
The opponent can also be awarded a point if you hit the ball outside the playing surface or if the ball comes in contact with any part of your body while attempting a shot.Īccording 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. Here, the server and the partner have to alternate while attempting to push the ball on to the opponent’s side of the table. In doubles, the rule gets a bit more tricky. However, if the ball hits the net and it fails to bounce over into the opponent’s half, or hits it over the net and out of bounds without coming into contact with the table, the opponent gets a point. This can either be by sheer power, spin or other deceptive means. The aim in table tennis is to strike the ball in a manner that the opponent fails to make contact with the ball, which earns the player a point. Here, the serving player plays from the right side of the table. In singles competition, while the service rule allows the server to serve to any part of the table on the opposite end, in doubles, the service has to travel diagonally across the table. If the player attempts to return the ball before it bounces, a foul is called. The receiver, however, can return it by hitting it over the net and into the opponent’s half of the table. The server has to hold the ball with an open palm, toss it up and strike it in a manner that the ball bounces first on the server’s side of the table before bouncing over the net to the other side. The winner has the options to serve the ball first, receive it, or choose the side of the table they’d like to play from. How to play table tennisĪ table tennis match begins with the umpire conducting a coin-toss. The ball, usually orange or white, weighs about 2.7 grams and is spherical with a diameter of 40 millimetres as per rules and regulations. It has a rubber surface on either side - black and red - that help the players in applying and negating the spin on the ball. The bat, commonly referred to as a ‘racquet’ or ‘paddle’, is approximately 17cms long and 15cms wide, made primarily of wood. The table tennis net stands at a height of 15.25 centimetres. The table is divided into two halves by a net that's suspended using two poles attached to the table. A two centimetre-thick line runs over the border of the table, marking the playing surface. The table is coated with dark and glossy paint, giving it a matte finish. Table tennis equipmentĪs per the official rules of table tennis, the game is played on a 2.74 x 1.53-metre rectangular table made of fibrewood and is split into two halves. Here’s a look at table tennis rules, the regulations, equipment used and how the game is played. Just eight years after hosting its first World Cup in China, table tennis featured at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and has since been a fixture at the Games. However, table tennis became widely popular in Asia after finding its way to the continent in the 1950s, which has since been a breeding ground for some of the best players in the world. In its early days, the sport was largely played and dominated by Europeans, especially the Hungarians. Originally a leisure activity for the upper-class in Victorian-era England, the sport was initially called ping pong before being renamed to table tennis in 1922. A sport of intense speed and jaw-dropping precision, table tennis is one of the most exciting sporting spectacles.
