The Rules of Ping Pong

Learning to play ping pong is a lot easier than you think. There are many technical aspects to the game, such as ball and table dimensions. However, there are really only a few simple rules that comprise the meat of the game.

Scoring

First off, regardless of how you play, you should know how to keep score during the game. It is fairly simple; matches consist of five games, and the first player to score 11 wins each game, but the winner must win by two points. An common dispute that occurs during a game is that of who is going to serve and how often. The official rules of ping pong specify that each player serves two points in a row and then switches. However, when the score reaches 10-10, the serving player changes with every point scored.

Serving

Another thing to consider is just how to serve. There are two types of serves, the legal serve and the let serve. The only difference between the two is that a let serve is when a legal serve hits the net.

Technical aspects

For official matches, there are certain specifications to which the equipment used for the match must conform. The paddles must have a red side and a black side. The ball is either orange or white and 40 mm in size. The table is 2.74 meters long, 1.525 m wide and 0.76 m high. Those are among some of the basic equipment requirements for an official match.

When you are going to play with people who are just looking for a good time, you can ignore the technical requirements. The rules of scoring and how to serve are easily observed outside the professional setting.