Table Tennis Details of The Rules of Service
These instructions should not be too complicated, but I hope this does explain some of the finer details. I have read up on this and I am also coached on a regular basis. I find Table Tennis extremely fun and it is also a great way to get exercise.
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Holding The Ball
Hold your hand flat slightly above the table level. Your hand should be completely straight with your palm directly facing the ceiling. The ball and your serving hand should not be concealed in any way. Also the ball more specifically needs to be placed in the middle of your palm or in between your fingers and your palm.
Position
Your hand should not be over the table but behind it. Your legs should be in a wide balanced stance. Your left leg should stand a little more toward or closer to the table if you are right-handed. Respectively right leg forward for left-handed people. Make sure that no part of your body is touching the table, this could count as a foul and also your balance may be put off by it. Your Bat should be behind the ball but should move up when thrown and then come down to hit it.
Throwing And Hitting The Ball
The ball must be thrown at 15cm or 7″ straight up into the air. This should be just above the height of the net. You may throw the ball up as high as you want. The higher you throw it the more spin you can get, but this only suggested for advances players. Once thrown, the ball must be hit by the serving player. The ball then cannot be caught or dropped. This results as the opponent’s point.
Ball Trajectory
The ball is required to hit the server’s bat from just behind the table edge. Then it is required to bounce once on the server’s side and at least once on the opposing side to count as a legal serve. In singles the ball may bounce anywhere on the two player’s courts. In doubles when serving, the ball must bounce on one side of the white line before bouncing to the other half on the opponent’s court. On any bounce the ball may hit the edge of the table causing it to fly off at an unpredictable angle. This is completely legal and some players practice this shot.
Additional Information
If the ball touches the net-however slight-it counts as a let. This means neither of the players gain any points and the serve is attempted again with no alterations to anything what so ever.
When you thrown the ball up ensure that you don’t roll the ball off the end of your hand. This will give unnecessary spin to the ball and make it harder to control the ball as you originally intended.
Usually players starting out will be instructed to throw the ball up straight so it comes down straight. But as you become more advanced you will find more professional players will throw the ball so that it comes slightly towards them. This is so that they can perform serves to trick the opponent, mainly the pendulum serve.
