Sepak takraw
Sepak takraw is a Southeast Asian net sport that is often compared to volleyball, but it is played with a woven ball and without using the hands. Players use controlled touches and kicks to send the ball over the net and try to make it land in the opponent's court while keeping it from touching the ground on their own side.
In common English-language explanations, the name is described as combining Malay "sepak" (kick) with "takraw" from Thai usage associated with the woven ball. International competition is governed by the International Sepaktakraw Federation (ISTAF), which publishes the Law of the Game used for sanctioned play.
Court and equipment (ISTAF Law of the Game 2024, Regu)
ISTAF specifies a rectangular court measuring 13.4 m by 6.1 m, with a clear height of 8 m above the playing surface and a free zone of 3.0 m outside the sidelines and baselines. The court is divided by a center line, and service is organized around marked service and quarter-circle areas.
- Court: 13.4 m x 6.1 m; free zone: 3.0 m; overhead clearance: 8 m
- Quarter circle radius: 0.9 m (at both ends of the center line)
- Service circle radius: 0.3 m; center point 2.45 m from the back line and 3.05 m from the sideline
Net and posts
The net is placed vertically over the axis of the center line and is specified as 0.7 m in width, with mesh size of 0.06 m to 0.08 m. Net height at the center is 1.52 m for men and 1.42 m for women, and at the posts it is 1.55 m for men and 1.45 m for women; the posts are positioned 0.3 m outside the sideline in line with the center line.
Ball specifications
ISTAF specifies a spherical ball made of synthetic fiber with one woven layer. The ball has 12 holes and 20 intersections; circumference is 0.41 m to 0.43 m for men and 0.42 m to 0.44 m for women; weight is 170 g to 180 g for men and 150 g to 160 g for women. The Law of the Game also permits a synthetic rubber or soft durable covering to soften impact, subject to ISTAF approval, and requires ISTAF-approved balls for international and regional competitions sanctioned by ISTAF.
Players and common formats (ISTAF terminology)
ISTAF uses the term "regu" for the competing group and notes that a regu may be composed of two or three players depending on the event. In the regu format covered by the ISTAF Law of the Game 2024 (Regu), each side fields three players.
Regu roles
In a three-player regu, the back player is the Tekong (the server). The two front players are designated as the Left Inside and Right Inside, and both are referred to as Inside players in the Law of the Game.
Team event structure
In the ISTAF team event structure described in the Law of the Game 2024 (Regu), a team comprises three regus, with a minimum of nine players and a maximum of twelve players registered for the team.
Service, rallies, and faults (ISTAF Law of the Game 2024, Regu)
Service begins with both sides in ready positions in their respective courts. The Tekong must have the non-kicking foot inside the service circle before the referee calls the score, while the inside players of the serving side must be in their respective quarter circles during service; after the Tekong kicks the ball, players are allowed to move freely in their courts.
Service flow and pace of play
Service alternates every one point regardless of which side wins the rally. After the referee calls the point, the Tekong has fifteen seconds to be ready for the next service with a foot in the service circle, with repeated delay treated as a fault under the Law of the Game.
Examples of faults and common constraints
The Law of the Game defines faults for the serving side during service, for behavior during service, and for either side during open play. The following are among the faults explicitly listed in the ISTAF Law of the Game 2024 (Regu).
- Playing the ball more than three times in succession on one side
- The ball touching a player's arm
- Any part of a player's body crossing into the opponent's court above or under the net, except during lawful follow-through
- Touching the ball on the opponent's side
- Any part of the body or outfit touching the net or the post
- The ball touching the roof, wall, or any object except the net
Scoring and match flow (ISTAF Law of the Game 2024, Regu)
ISTAF scoring in the Law of the Game 2024 (Regu) awards a point to the opponent when a regu commits a fault, with service alternating every point. Matches are played as best of three sets with two-minute breaks between sets.
Set and match scoring
Each set is won by the regu that scores fifteen (15) points. If the score reaches 14-14, the set continues until one side reaches seventeen (17) points, with the referee announcing "Setting up to seventeen (17) points" in that situation.
Changing sides
Players change sides before the start of each set. In the third set, the teams change sides when one regu reaches eight (8) points.
Time-out
Each regu is entitled to one time-out of up to one minute in each set, and only the team manager or coach may call for time-out when the ball is not in play.
Governance and major multi-sport inclusion
The International Sepaktakraw Federation (ISTAF) describes its role as promoting, developing, and governing sepaktakraw internationally, and it identifies international competitions it oversees, including the Sepaktakraw World Cup and the Sepaktakraw Super Series. Sepak takraw was listed by the Olympic Council of Asia among the debuting sports at the 11th Asian Games in Beijing in 1990.