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A player serves the ball during a table tennis match. | |
Singles Match | In a singles table tennis match, you do not have to serve the ball diagonally. You are free to serve on any part of the table as long as the ball touches the servers side of the table first. |
Doubles Match | In a doubles table tennis match, you must serve diagonally at the start of the match. |
In Table Tennis, the serve is the action in which the game begins. One player puts the ball in motion on the table for their opponent to respond by returning the ball with their paddle. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has restructured the serving rules for Table Tennis many times since the game's conception to ensure fair play between the competitors.
There are no rules stating that the ball must be served diagonally (from one side of the center dividing line to the other) in a single match. However, the ball must be served diagonally in a doubles match (a match between two teams of two players each).
The serving rules for Table Tennis are very simple. Let's run through them quickly!