Bouncing the ball before serving

Hi Alois,

After watching countless matches on YouTube, I can see that practically all of the players bounce the ball on the table a few times before they serve. They also bounce it on their racket sometimes.

Obviously this must be allowed but what is the point in doing doing it?

Thanks in advance,

Sam

Hi Sam,

This is just a habit or a routine that they get into to gather their thoughts before each point.  Usually you will find that a player will go through the exact same routine each time, with the same number of bounces.