how-to-play-table-tennis

How to play table tennis

Basic Table Tennis Play and Rules

Table tennis is usually played on an 11-point scale, with the first team to score 11 points winning the match. Before the start of the match, both teams decide on the right to serve and the choice of court by tossing a coin. During the match, the serving team must serve the ball in a spinning manner to the right half of the opponent's court, and the receiving team must return the ball to the right half of the opponent's court. If the serving team misses or violates the serving rules, a point will be awarded.

Basic Table Tennis Skills

Grip: There are two main types of grips for table tennis: straight and horizontal. In the straight grip, the handle of the racket is placed between the thumb and forefinger, and the remaining three fingers are bent naturally to hold the handle; in the horizontal grip, the handle of the racket is placed in the palm of the hand, and the remaining fingers are bent naturally to press against the back of the handle.

Basic Standing and Movement: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and body slightly leaning forward to keep the centre of gravity stable. When moving quickly, you need to use small steps, cross steps and parallel steps to adjust your position.

Serving Skills: When serving, you can create different spins (e.g. side spin, top spin or bottom spin) with your wrist movements to make it more difficult for your opponent to receive the ball. In addition, the speed of the serve and the change of landing point are also key. You can disrupt the opponent's rhythm by serving fast or slow.

Receiving Techniques: When facing different kinds of serves, such as side spin, underspin or topspin, different techniques are needed to receive the ball. For example, for a side-spinning ball, you can use a push block; for a downward spinning ball, you can use a chip shot.

Striking skills: These include forehand, backhand, chipping, pulling, pushing and releasing. The forehand shot is more powerful and suitable for attacking; the backhand shot is mostly used for defence or change of pace; chipping reduces the speed of the opponent's return, while pulling uses the explosive power of the wrist to pull the ball quickly over the net.

Table Tennis Equipment Selection

Choosing the right table tennis bats and balls is the key to improving your skills. Table tennis bats can be made of different materials such as carbon or wood, and there are various types of rubbers such as back rubbers, front rubbers and raw rubbers. For table tennis balls, you need to choose a match ball that meets international standards to ensure fairness in practice and matches.

By mastering these basic skills and rules, you can better enjoy table tennis and improve your skills.

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