TABLE TENNIS STUDY GUIDE

TABLE TENNIS STUDY GUIDE
The Basics
Table tennis (originally known as Ping Pong, a term never to be spoken in class) is
played on a 9’ x 5’ table that is 30” high and has a 6” net dividing the table in half. There
are side lines and end lines on the table. The center line is only used in doubles play for
serving purposes. The playing surface includes the top edges of the table, but not the
sides below the edge. Players use wooden paddles that have rubber covering the hitting
surface to hit a ball across the net. The object is to hit the ball onto the opponent’s side of
the table without the opponent being able to return the ball.
Scoring
The scoring system is the same for singles and doubles. A match consists of the best
two-out-of-three games played to 11. Players alternate serves every two points and
change ends after each game. The winner must be ahead by 2 to end the game, and the
person or team that is behind will always serve at game point, regardless of whose turn it
is. Either the server or receiver can score a point on any play. A player scores a point
when the opponent:
• Fails to make a good serve
• Fails to make a good return
• Allows the ball to bounce twice in his/her court
• Strikes the ball twice in making one return
• Moves the table while the ball is in play
• Touches the playing surface, the net, or its supports while the ball is in play
• Strikes the ball out of sequence in doubles play
Serving
The server holds the ball on the open, flat palm of his/her free hand. The ball must be
above the table and behind the end line on the table. The racket must also be above the
table. The server tosses the ball up at least 6 inches, without spinning it. The server
strikes the ball on the descent with the racket behind the end line. The ball must touch
the server’s court first, pass over or around the net, and then touch the receiver’s court. A
serve that hits the net and goes over is a ‘let’ and must be served again. If a player misses
the ball while attempting to serve, he/she loses a point.
In doubles, the served ball must hit on the server’s right-hand court and then the
receiver’s right-hand court. Doubles also has a set serving order. Each player serves five
points at a time in this repeating order:
• Player 1, Team A (serving to Player 1, Team B)
• Player 1, Team B (serving to Player 2, Team A)
• Player 2, Team A (serving to Player 2, Team B)
• Player 2, Team B (serving to Player 1, Team A)

Returns
A return is good when it passes over or around the net or its supports and strikes the
opponent’s court. A return may touch the net or its supports, so long as it lands in the
opponent’s court. The ball may not bounce twice on the same side, or be hit twice on the
same side, before its return.
Ball In Play
A ball in play must be allowed to bounce before it is struck. A player that plays the ball
before it bounces will lose the point. Once the ball has passed the back line on the fly,
however, the ball is out of play, and the player that hit the ball out will lose the point
regardless of the actions of the other player.
As mentioned earlier, a serve that hits the net and goes over is a ‘let’ and must be served
again. A serve that hits the net and fails to go over is not served again – it is a loss of
point for the server.