Soccer tennis game: Futbol Tennis

What is Futbol Tennis?

Soccer tennis, also called football tennis, is a real training game: two sides, a low net, and a ball that must go over using anything but hands and arms. Futbol Tennis turns it into a one-against-one arcade game at a seaside club.

You play your way through nine courts, from a morning practice court on clay to sand, a hard court, a windy pier and a championship lawn, each with a tougher opponent.

How to play Futbol Tennis

On a phone or tablet

• Hold the phone upright. The stick under your left thumb moves your player.
• Kick is the big yellow button: hold it longer for more power. Lob and Drop sit beside it, with Header, Scissor and Trap when the ball calls for them.
• Rings on the court show where the ball will land and where a good first touch should set it down.

On a computer

• Move with the arrow keys or W, A, S and D.
• Space kicks (hold for power), J lobs and K plays a drop shot. H is a header, L a scissor kick and T a trap.
• Escape or P pauses.

The rules

• Get to the landing ring before the ball does, then choose a shot.
• A trap is a cushioned first touch that sets the ball down in front of you for a second touch.
• A lob goes over an opponent who is close to the net; a drop shot falls short in front of one who is standing deep.
• Wind is real: a pennant on the scoreboard shows its direction and gust lines cross the court.
• The rally count is shown as you play, and every point won or lost is called on screen.

What it teaches

First touch is the skill that decides what a player can do next. In Futbol Tennis a good trap puts the ball where your next kick is easy; a poor one leaves you stretching. Children feel the difference at once.

Shot choice is the second lesson. There is no best shot, only the best one for where the opponent is standing: lob the player who has come forward, drop it short when they stay back, hit with power when they are out of position.

Read and practise the same idea

• First touch (soccer term)The touch you take as the ball arrives
• First touch drillsDrills for receiving and controlling the ball
• Thigh and chest control drillBring a ball down from the air
• Wall passing drillTouch and pass against a wall at home
• Heading rules for kids in the USWhy young players do not head the ball in matches

Tips to score higher

1. Move first, swing second: reach the landing ring early and every shot gets easier.
2. Use the trap when you are under pressure. A calm second touch beats a rushed first one.
3. Watch where the opponent stands. Close to the net: lob. Deep: drop shot.
4. Check the wind pennant before a lob; a lob into the wind falls short and one with the wind flies long.
5. Hold Kick for power only when you are balanced and the opponent is out of position.

How the difficulty grows

• Each court brings a tougher opponent and its own surface, hour and weather: the sand court, the hard court, the pier in the wind, the lantern-lit evening, the lawn.
• The practice court is the place to learn the buttons before you move on.
• There are also two harder tours, Pro and Legend.

For parents and coaches

• Free, with no ads, no account and no open chat. The high-score board takes a few arcade-style letters, never a full name or a message.
• Skill: first touch, footwork to get behind the ball, and choosing a shot for the situation. Heading appears as an arcade move; in real matches US rules keep heading out of the game for players aged 10 and under.
• Session length: a few minutes a court, with a natural stop after each one.

Questions about Futbol Tennis

• Is Futbol Tennis free?

  Yes. There is nothing to buy, no advert and no account to create. Every play is free, like every game in the arcade. Playing earns island coins: they are earned by playing and learning on Futbol Island and are never sold for real money.

• Does Futbol Tennis work on a phone or a school Chromebook?

  It runs in a web browser with nothing to install, and it is built for phones first. It also works on tablets and on computers, so a Chromebook is fine as long as the school’s filter allows futbolisland.app. On a computer it is played with the keyboard.

• How do you play soccer tennis online?

  Move your player to where the ball will land, then play it back over the net with a kick, a lob, a drop shot, a header or a scissor kick. Use the trap to control a hard ball with your first touch before you strike it.

• What age is Futbol Tennis for?

  Futbol Island is made for children aged 7 to 12. Futbol Tennis has the most buttons of the six arcade games, so it suits children who already play the others comfortably.

• What is soccer tennis?

  A training game that football players of every level use: two sides play a ball over a low net with feet, thighs, chest and head, never hands. It builds touch and control. Futbol Tennis is a one-against-one video game version of it.

More free soccer games

• Kit Rush: soccer swipe gameSwipe your team’s kit, leave theirs, dodge the whistle
• Squad Snake: soccer snake gameSnake with a squad: collect eleven players and build a formation
• Breakaway Run: soccer runner gameEndless dribbling runner: beat the tackle, find the goal
• Futbol Pinball: soccer pinballA pinball table that is a pitch: rebounds, wall passes, timing
• Pass Puzzles: soccer passing puzzle gameDraw the pass through the defence: space, lanes and offside
• All six free soccer gamesSix free browser games, each teaching one football idea