Rules
when the ball leaves your hand on a serve and you catch it or let the ball fall to the ground, is that legal?
Hi Mike,
In Table Tennis, once the ball leaves your hand it is in play. If you catch it or let it fall to the ground then that is a fault. This is different from Tennis.
The service rules in Table Tennis are quite complex but here are the main ones you should try and follow:
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✅ What the ITTF rules say about hiding your serve
✅ Why hidden serves are illegal and how umpires enforce the rule
✅ What you can (and can’t) do when serving in a match
Mastering a legal serve is key to fair play and improving your game. Watch now to make sure you’re not unintentionally breaking the rules! 🏓
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James Goulding Posted 14 years ago
Hi,
I would like to ask an additional question based on the rules of serve listed in the answer of this question...
When serving, does the server HAVE to hit the ball as the ball is on the downward motion after reaching the height of at least 16cm? Or can the server hit the ball when it is in its upward motion (prior to, or after it has reached the 16cm height limit)? And if they do, would this be classed as a fault, or illegal serve, awarding a point to the receiver? Or would it be a let (re-serve), or would play be allowed to continue with no foul?
Many thanks,
James
Leslie Yin Posted 14 years ago
The ball has to be coming down before you can hit it when serving. If they serve a fault, things get a little hazy regarding the umpire's call. In the professional circuit, many umpires call lets for questionable serves but at other times I've seen them call faults without any prior warning. I guess it just depends on the leniency on the umpire and how dodgy the serve is.
In my experiences at club level, people get away with many questionable serves and if they are called out, they're usually not serious enough and call it a let.