FITEQ said the change follows a successful trial phase at Challenger Cup events, with the 12-point system claimed to increase competitive balance.

The 12-point system will replace the current format where 20 points are required to win a set.

Matches will remain in a best-of-three format.

"After a trial phase at Challenger Cups in Los Angeles and San Diego earlier this year, as well as gathering valuable feedback from players all over the world, we have established that the 12 point format increases the competitive balance in matches, makes matches more exciting and enables events to be more suitable for broadcasting purposes," Gábor Borsányi, FITEQ President and teqball co-founder, said.

"Those who have been part of the teqball family from the outset will remember that we started with a 12-point scoring system, which was used at the first Teqball World Championships in 2017.

"This scoring system is unique to teqball and after several years of competition, it has become clear to us that this is the best way forward."

The decision was one of the modifications made to the official rules and regulations of teqball, with FITEQ deciding that the new rulebook comes into immediate effect.

The modification followed a consultation phase with players and national federations, as well as external testing phases.

New competition regulations and rules on athlete eligibility were also added to the official rulebook, along with amended disciplinary actions.

The updated rules have been shared with all national teqball federations and made available online.

FITEQ said this will ensure players have time to understand and practice the new rules before international competitions return after the coronavirus pandemic.

The governing body added that its world ranking policy has also been updated, while official rules and regulations for beach teqball are currently under review.

Revisions will be published in the near future.