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Every sport, or every game, knows rules† That also applies to table tennis. And what is the most important rule in table tennis?
The most important rules in table tennis are about serving. The ball must be served from the open hand and must have been at least 16 cm in the air. Then the player hits the ball with the bat via his own half of the table over the net on the playing half of the opponent.
In this article I will tell you about some important elements and rules of table tennis, as they apply today. I will also explain you a little better about the most important rule in table tennis; so the storage.
Table tennis, also known as ping pong, do you play with a table, net, ball and at least two players with each a bat.
If you want to play an official match, the equipment must meet certain regulations.
Then there are the rules of the sport itself: how do you play the game, and what about the scoring? When did you win (or lose)?
A certain Emma Barker from London put in 1890 the rules of this sport on paper. The rules have been amended here and there over the years.
What we discuss in this comprehensive post:
What is the purpose of table tennis?
First of all; what exactly is the purpose of table tennis? Table tennis is played with two (one against one) or four players (two against two).
Each player or team has a half of the table. Both halves are separated by means of a net.
The object of the game is to hit the ping pong ball over the net on the side of your opponent's table by means of a bat.
You do this in such a way that your opponent can no longer or can no longer return the ball correctly to your half of the table.
By 'correct' I mean that after bouncing on one's own table half, the ball immediately lands on the other half of the table – that is, that of your opponent.
The scoring in table tennis
To understand whether you are winning or losing a game of table tennis, it is of course important to understand the scoring.
- You get a point if your opponent serves the ball incorrectly or otherwise returns it incorrectly
- Whoever wins 3 games first wins
- Every game goes up to 11 points
Winning 1 game is not enough.
Most matches are based on the 'best of five' principle, where you have to win three matches (out of five) to definitely win the match against your opponent.
You also have the 'best of seven principle', where you have to win four out of seven games to be chosen as the ultimate winner.
However, to win a match, there must be at least two points difference. So you can't win 11-10, but you can win 12-10.
At the end of each game, the players switch ends, with the players moving to the other side of the table.
And in the event that a deciding game is played, such as the fifth game of five games, then the half of the table is also changed.
The most important storage rules
As with other sports, such as football, a game of table tennis also starts with a 'coin toss'.
By flipping a coin, it is determined who gets to start saving or serving.
The striker must hold or throw the ball straight up from the open, flat hand at least 16 cm. The player then hits the ball with the bat via his own half of the table over the net on the opponent's half.
You may not give the ball any rotation and the hand with the ball in it may not be under the gaming table.
In addition, you may not deprive your opponent of the view of the ball and he/she must therefore be able to see the service well. The ball may not touch the net.
If it does, the save has to be done again. This is called 'let', just like in tennis.
With a good serve you can immediately get an advantage over your opponent:
The difference with tennis is that you don't get a second chance. If you hit the ball into the net or through the net over the table, the point goes straight to your opponent.
After two points served, the players always change service.
If a score of 10-10 is reached, the service (servic) will be changed from that moment after each point played.
That means a surcharge per person, at a time.
An umpire can disallow a service, or choose to award a point to the opponent in the event of a wrong service.
Read here by the way whether you can hold the table tennis bat with two hands (or not?)
What about the recoil?
If the service is good, the opponent must return the ball.
When the ball is returned, it may no longer touch its own half of the table, but the opponent must return it directly to the server's half of the table.
In this case, it can be done via the net.
Doubles rules
In doubles, where two against two is played instead of one against one, the rules are a bit different.
When serving, the ball must first land on the right half of your own half and from there diagonally on the right half of your opponents.
The players then take turns. This means that you always return the ball from the same opponent.
The order of player and receiver is fixed from the beginning.
When two servings have been made, the players of the team will switch places, so that at the next serve, the teammate becomes the server.
After each game, the server and receiver switch so that the server now serves to the other opponent.
What are other rules?
Table tennis has a number of other rules. Below you can read which ones they are.
- The point is replayed if the game is disrupted
- If a player touches the table or the net with his/her hand, he/she loses the point
- If the game is still undecided after 10 minutes, players take turns serving
- The bat must be red and black
Should the game be disrupted through no fault of the players, the point must be replayed.
In addition, if a player touches the table or the net with his hand during a game, he immediately loses the point.
In order not to make matches last too long, there is a rule in official matches that if a game doesn't have a winner after 10 minutes (unless both players have already scored at least 9 points), the players serve alternately.
The receiving player immediately wins the point if he manages to return the ball thirteen times.
Furthermore, players are required to play with a bat that has red rubber on one side and black rubber on the other.
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