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Table Tennis, The Basics Of Table Tennis
by M. Xavier
Table tennis is an Olympic racket sport where two players, or two teams of two players, hit the table tennis ball back and forth, across the net on a table, with wooden paddles. The manner of play is similar to that of tennis, hence the name. The playing surface is a table, 30 inches above the ground that is approximately 9 feet long and five feet wide. A six-inch high net divides the table in half. The table tennis ball has a diameter of 40 mm, is made of celluloid, and is hollow. This article will discuss a few basic elements of table tennis, scoring, rules, and basic strokes.
Official table tennis rules mandate table tennis matches consist of either a best of five or a best of seven series of games played to 11 points. The first player to reach 11 points with a margin of two wins the game. In a best-of-five match, the first player to win three games wins the match. In a best-of-seven match, the first player to win four games wins the match. In the 11-point game format, players alternate serves every two points. If the game reaches a score of 10-10, players alternate serve every point until one player achieves a margin of two points. Historically, a standard game of table tennis was played to 21 points with players alternating serve every five points. This method remains the preferred method for recreational table tennis players.
To start each point, the server tosses the ball, from an open palm, at least 6 inches into the air. The server strikes the ball with the paddle so that the ball bounces on his side of the table before bouncing on his opponent's side. A table tennis player wins a point by hitting a shot that strikes the table and is not returned by the opponent. A table tennis player loses a point if he fails to return his opponent's shot, allows the ball to bounce more than once on his side of the net, fails to hit the table with his shot, hits the ball twice, places his hand on the table, hits the ball before it bounces on his side of the table, or fails to execute a legal table tennis serve.
Table tennis players have many strokes at their disposal. Offensive table tennis strokes include the speed drive, loop drive, and smash. A speed drive is a shot hit with a square racket face swung parallel to the table that results in a hard, flat shot. A loop drive is a shot hit with a closed racket face swung nearly perpendicular to the table. The loop drive in table tennis is comparable to a groundstroke in tennis hit with a large amount of topspin. The smash is an extremely offensive shot that involves swinging the racket down on a high bouncing ball to generate a large amount of speed. Defensive table tennis strokes include the chop and the block. The chop is table tennis's version of the slice. Table tennis players execute the chop by swinging the paddle from high to low with an open racket face imparting backspin. Finally, the block is a simple stroke used to counter attacking shots. To execute the block, table tennis players simply place the paddle behind the approaching ball and allow the ball to hit the paddle. Players must strategically employ a mixture of offensive and defensive shots to win a game of table tennis.
About The Author: For more information on tennis try visiting http://www.TennisQuestions.com, a website that specializes in providing tennis related tips, advice and resources to include information on the best tennis court.
These articles on lifestyle and more
Return to the selection of table tennis
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You may want to try these websites for additional information
http://tabletennis.about.com/
http://www.ittf.com/museum/
http://www.totaltabletennis.com/
The information provided in this article is the express opinion of the author. Exchangenet is not responsible for the content!
Table tennis is an Olympic racket sport where two players, or two teams of two players, hit the table tennis ball back and forth, across the net on a table, with wooden paddles. The manner of play is similar to that of tennis, hence the name. The playing surface is a table, 30 inches above the ground that is approximately 9 feet long and five feet wide. A six-inch high net divides the table in half. The table tennis ball has a diameter of 40 mm, is made of celluloid, and is hollow. This article will discuss a few basic elements of table tennis, scoring, rules, and basic strokes.
Official table tennis rules mandate table tennis matches consist of either a best of five or a best of seven series of games played to 11 points. The first player to reach 11 points with a margin of two wins the game. In a best-of-five match, the first player to win three games wins the match. In a best-of-seven match, the first player to win four games wins the match. In the 11-point game format, players alternate serves every two points. If the game reaches a score of 10-10, players alternate serve every point until one player achieves a margin of two points. Historically, a standard game of table tennis was played to 21 points with players alternating serve every five points. This method remains the preferred method for recreational table tennis players.
To start each point, the server tosses the ball, from an open palm, at least 6 inches into the air. The server strikes the ball with the paddle so that the ball bounces on his side of the table before bouncing on his opponent's side. A table tennis player wins a point by hitting a shot that strikes the table and is not returned by the opponent. A table tennis player loses a point if he fails to return his opponent's shot, allows the ball to bounce more than once on his side of the net, fails to hit the table with his shot, hits the ball twice, places his hand on the table, hits the ball before it bounces on his side of the table, or fails to execute a legal table tennis serve.
Table tennis players have many strokes at their disposal. Offensive table tennis strokes include the speed drive, loop drive, and smash. A speed drive is a shot hit with a square racket face swung parallel to the table that results in a hard, flat shot. A loop drive is a shot hit with a closed racket face swung nearly perpendicular to the table. The loop drive in table tennis is comparable to a groundstroke in tennis hit with a large amount of topspin. The smash is an extremely offensive shot that involves swinging the racket down on a high bouncing ball to generate a large amount of speed. Defensive table tennis strokes include the chop and the block. The chop is table tennis's version of the slice. Table tennis players execute the chop by swinging the paddle from high to low with an open racket face imparting backspin. Finally, the block is a simple stroke used to counter attacking shots. To execute the block, table tennis players simply place the paddle behind the approaching ball and allow the ball to hit the paddle. Players must strategically employ a mixture of offensive and defensive shots to win a game of table tennis.
About The Author: For more information on tennis try visiting http://www.TennisQuestions.com, a website that specializes in providing tennis related tips, advice and resources to include information on the best tennis court.
These articles on lifestyle and more
Reprint this article free of charge as long as you keep the author's resource box or bio intact and the links active. A copy of the ezine or URL of the page where the article was reprinted emailed to the author would be very much appreciated. table tennis
Return to the selection of table tennis
You may want to try these articles on table tennis
Table Tennis, Table Tennis Training — Pushing Yourself Further In The Amazing Game Of Ping Pong by Mario R. Churchill Approximately 741 Words
Table Tennis, Table Tennis by Graeme Ramsey Approximately 360 Words
Table Tennis, Table Tennis Dvds, Great Entertainment You Can Watch For Hours by Mario Churchill Approximately 583 Words
Table Tennis, Table Tennis Dvd, Getting Your Daily Table Tennis Fix From Your Tv by Mario Churchill Approximately 579 Words
Table Tennis, The Origin And Evolution Of Table Tennis by Mario Churchill Approximately 575 Words
Table Tennis, The Rudimentary Basics Of Ping Pong by Mario R. Churchill Approximately 620 Words
Table Tennis, Using A Video To Learn Table Tennis by Mario C Churchill Approximately 647 Words
You may want to try these websites for additional information
http://tabletennis.about.com/
http://www.ittf.com/museum/
http://www.totaltabletennis.com/
The information provided in this article is the express opinion of the author. Exchangenet is not responsible for the content!
