Some Basic Rules

One of the most confusing aspects of any sport for beginners is learning and understanding all the rules of the game. Table Tennis is no different. As a beginner it’s nice to be told which basic table tennis rules are the ones that you need to know straightaway, so that’s what we are going to do in this article.

The Racket

The racket must be black on one side of the blade, and red on the other. If two rubbers are used, that means one rubber must be red and the other rubber must be black. The rubbers must be authorised by the ITTF.

A Point

A point is won or lost after a rally in which either one player forces the ball out or into the net or misses the other side of the table.

Service

The ball must always be visible to the receiver throughout the serve – it must never be hidden. This makes it illegal to drop your hand below the table when serving, or put any part of your body between the ball and the receiver when serving. If the receiver cannot see the ball at any point, it is a fault. This is why the rules tell the server to get his free arm out of the space between the ball and the net. The ball must be thrown upwards without any spin, and nearly vertically, this means within a few degrees of vertical, not the 45 degrees that some players still believe is acceptable. The ball must rise at least 16cm, which is actually not all that high if you check it out on a ruler. One important thing to note is that it must rise at least 16cm from the hand, so lifting the ball up with your hand to your shoulder, throwing it 2cm high and then hitting it on the way down is not OK!