The Rules of Table Tennis (Getting Started)
At the most basic level here are the 5 most important rules to follow:
Playing a Match
- Winning A Point – You win a point when you play a shot that hits only your opponent’s side of the table, and they are unable to return the ball onto your side.
- Winning A Game – Modern table tennis games are played up to 11 points. Each player is responsible for serving twice consecutively, until 10 – 10 when each player serves once and the winner needs to get to 2 points ahead.
- Winning A Match – There is no official rule regarding how many games result in winning a match. Agree with your opponent before playing, just make your total games an Odd number (1, 3, 5, 7 etc.) so you don’t accidentally draw!
Serving
- Toss The Ball – When it is your turn to serve, you must throw the ball straight upwards at least 6 inches. It must always be above and behind the edge of the table. You can only hit the ball once it starts dropping.
- Serve Anywhere – When playing a singles match (1v1), you can serve anywhere on the table. If you’re playing doubles (2v2) this is slightly limited as you must serve diagonally.
A more complete set of rules when playing Table Tennis can be found on the Table Tennis England website.
What to Wear
Before you start playing, you might be curious about the social ‘norms’ for what to wear when playing table tennis. Fortunately, you don’t have much to worry about.
Most players will wear a simple sports top / t-shirt along with either shorts or a skirt. The only important thing to be conscious of is to avoid wearing white. This is because the ball is white and white clothing can make it difficult for your opponent to see the ball.
Shoes are perhaps the most important part of your table tennis outfit. As the movements required are short, sharp side-to-side steps, it’s critical you wear shoes that are:
- Grippy
- Supportive
- Non-Marking Soles
How to Hold Your Racket (Bat)
The grip here is what's called the 'shakehand' grip (there are others, this is the most common).
To properly execute a shakehand grip, you must first press your thumb against the slope present at the top of the handle.
The slope in the handle (circled above) is designed to fix the thumb in place.
The index finger should rest straight on the other side of the racket, like so:
To have an efficient shakehand grip, your grip should be loose and you should apply the pressure to hold the racket with your thumb and index, while the middle, ring, and pinky fingers should be completely relaxed.
Holding the racket with your thumb and index frees your wrist and provides better feeling on the ball. If you grip the racket too tightly, you’ll have no touch on the ball, and your wrist will be locked, hindering spin generation.
Your grip may have slight variations, though nothing too radical. It’s fine to raise both your index or thumb finger a bit if that’s more comfortable to you.