Table tennis words · Beginner
The words you will hear in your first match, grouped the way you meet them.
B · Beginner · 41 words · Step 1 of 2Scoring terms
Point
A rally whose result is scored. A player scores when the opponent fails to make a correct serve or return, hits the ball into the net, lets it pass their court without touching it, obstructs it, or breaks one of the other Laws.
See also: Rally
Game
Won by the first player or pair to 11 points. If both reach 10, the game goes on until one leads by two points.
Also called: set
Match
The full contest, the best of any odd number of games. Five and seven are the usual lengths.
Deuce
A score of 10-10. From there a player must win by two points, and each player serves for only one point at a time.
Serving terms
Serve
Starts every rally. The ball rests on the server's open, still free hand and is thrown near vertically upward without spin, rising at least 16 cm. It is struck as it falls, so that it touches the server's court and then the receiver's court. It must stay above table level and behind the end line, in view of the receiver.
Service alternation
Players or pairs change the serve after every two points. At 10-10, and under the expedite system, each serves for one point at a time.
See also: Expedite system
Let
A rally whose result is not scored and which is played again. It happens, for example, when a serve touches the net but is otherwise correct, when the serve is delivered before the receiver is ready, or when a disturbance outside the players' control interrupts play.
Table and equipment terms
Table
The playing surface is 2.74 m long, 1.525 m wide and 76 cm above the floor. It is dark and matt with white lines, and is divided into two courts by the net. For doubles, a white centre line, 3 mm wide, splits each court in half.
See also: Doubles
Racket
The equipment used to hit the ball. The blade is flat and rigid, with at least 85% natural wood, and each hitting side is covered with rubber, one side black and the other a bright colour.
Rubber
The covering on the blade. It is either ordinary pimpled rubber with the pimples outward or sandwich rubber, which has a layer of sponge under it. Their thickness is limited, and the covering may not be treated physically or chemically.
Edge ball
A ball that touches the top edge of the table. It is a good shot, because the playing surface is the top of the table. A ball that hits the vertical side of the table is not.
See also: Table
End line
The white line, 2 cm wide, along each short edge of the table. It is treated as extending indefinitely both ways, and the server must keep the ball behind it when serving.
Ball
A plastic ball, 40 mm across and weighing 2.7 g. It is white or orange and matt.
Shot types
Forehand
A shot hit on the same side as your dominant hand.
Backhand
A shot hit on the opposite side of your dominant hand, usually across the body.
Push
A soft, controlled shot with backspin, often used to keep the ball low and return serves safely.
See also: Backspin
Loop
A fast, aggressive shot hit with heavy topspin, making the ball dip down quickly, one of the most common attacking shots.
See also: Topspin
Drive
A flatter, faster shot with little spin, hit hard and directly to attack the ball.
Smash
A powerful, often game-ending shot hit with maximum force, usually against a high or weak return.
Chop
A defensive shot hit with heavy backspin, usually played far from the table to slow the point down.
Flick
A quick wrist shot used to attack a short ball near the net that can't be looped or driven.
Also called: flip
Block
A short, simple shot used to redirect a powerful attack back with minimal swing, relying on the opponent's own speed.
Spin terms
Topspin
Forward spin on the ball that makes it dip downward and bounce forward quickly after landing.
Backspin
Spin that makes the ball float and then bounce backward or stay low, common in pushes and chops.
Also called: underspin
Sidespin
Spin that curves the ball sideways in the air and off the bounce, often used to deceive opponents.
No-spin
A ball hit with little to no spin, which can be tricky to read since it doesn't behave like a spinning shot.
Also called: dead ball
Outcomes and match format
Winner
A shot so good the opponent cannot return it, ending the point outright.
Unforced error
A mistake made without much pressure from the opponent, essentially a self-inflicted error.
Rally
The period during which the ball is in play, from the moment it leaves the server's hand until the rally is decided as a point or a let.
See also: Server
Singles
A match with one player per side.
Doubles
A match with two players on each side. The server serves to the diagonal half-court, and the players must hit the ball in turn: server, receiver, server's partner, receiver's partner.
See also: Server
The ruleWhat are the rules for doubles in table tennis?Penhold
The two main ways of holding the paddle, penhold (gripped like a pen) and shakehand (gripped like shaking a hand), each affecting playing style.
Umpire
The person appointed to control a match. An assistant umpire helps with certain decisions, such as whether a serve is legal.
Toss
The choice of who serves or receives first, or which end to start at, is decided by lot. The winner may choose one; the other side takes the remaining choice.
See also: Winner
Change of ends
Players swap ends after each game, and in the last possible game of a match when one side first reaches five points.
Interval
A break of up to one minute between games. Players may also take a brief break to towel off after every six points in a game.