FITEQ has also joined other bodies, including the World Surf League, where women and men compete for an equal share of the prize money across both singles and doubles matches.

Last year’s Teqball World Cup, held in French city Reims, offered $100,000 (£76,000/€88,000) in prize money.

"Teqball is a game built on skill, coordination and concentration where a competitor’s gender is inconsequential," Gábor Borsányi, teqball’s co-founder and President of FITEQ, said.

"Neither men or women have a distinct advantage and for that reason we see no reason that they cannot compete in the same category."

Brazil’s Natalia Guitler was the most successful female at the 2018 Teqball World Cup, reaching the semi-finals with her doubles partner Marcos Viera Da Silva.

Japan’s Sugawara Kanae, meanwhile, was among the top 16 singles players during the inaugural Teqball World Cup, held in Hungary’s capital Budapest in 2017.

"Female athletes regularly outplay their male counterparts and we are seeing many excel at our international competitions," Borsányi added.

"Our goal is to make teqball accessible from a young age where both girls and boys feel comfortable and confident trying the sport at the same time."

In order to help newcomers to the sport, teqball recently launched "Zero-to-Hero", a project that aims to teach people to excel in the sport in just 30 days.

FITEQ Women’s Committee member Enikő Huszár was one of the first to take part in the project and said it has helped to break down the barriers to entry for her and other women.

Leading up to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, the Brazilian women’s national football team has taken up teqball as a training aid to refine their skills as they prepare for competition.

Players from Everton Ladies Football Club, who compete in the English Football Association’s Women's Super League, are also using teqball in training.

Last month, Brazilian footballing icon Ronaldinho became the latest high-profile retired male player to back teqball.