In Teqball, as in other open-skill sports such as football and boxing, there are multiple styles of play that can lead to successful results. It is also common to see a variety of styles used in the same match, which prevents an athlete or team from becoming predictable. With Teqball growing all over the world, and an increasing number of players from a wide range of sporting backgrounds competing in international events, five distinctive styles have emerged.

There is one style of play that has evolved which is specifically for Teqball and cannot be correlated to a player's sporting background – this is what is called Teq Style. The development of Teq Style was led by some of the world's leading stars from Hungary, Poland and France. It was created with the rules and regulations of teqball closely in mind, with its dominant elements as follows: attacking play using smashes with the inside of the foot; use of the upper-leg for harvesters and preparation touches; execution of harvesters using other body parts, such as the chest, head or end of the foot; a 1-2 combination in doubles.

Another clear style that has emerged in recent years is the Sniper Style. Its foundations are in the head tennis sporting activity called Tenis Glavom, which has its origins in Serbia. It is a style brought to the teqball world by Serbian players, who regularly compete at the highest level in international events. In Teqball, accurate returns made with the head are called a snipe. When an attacking player has time to analyse a game situation, they can look up to see where the opponent(s) and the space is before executing a header, much like the use of a sniper.

Next up is the Smasher Style, which is an attacking strategy most regularly deployed by players from the Czech Republic, as well as players from Hungary and South Korea. The style integrates skills from futnet (football tennis), as well as the South Korean sport Jogku – a combination of football and volleyball. Smasher style is high risk but high reward, with players aiming to finish the rally with a smash as early in the point as possible.

As Teqball grows around the world, more and more acrobatic movements are made by the highest level players, leading to the emergence of the Acrobatic Style. These actions are not only entertaining for fans, they can also be a highly effective way to win points. This style of play is most common amongst players from South East Asia, notably Thailand and Malaysia, who have a background in playing sepak takraw. Athletes using the Acrobatic Style must have an impressive level of flexibility as well as quick footwork, which enables them to smash the ball from high in the air and reach virtually impossible balls in defence.

The final style of play shaping the future of teqball is Beach Style. The pioneers of Beach Style are Brazilian players with a futvolei (a mixture of football and volleyball typically played on the beach) background, such as reigning mixed doubles World Champions Natalia Guitler and Marcos Vieira. The key traits of this style are players' tenacity to dive for every ball, the use of non-dominant body parts such as the outside of the foot and the shoulder, and smashes with the sole of the foot.

With international competitions regularly gathering players from around the world, the five styles are beginning to merge. Players are increasingly integrating new styles into their game to give themselves an edge over their opponents. This has led, and will continue to lead, to the evolution of the five main styles in Teqball and the creation of highly entertaining and unpredictable action.

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/Barnabás Németh/