Table Tennis Rules: How Scoring Works

Table tennis scoring is simple. What trips people up is the serve: it changes hands often, and at 10-10 even more often. This article is based on the rules of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

How points and games are counted

The winner of every rally scores a point, whoever served.

• A game goes to 11 points.
• You must win by two. At 10-10 you keep playing until one player leads by two. There is no cap.
• A match is an odd number of games, in practice best of 5 or best of 7. The competition decides which.

The rules never use the word "deuce". They just say that from 10-10 the first player to lead by two wins.

Serving

There is a toss before the match. The winner chooses to serve, to receive or an end, and the other player gets what is left.

• The serve changes every two points.
• From 10-10 each player serves just one point and you alternate after every rally.
• Whoever served first in a game receives first in the next one.

The serve itself has clear rules:

1. The ball rests on the open, flat palm of your free hand, which stays still.
2. You throw it up almost vertically, at least 16 cm, without spin.
3. You hit it on the way down. It must bounce on your half of the table first, then on your opponent's.
4. At the moment of the serve the ball is above table level and behind the end line. Your free hand stays out of the space between the ball and the net.
5. You must not hide the serve from the receiver.

In doubles you serve diagonally, from the right half of the table to your opponents' right half.

Changing ends

You change ends after every game. In the last possible game (the fifth of a best-of-five, say) you change once more as soon as the first player reaches 5 points.

The expedite rule

If a game has lasted 10 minutes (or both players agree to it), the expedite rule can be introduced. It does not apply once at least 18 points have been scored. Each player then serves one point at a time, and the receiver wins the rally by making 13 good returns. Once introduced, it stays in force for the rest of the match.

Disputed situations

1. The ball hits the edge of the table. A ball that touches the top edge of the playing surface is good. If it hits the vertical side, that is not the playing surface, and the player who hit the ball loses the point.
2. Touching the net during a rally. A ball that brushes the net and goes over is good. If you touch the net or its posts (hand, racket or clothing), you lose the point.
3. The serve hits the net. If it is otherwise correct, it is a let and the serve is replayed. If the ball lands out, the receiver gets the point.
4. Free hand on the table. Touch the playing surface with your free hand and the point is gone. Same if you move the table.
5. Deliberate double hit. Deliberately hitting the ball more than once in a row costs you the point.

Other sports

If you play other racket or paddle sports, have a look at the rules of badminton or the rules of pickleball.