Table Tennis is a kind of Olympic game which has become the popular all around the world. This game is played with the set of pre-defined rules and international specified equipment.
Before going to learn rules for playing table tennis sport, you must know what equipment needed to play. This sport includes Table Tennis Table, TT Ball, TT Bat / Racket, TT Net with Net Stand. According to International Specification, the size of table tennis table must be 2.74m long, 1.52m wide and 76cm height and its upper surface must be made of hard board. The table is divided by 15.25cm high net with net stand. The ball must be 2.7gm in weight and 40mm in diameter. TT Bat is made of laminated wooden covered with rubber on both sides to control spin and speed.
The rules to Play Table Tennis Table Sport are as following:
Starting a Game: To start the game, three methods are considered-
According to international rule:
1. The first method to decide who will server or receive is using coin toss.
2. The second method is either umpire or scorer hide the ball in one or other hand of the table and allows the players to guess where the ball is in. This option would decide the winner to choose the server and receiver.
Un-Official Method:
1. The players play the ball back and forth four times and earn the point to decide who will server or receiver. This process is called Play to Serve or Rally to Serve.
Service and Return: In game play, the server player firstly stands with the ball held on the open palm and tosses the ball directly upward without spin at least 16cm high. After that the server hit the ball with the racket towards the opponent’s direction so that it touches first server court and then touches directly the receiver’s court without touching the net assembly.
After the server turn, if the service is good, the receiver must take a good return by hitting the ball back before it bounces a second time on receiver’s side of the table so that the ball passes the net and touches the opponent court. The server and receiver must alternately return the ball until the rally is over.
Restrictions while Service and Return: The most important thing about table tennis table sport is the ball must remain on the playing surface and players cannot use his body or clothes to obstruct sight of the ball. The opponent and umpire must have the clear view of ball at each time and if the umpire would see any doubt during the game, he would give the warning to players.
Let: A let is a rally on which the score does not counted and these conditions are as following:
- When the ball touches the net in service and server used all rules and the ball is obstructed by the player on the receiver side.
- Players touch the ball when it is above from the playing surface and does not touch the player’s surface.
- When the player on the receiving side is not ready and the ball has been served.
- Player’s failure to make a return is due to disturbance outside.
- Play is interrupted by the umpire or assistant umpire.
Score: A point is scored by the player for several results of the rally and these are as following:
- Opponent player fails to make a proper return.
- When a player makes a serve or return, it touches anything than the net assembly before being struck by the opponent.
- The opponent obstructs the ball.
- The ball passes over the player’s court or beyond his end line without touching his court, after being struck by the opponent.
- The opponent strikes the ball with a side of the racket blade whose surface is not covered with blade.
- The player strikes the ball twice successively.
- The opponent moves the playing surface and touches the net assembly.
- The opponent’s free hand touches the playing surface.
- As a receiver under the expedite system, completing 13 returns in a rally.
- The opponent warned by the umpire commits a second offense in the same individual match or team match. If the third offense happened, extra 2 points will be given to the player.
