The Laws of Table Tennis, summarized for tournament directors

What the current Laws say about equipment, service and scoring, with notes on how each rule affects the way you run an event. This is a summary, not the official text.

One-page cheat sheet (printable)

Table and net

Ball

Spherical, 40 mm diameter, 2.7 g, plastic, matt, white or orange. In regulated competitions the ball must be of a brand and type currently approved by the ITTF. For quality notes, see the equipment guide.

Racket

• Any size, shape or weight, but the blade is flat and rigid.
• At least 85% of the blade by thickness is natural wood. An adhesive layer may be reinforced with fibrous material such as carbon fiber, no thicker than 7.5% of the total or 0.35 mm, whichever is smaller.
• Covering: ordinary pimpled rubber (pimples out) with total thickness including adhesive under 2.05 mm, or sandwich rubber, either way round, under 4.05 mm in total, with the pimpled outer layer no thicker than 2.0 mm.
• The surface is matt, black on one side and a bright color clearly distinguishable from black and from the ball color on the other.
• The covering must be used without any physical, chemical or other treatment. This is the rule that bans speed glue.
• Players show their racket to the opponent and umpire before a match and whenever they change it. In regulated competitions a racket cannot be changed during a match unless it is accidentally damaged so badly it cannot be used. Coverings must be of a brand and type authorized by the ITTF.

Service

1. The ball rests freely on the open palm of the server’s stationary free hand.
2. The server projects the ball near vertically upward, without spin, so that it rises at least 16 cm after leaving the palm and then falls without touching anything before it is struck.
3. As it falls, the server strikes it so it touches the server’s court first and then the receiver’s court directly. In doubles, it touches the right half-court of the server and then of the receiver.
4. From the start of service until it is struck, the ball is above the level of the playing surface and behind the server’s end line, and it is not hidden from the receiver by the server, the doubles partner, or anything they wear or carry.
5. As soon as the ball is projected, the free arm and hand are removed from the space between the ball and the net.

The player is responsible for serving so that the umpire can be satisfied the service is legal. If the umpire is not sure on the first occasion in a match, he or she may warn the server. Any later service that is not clearly legal is a fault. The umpire may relax the requirements for a legal service where a physical disability prevents compliance.

The rally and order of play

The ball, once served or returned, must be struck so it touches the opponent’s court, either directly or after touching the net assembly. In singles, server and receiver alternate. In doubles, the order is server, receiver, server’s partner, receiver’s partner, and so on. Special rules apply to wheelchair players.

When a point is scored

Unless the rally is a let, a player scores a point when the opponent:

• fails to make a correct service or a correct return;
• obstructs the ball, or strikes it twice in a row deliberately;
• touches the net assembly with the body or anything worn or carried, or moves the playing surface;
• touches the playing surface with the free hand;
• strikes the ball with a racket side that does not comply with the equipment rules;
• in doubles, strikes the ball out of sequence.

A point also occurs when the ball, after being struck by an opponent, passes over your court or beyond your end line without touching your court, or passes through the net or between the net and the post or the table. A point is also scored if the ball touches anything other than the net assembly before being struck by the opponent.

Lets

The rally is a let, and is replayed, if:

• in service the ball touches the net assembly, provided the service is otherwise correct, or the ball is obstructed by the receiver or partner;
• the service is delivered when the receiver is not ready, and neither receiver nor partner attempts to strike the ball;
• a failure to serve, return or comply with the Laws is due to a disturbance outside the player’s control;
• play is interrupted by the umpire or assistant umpire.

The umpire may interrupt play to correct an error in the order of serving, receiving or ends, to introduce the expedite system, to warn or penalize a player or adviser, or because conditions are disturbed in a way that could affect the rally.

Games and matches

A game is won by the first player or pair to score 11 points, unless both reach 10, when the first to lead by two wins. A match is the best of any odd number of games. This is what allows a best-of-three in early rounds and a best-of-five in semifinals and finals.

Serving, receiving and ends

• The initial choice is decided by lot, and the winner may choose to serve, to receive, or to start at a particular end. The other player gets the other choice.
• Service changes after every two points, and after every point once the score reaches 10–10 (or under the expedite system).
• The player who served first in a game receives first in the next game.
• Players change ends after each game, and in the last possible game when one player or pair first reaches 5 points.
• In doubles, at each change of service the previous receiver becomes the server and the partner of the previous server becomes the receiver. In the last possible game, the receiving pair changes its receiving order when one pair first scores 5.
• If a player serves or receives out of turn, or the players have not changed ends, play stops as soon as the error is found and resumes with the correct order at the score reached. Points already scored stand.

Expedite system

Begins after 10 minutes in a game, or at any time if both players ask, unless at least 18 points have been scored in that game. Each player then serves one point at a time, and if the receiver makes 13 correct returns in a rally, the receiver scores. Once introduced, it applies until the end of the match.

Regulations that are not in the Laws

These matter at the table but come from ITTF regulations, which differ in detail between competitions and countries. Treat them as the typical defaults and confirm them.

Our umpiring guide explains how to apply these rules in practice, and the disputes guide covers policies you should publish.