Table Tennis rules explained: 11 frequently asked questions (2024)

You enjoy an occasional game of table tennis, but don’t have enough time to explore the vast world of ping pong rules?Or just don’t feel like going through five pages of things just to get an answer to one question?

We feel your pain.

That's why we came up with a list of top 11 most frequently asked questions aboutping-pong rules. Let's dive in.

How long is a game?

A game in table tennis is played until one of the players scores 11 points or if there is a 2 point difference after the score was tied (10:10).

A game used to be played until 21, but that rule was changed by the ITTF in 2001.

How long is a match?

A match can be a best of any odd number of games: 3, 5 or 7, but most people play 5 games.

How many serves does each player get?

Each player gets 2 serves, and it alternates until one of the players scores 11 points, unless there is a deuce (10:10). In that case, each player gets only one serve and it alternates until one of the players gets a two point lead.

Do I need to serve diagonally (like in a regular tennis game)?

No. If we’re talking about singles, the only thing you need to do is hit the ball so that it passes over thenetand hits the opponent’s half of thetable.

In doubles, however, the ball needs to hit the right field of the opponent’s half.

Where do I need to stand during a serve?

If you’re the person serving, you need to stand behind the end line of the table, and the ball needs to be visible, and above the surface of the table. The receiver can stand wherever he deems ok.

So it is perfectly legal to serve from way outside the sidelines of the table, provided theballremains behind the end line at the start of the serve.

In practice, this is not done very often since it can put the server out of position for the rest of the rally.

What happens if the balls hits the net, or goes around the net?

During a serve, if the ball hits the net but still bounces on the opponent’s side of the table, the point is a let (which means it needs to be replayed). If the ball hits the net and doesn’t make it to the other half of the table, the receiver is automatically awarded a point.

During a rally,if the ball hits the net but still bounces on the opponent’s side of the table, the rally continues, but if the ball hits the net and doesn’t make it to the other half of the table, the receiver is automatically awarded a point.

So basically, as long as the ball does not go under the net, or between the net post and the net for those nets that do not extend to the net post, it is considered to have passed over or around the net assembly if you hit the ball and it goes on the opponent's playing surface.

So, even though the ball doesn't travel over or around the net when you hit the ball, the rules say it doesn't matter.

Can I serve a game/match point (or does my opponent need to serve if it’s my game/match point)?

This is one of the most frequently asked question, and the answer is: Absolutely!

What happens if you hit the ball (whether it’s during a serve or a rally), and once the ball hits the opponent’s side of the table, it bounces back to yours (due to spin)?

In this situation, the point would be awarded to you. The opponent in this case has to hit the ball before it passes by net assembly and is back in your court.

If a player reaches across the net assembly and makes a contact with ball, he loses the point immediately. And if the player hits the ball in his own court, by definition it's an invalid return so he loses point again.

TIP: Either way, try to avoid doing this on purpose. This is a tricky shot, and it’s very hard to control it. In most cases, the ball will end up being too high, or it will hit the net.

If the ball touches the opponent but not the opponent’s side, whose point is it?

Let’s keep things simple and say that you shouldnever, in any situation hit the ball if it hadn’t touched your side of the table first. That is known as valley or “obstruction”, and it’s an illegal shot in table tennis.

To make it easier to remember, let’s put it like this: you are not allowed to hit the ball while it’s on its way to the table. If you do this, and you obstruct the path of the ball (whether it’s with your paddle or any part of your body), your opponent will be awarded with a point.

If you hit the balls after it had already passed the end line of the table, you would get a point, since your opponent failed to make the ball hit your side of the table first. Either way, you should avoid doing this altogether, that way you won’t hit the ball unintentionally and obstruct its path.

What happens if you touch the table?

If you touch the table surface with your free hand (the one that’s not holding a paddle) during a rally, your opponent will be awarded with a point automatically. This also applies if you move the table with anything you’re wearing or carrying.

What happens when a player serves or scores illegally, but there is no qualified umpire to call it?

This is a very common problem. Sometimes the rules are just not specific enough and can be open to interpretation, but other times you just need an unbiased person to decide whether a shot is legal or not.

When this is not the case, and there is no qualified umpire present, you’ll have to rely on the so-called “honor system”. The “honor system” means that the players need to come to an agreement amongst themselves.

The best way to that is to set some ground rules before the game, and discuss some of the situations you feel are probably going to happen.

We know that table tennis rules can be a little daunting at times, and that we just scratched the surface here. That’s why we made it our mission to help our fellow ping-pong lovers understand the game a little better by publishing weekly blog posts that will help even the least experienced players.

Stay tuned, and in the meantime if you’re impatient, feel free to contact our expert Concierge Service, they’ll be happy to answer all your questions- even the ones you think are stupid!

For more detailed information, visit ourRules Page.

FAQs

Each player gets 2 serves, and it alternates until one of the players scores 11 points, unless there is a deuce (10:10). In that case, each player gets only one serve and it alternates until one of the players gets a two point lead.

Let's keep things simple and say that you should never, in any situation, hit the ball if it hasn't touched your side of the table first. That is known as volley or “obstruction”, and it's an illegal shot in table tennis. If you do this, you lose the point.

According to the laws of table tennis, a player can win a game of table tennis by scoring 11 points - with one point awarded for every infringement. Every player gets to serve twice in a row. The first to 11 points is declared the winner.

Double hits are not allowed, so you may not hit the ball with the fingers of your racket hand, and then hit the ball with your racket. player that does this. A player may not throw the racket at the ball in order to hit the ball.

An extremely tall player has a disadvantage in that the table is only 30 inches high. To compensate, a tall player must learn to stay very low, which can be hard on their legs. However, the tall player has an advantage in hitting lobs, which shorter players may have great difficulty with.

An informal rule in table tennis that says that a player wins a game at a score of 7-0 or 11-1. The offensive trump card is the smash. A player will typically execute a smash when the opponent has returned a ball that bounces too high or too close to the net.

All players are allowed unlimited let serves in table tennis. There is no limit to let serves in table tennis.

After the ball bounces on your side, you are obligated to strike it with your racket (or racket hand) before it touches anything else (including a second bounce on the table). Then your return must directly touch your opponent's side of the table without touching anything other than the net or net assembly.

Fouls: A player loses a point if they fail to make a legal serve, fail to hit the ball over the net and onto the opponent's side, touch the table with their free hand, move the table, or obstruct the ball with any part of their body or clothing.

Your free hand is allowed to touch the table but through out the play you are not allowed to touch the table with any body part. But you can lean on the table if you are trying to hit the table tennis ball in play but not when you are serving.

Table tennis matches are currently played with a maximum of 11 points. The winner is the player or pair who first scores 11 points unless both players or pairs score 10 points (called deuce). The first player or pair to take a two-point lead will thereafter win the game.

The system is essentially risk vs reward - if you play a player rated far above you, you have a high risk so you gain many more points for a win then a low-risk game where you beat a player rated far below you.

For each game, the first player to reach 11 points wins that game, however a game must be won by at least a two point margin. A point is scored after each ball is put into play. The edges of the table are part of the legal table surface, but not the sides. Each player serves two points in a row and then switch server.