April 29, 2022 3 min read

How to Serve in Table Tennis Rules

Serving in table tennis rules are very similar to those of other racket sports, but they also have some unique characteristics which you should take into account. The server must remain behind the baseline until after the ball has been struck, and the ball must be hit before it bounces twice on the server’s side of the table.

In addition, when serving in table tennis rules, you can choose to serve underhand or overhand. If you choose to serve underhand, the ball must hit below your knee; otherwise, it must hit above your shoulder when served overhand in table tennis rules.

Grip your paddle

Having a good grip on your paddle is crucial. It helps with racket control, which is one of those areas where table tennis players can find an advantage over other athletes. If you’re right-handed, use your right hand to hold your paddle and vice versa for lefties.

Be sure that you’re gripping the paddle firmly but not so tightly that it hurts. You want to be able to maintain a firm grasp without straining. Whether or not you choose to play using tape depends on how sweaty your hands are and how you like your equipment feeling—some folks hate playing with tape because it feels too tacky, while others prefer it because they think it helps provide more consistency when gripping and aiming shots.

Place the ball on the paddle

Paddle tennis is a fun, low-cost way to stay active that involves less physical exertion than some other racket sports. Learning how to serve correctly and consistently gives you an advantage over other players because you’ll put them at a disadvantage if they can’t return your serves.

To be able to play table tennis rules properly, it is important that you learn how to hit a good serve. Here are five tips on how you can master serves and win matches

Throw the ball into air with top spin

Try and get as much spin on your serve as possible. Top spin is achieved by lifting your hand above shoulder height, pulling your racket back (to create more room for movement) and flicking it forward quickly with a strong wrist flick.

So, top-spin serves are all about ball speed, but you’ll also need good accuracy if you want to win at table tennis rules. This is because you should aim for a corner of your opponent’s side of the court rather than into their backhand or forehand area. That way, they won’t be able to reach it! Then all you have to do is decide whether you want your serve wide or direct (or maybe even both!)

Use your wrist for accuracy and speed

Learning how to serve fast, accurate and powerful serves is easier than you think. To put your best foot forward when serving in table tennis rules, start by serving underhand. By serving underhand (and not overhand), you’ll gain a better feel for how spin works and how much topspin or underspin you can add on with just a flick of your wrist.

Also, by serving low (instead of high), you’ll have more control over where your serves land; even if it doesn’t look as pretty as an ace serve! Keeping your service consistency high will also help keep rallies going longer without letting your opponent get ahead in points.

Aim for the corner

Your first objective should be to put your opponent on defence. In order to do that, you’ll need a good serve. Rather than worrying about power, however, make sure your aim is precise.

If you can regularly put your opponent on defense by placing serves in corners or at least near a wall, you’ll get into their head and build confidence. That said, make sure your serves are always powerful; if they aren’t powerful enough, then they won’t force your opponent onto defensive mode often enough.

Follow up with angle serves if you missed the corner

If you were unable to get your opponent in a corner, you can use angle serves to change things up. For example, if you served short (into their forehand), follow with an angle serve that goes wide and short into their backhand—so it bounces near their backhand endline, then comes over their head.

This kind of placement forces your opponent to do a lot of moving—back and forth on one side of the table. While they’re scrambling for position, you can set them up for another attack later on by placing serves into either corner or down into one of their forehands.

American Game Zone has an excellent collection of Table Tennis tables. Check it out here.


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