Ping Pong Rules

Yes, ping pong rules, dude. These are the rules for playing it.

Basement athletes will be pleased to know that ping pong - or as it is known in professional circles, table tennis - actually began as an amateur home game. Britons in the late 19th century would rig up miniature home tennis games using any materials at hand, including books, string, cigar boxes, and champagne corks. The evolution from champagne pong to today's beer pong is thus an official one. However, along with real tables, there are now actual rules in place for playing ping pong.

Ping Pong equipment

Official ping pong rules state that a ping pong ball should be orange or white in color, weigh 2.7 grams, measure 40 mm in diameter, and be hollow and made from celluloid. A ping pong table is to measure 9 feet long by 5 feet wide by 2 1/2 feet high, and the playing surface divided in half by a 6 inch high net. Ping pong paddles are usually 6 inches across and made from rubber coated plywood. Ping pong paddles must have different colors on each side, usually red and black.

Ping Pong play

In competitive table tennis, choice of service is decided by a coin toss. Games are played to eleven points, and set winners determined by the best 3 out of 5, 4 of 7, or 5 of 9 games. Recreational ping pong games still generally follow the older 21-point game format.

Play begins with the server standing behind the end of the table and tossing the ball at least six inches into the air and serving. A serve must strike both the server's end of the table and their opponent's side.

During play, each player must allow the ball to strike his side of the table first before returning it. On returns, unlike serves, a player strikes the ball so that it will bounce on the opponent's end of the table only and not their own. Play continues until a point is awarded. The serve switches sides after every two points are played. If a game is scored 11-10 or 21-20, play continues until one player earns a two-point lead.

Ping Pong points

Points are awarded to an opponent in ping pong for the following errors:

letting the ball bounce twice on your side of the table

not hitting the ball after it's bounced on your side

returning the ball so that it bounces on your side first

hitting the ball twice (this includes your hands and/or body)

missing your opponent's end of the table with your return

not letting the ball bounce on your side before hitting it

putting your free hand on the table or moving the table

On serves, the rules are:

a serve that strikes the net and lands on the opponent's side is a let and is redone

a serve that strikes the net and lands on the server's side is the opponent's point

missing the ball after a service toss is the opponent's point

an illegal serve (a toss lower than 6 inches or hiding the ball) is an opponent's point

Should these rules prove too complicated, you can always resort to the USA Table Tennis unofficial basement rules (http://www.usatt.org/rules/basementRules.html), which return ping pong to the game's original and authentic form with such rules as item 2.1 regarding the net:

"In the event there is no net available for the table, one may be constructed out of close by miscellaneous items such as beer cans, books, or paper towels strung together by rubber bands."

More information on ping pong