s) cannot do the same without the ba ...

Throwball Throwball is a non-contact ball sport played across a net between two teams of seven players on a rectangular court. Throwball is popular in Asia, especially on the Indian subcontinent, and was first played in India as a women's sport in Chenn ...

or sepak takraw, where players must hit/throw the ball with the body. * Some sports like

Basque pelota Basque pelota (Basque: '' pilota'', Spanish: '' pelota vasca'', French: '' pelote basque'') is the name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using one's hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket, against a wall (''frontis or fronto ...

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 The human back, also called the dorsum (: dorsa), is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral c ...

when serving or spiking/ smashing the ball or bird. Although

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and other sports have netting around the

goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

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 stick A lacrosse stick or crosse is used to play the sport of lacrosse. Players use the lacrosse stick to handle the lacrosse ball, ball and to strike or "check" opposing players' sticks, causing them to drop the ball. The head of a lacrosse stick is rou ...

s have a loose netting that is used to catch and fling the ball, but again

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

is not considered a "net game". File:Europei di pallavolo 2005 - Italia-Russia.jpg, A volleyball match between Italy and Russia in 2005. File:SOSV Throwball.jpg, Throwball File:US Open 2007, Maria Sharapova serving.jpg, Women playing tennis at the 2007 US Open. File:Rugby Fives.jpeg, Fives File:SM Final Damer Squash 2021.jpg, A game of squash. File:Jai alai México -i---i- (32607855773).jpg, Jai alai. File:Wallyball 365final (4124776610).jpg, Wallyball File:Mike Yanguas jugando con Bourne Summum Prisma.jpg, Padel

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Net sport Ball games Racket sports