Is this a legal return?

Hi Alois,

The net assembly is only protruding a short distance from the centre of the table..., what if I return a ball from quite far off the table without clear visibility whether the ball is below the net or should be above the net during the trajectory of the ball, and the ball finally came to the top of opponent's table.  Is the ball considered a good return which keeps the point in play?  Thank you....

Hi Lionel,

What you describe is a legal shot and is usually a very good shot. As you pointed out, the ball does not even have to be above net height at any point. If you play such a shot perfectly then the ball can simply "roll" onto the table making it impossible to return. You don't see this stroke very often because the ball has to be hit quite wide for it to be possible. Generally this happens in loop to loop rallies where one player will hook the ball out wide and the other player will let the ball drop quite low and then hit the ball around the net.