Ping Pong

Overview

Table tennis. Two or four players hit a lightweight ball across a table divided by a low net. The ball must bounce once on your side before you return it.

Governed by the International Table Tennis Federation. This entry is checked against the Laws of Table Tennis in the ITTF Statutes 2026 (effective 1 January 2026), Chapter 2. Law numbers below are the ITTF's.

1. Equipment

Element	Specification
Table	2.74m × 1.525m, 76cm high
Net	15.25cm tall
Ball	40mm, 2.7g, plastic
Racket	Any size and weight; covering black on one side, and on the other a bright colour clearly different from black and from the ball

The two-colour rule exists so opponents can tell which rubber you are using, because different rubbers produce very different spin. Red is no longer required. Law 2.4.6 asks only for black on one side and "a bright colour clearly distinguishable from black and from the colour of the ball" on the other.

2. Scoring

• Games are to 11 points, won by a margin of two.
• At 10–10, play continues until someone leads by two.
• A match is the best of any odd number of games (Law 2.12.1).

3. Serving

Serve alternates every two points, not every point. At deuce — 10–10 — service changes every single point.

A legal serve requires all of the following:

1. The ball rests on an open, flat palm behind the end line.
2. It is thrown upward at least 16cm, near-vertically, without spin from the hand.
3. It is struck on the way down.
4. It bounces once on the server's side, then once on the receiver's side.
5. The ball remains above the table surface and behind the end line until struck, so the receiver can see it throughout.

Point five is why you cannot hide the serve behind your body or free arm — a common habit in casual play and an automatic fault in competition.

In doubles the serve must travel diagonally, right half to right half, and partners must alternate hitting the ball throughout the rally.

4. Lets

If a served ball clips the net and still lands legally, it is a let and is replayed, with no penalty and no limit on repeats.

5. Losing a point

• Failing to make a legal serve or return
• The ball bouncing twice on your side
• Obstructing — touching the ball while it is over the table or heading for it, before it has bounced on your side
• The ball hitting your side twice on a return
• Moving the table, or touching it with your free hand
• Touching the net or posts

6. The expedite rule

The expedite system (Law 2.15) starts after 10 minutes' play in a game, or earlier if both players or pairs ask for it, unless at least 18 points have already been scored in that game. Once it starts:

• players serve one point each in turn;
• if the receiving side makes 13 correct returns in a rally, the receiver wins the point;
• it stays in force for the rest of the match, not just that game.

It exists to stop purely defensive stalemates.

Serving faults and placement

You can lose a point on your own serve. A fault — an illegal toss, missing the ball, or failing to land it correctly — gives the point to your opponent immediately. There is no second serve in table tennis.

In singles you may serve anywhere on the opponent's half; there are no service boxes. In doubles the serve must travel diagonally, right half to right half.

Commonly argued

• The edge is in; the side is out. A ball clipping the top edge of the playing surface is good. One striking the vertical side is not.
• "Volleying" is only a fault over the table. Law 2.5.8 makes it obstruction to touch the ball "when it is above or travelling towards the playing surface" before it has bounced on your side. A ball that has already flown past your end line, heading away from the table, can be caught or hit without penalty, and your opponent loses the point for missing the table.
• Hitting around the net rather than over it is legal, as long as it lands on the far side. So is a ball that bounces back over the net on its own.
• Serve changes every two points, not every point.
• You must toss the serve up 16cm and keep it visible.
• Your free hand must not touch the playing surface.
• Red and black is no longer required. Black on one side and any bright, clearly different colour on the other.