Ping Pong Rules: Everything You Need to Know!

Last Updated on April 24, 2024 by Alex Horscroft

For many, scoring in table tennis is simple, but there are lots of rules out there that many casual players are unaware of. I’m even surprised by how many veterans don’t know some of the basic rules!

Today I’m going to cover all of the main ping pong rules in a clear, and easy-to-understand way. Hopefully, this will help put to bed arguments about your playing partners unknowingly cheating or enforcing table tennis rules that simply don’t exist!

Ping Pong Scoring Rules

All games are played up to 11 points. You must have a 2-point clearance to win.
If the score reaches 10-10 the winner is decided by the player who first achieves a 2-point lead e.g. 13-11.
Matches are played best of 3, 5, or 7 games. That being said, best of 5 games is standard.
If a match goes down to the penultimate game, the players swap ends at 5-5.

Ping Pong Serving Rules

General

The server changes every 2 points.
At 10-10, the server changes every point.
The first server switches every game.
A fault serve results in a lost point: there are no second serves.
If the ball strikes the net before landing on the opponent’s side of the table the point is replayed.
If the ball strikes the net but doesn’t land on the opponent’s side of the table the server loses the point.

To Do a Legal Ping Pong Serve…

You must begin your serve with the ball in the palm of your hand with the ball uncovered.
Throw the ball upwards in a straight line as best you can. The ball must reach at least 16 cm in height from your hand.
The ball must also be thrown from behind the back line of the table, and not below the table’s surface.
The ball must bounce once on your side of the table, and once on your opponent’s side of the table.
You cannot obscure the ball from your opponent at any time throughout your service.

Brief Commentary

The table tennis serving rules may seem a little restrictive but in all honesty, they are not. They help keep the game fair. Each rule helps prevent exploitation. For instance, having the ball in the palm of your hand prevents you from flicking the ball with your hand to produce spin. And throwing the ball above the table’s surface ensures that your opponent can see it as soon as it is launched.

Fun fact: Table tennis serve rules have changed a bit over time. In the past, players were allowed to hide the ball with their non-playing arm to conceal spin, making serves particularly deadly!

Ping Pong Doubles Rules

Table tennis doubles rules are the same as singles with a few exceptions:

Players alternate between striking the ball. If a team hits the ball out of sequence they lose the point.
Serves are taken from the right section of the court to the opponent’s right, indicated by the central table line.
If a match goes down to the penultimate game, the players swap ends at 5-5, and the receiving player swaps places with their partner

Doubles Serving Sequence

Although doubles serving rules can seem confusing, they are fairly straightforward once you become familiar with them.

The sequence begins with a coin toss. The winning team decides who gets the first serve, and then that team chooses their server. The receiving team, on the other hand, gets to choose the receiver.

As with singles, each player gets two serves. Once you’ve had your two, you swap with your partner. They first receive two serves, and then they get to do their own. The sequence then goes back to you, where you receive two before serving for yourself.

After each game. The first serve swaps to the opposing team and they choose their server. Unlike in the first game, the receivers cannot choose who receives. This is determined by who was not receiving the first server’s serve in the prior game.

If the match goes down to the final game at 5-5 the teams swap ends, and the receiving player swaps with their partner.

What Constitutes a Lost Point?

A failed serve
Failing to return a serve
Hitting a shot into the net
Hitting a shot over the end of the table
Letting the ball bounce twice on your side of the table
Striking the ball before it bounces on your side of the table
Purposely hitting the ball twice in quick succession (double hit)
Putting your non-playing hand on the table
Moving the table or touching the net
Violating any of the serving rules
Hitting the ball in the wrong order during doubles

Debunking the Myths!

“Hitting the ball around the net isn’t allowed!”

Although this might seem like the case this is not true. Hitting the ball around the net is actually one of the funnest and hardest shots to pull off in table tennis.

“I smashed it at your body, point to me, you should have got out of the way”

Hang on there bucko. Looks like you’ve got your sports mixed up. The ball needs to hit the table. You can’t go around hitting the ball at people. Well, you can… but you won’t win any points… or friends.

“Let’s play up to 21, I don’t like playing up to 11”

I feel your pain there chap, I too prefer playing up to 21. Unfortunately, games up to 21 are no more. The ping pong rules for 21 points got rewritten, all games are now played first to 11 points.

“The ball hit your finger, that’s my point!”

Not if the ball lands in it isn’t. Your finger is considered an extension of your racket so all finger shots are legal.

“That’s a double hit. My point.”

In most cases this is incorrect. All accidental double hits are completely legal. So unless you pop the ball up yourself to smash it, double hits are fine.

“You leaned over my side to hit the ball, you can’t do that.”

Leaning over the table to hit the ball is absolutely fine — we aren’t playing badminton.

“The ball came off the post of the net therefore it’s out”

Incorrect. The net post counts as part of the net. So all balls that deflect off of the post are still live.

“What a volley! They don’t call me Roger Federer for nothing!”

Again, wrong sport ya silly sausage! You can’t volley the ball in table tennis, you have to wait for it to bounce!

FAQs

Can I Change Hands While Playing?

There is nothing in the rulebook that forbids it, it’s just switching hands is very difficult so few people try it.

Can I Throw My Racket at the Ball to Make a Shot?

That’s a hard no. It’s not only not allowed, but pretty damn dangerous. You’ll also wreck your precious bat in next to no time.

If Backspin Brings the Ball Back Over My Opponent’s Side and I Hit It In, Do I Win the Point?

You certainly do my friend. This doesn’t happen all that often, but enough at a medium to advanced level that you’ll probably experience it sooner or later if you play often enough.

What Happens if I Lean on the Table Mid-Point?

I’m afraid that means you lost the point. You can’t touch the table with your non-playing hand when the ball is live.

The Ball Hit the Edge, Whose Point Is It?

This depends on the angle it hits the edge. It must make contact with the top section of the edge as this is part of the playing surface. It’s usually easy to tell based on the trajectory of the ball after it makes contact with the edge.

Can I Change Racket Mid-Game?

No, you can only change rackets if your current one is deemed unplayable.

Who Serves First in Table Tennis?

The server in table tennis is decided by a coin flip. The winner chooses whether they would like to serve or receive first. You can also use other random means such as flipping a scoreboard and calling odd or even.

Final Thoughts

So that about wraps up all the main ping pong rules you need to know. It really is a pretty straightforward sport when it comes to the ruleset. It’s just strange how many myths are lurking out there, god only knows how they came about.

If you want to dive a little deeper into the rules of table tennis I recommend you consider checking out the official ping pong rules here. Like all official rulesets, they are pretty damn formal and can be hard to understand for a beginner. Nevertheless, great for referring to if you need to.