Serving behind the table
Rules
Prabhat nag Asked 10 years ago
Is it OK to serve from over the table? Also I have seen some of my friends tap their feet while serving why do they do that?
Alois Rosario Answered 10 years ago
Hi Prabhat,
The ball has to be behind the end line when you hit it for the serve. If you hit it when it is over the table you lose the point.
One thing players do often get confused about is that you can also be behind the extension of the end line. So you don't need to be directly behind.
Players sometimes tap their feet as part of their serving action as they then move to the next ball.
Recommended Video
Doubles Serving Rules
In this video we go over the somewhat complicated rules of serving for doubles in table tennis. There are a couple of extra rules for doubles that you don't apply to singles. In doubles you always serve from the right hand box diagonally to your opponent's right hand box. Each player has 2 serves each. If you've just been receiving then it's your turn to serve next.
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Prabhat nag Posted 10 years ago
Thank you for your quick reply. Appreciated!
Also do you have any video from where we can learn this tapping action?
No we don't have a video on it. It is not something that you need to do but is more something that happens with your action sometimes.
Arjan van Luttikhuizen Posted 10 years ago
Alois, what would you say about a person who tosses the ball from 5-10 cm in front of the end line? They toss the ball fairly high and fairly straight, only slightly backwards so the contact point is always behind the end line. Is this a legal serve?
Hi Arjan,
The rule states that it needs to be behind the end line from the start of the service so it would be a fault.