Today we are going to teach you How to play table tennis? So if you have an interest and want to learn how to play table tennis. Do read the full article and for more such content regularly visit our website and share our content.
Ping-pong, often known as table tennis, is a fun sport that may be played by two or four people. Ping pong at the professional level is definitely a sight to behold; even leisure players can become highly talented rather rapidly. This article explains the fundamentals of ping-pong as well as winning strategies.
So following are the steps to learn table tennis.
How to play a game
Find someone to play with
You should definitely start by playing someone with a skill level similar to yours or slightly higher, and preferably someone who isn’t overly competitive. You’ll have more pleasure learning how to play this way. You can play one-on-one or in doubles, which involves two teams of two players. If you don’t have any, you’ll want someone who has proper ping pong balls, paddles, and a table!
If you have the hand-eye coordination of a three-legged, blind dog, you should start practicing against a wall and learning how to use the ball and paddle together. For the record, it’s best on a table against the wall.
You wish to play or practice with orange or white celluloid or plastic balls that are 40 mm in diameter. The table should be 2.74 meters long (9.0 feet), 1.525 meters wide (5.0 feet), and 0.76 meters tall (2.5 feet). Paddles for ping pong do not have a standard size. Small paddles are difficult to control, and larger paddles are too heavy and bulky. However, competitive paddles must be constructed of wood and rubber, and they must have two colors (red and black).
Know how to grip the racquet
The pen grip (penhold) and the shakehand grip are the two most popular ways to hold the paddle. It’s crucial to hold the paddle loosely no matter how you hold it to allow your wrist to move freely. Ask a friend to pull the paddle out of your hands while you’re holding it to determine if you’re holding it too loosely. If you tighten your fist around the handle, the majority of the force for returns will come from your arm, not your wrist, and you will be less accurate. Neither grip is rocket science.
With the pen grip, you hold your paddle in the same way you would a pen. [3] To use the shakehand grip, place your hand on the paddle’s handle and wrap your fingers loosely around it as if shaking hands with it. The most important thing is to do what comes naturally to you.
Decide who serves first
The right to select whether to serve first is determined “by lot” (i.e. flipping a coin or drawing straws, etc.) according to the official International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rules. With the winner choosing either whether to serve first or which side he or she wants. If the winner gets to select whether to serve or receive. The opposing player or team gets to pick which side of the table they want to play on, and vice versa.
The first person to serve in most recreational ping-pong games is determined by a player stepping behind the table and placing the ball in their left or right hand. Then they ask the opponent to guess whose hand the ball is in and if they are correct. They get to serve first.
Serve the ball
The ball should be flung vertically out of your free hand from behind the end line for at least 16 cm (6 in). Then hit with the paddle such that it first strikes your side of the table. Then goes over the net and hits your opponent’s side.
When playing singles, the server can serve to any position on the opponent’s side of the table. And the opponent must return the serve. If you’re playing doubles, the serve is cycled between you and your partner. Starting with the person on the right, the ball must bounce first on your side. The table’s right half before being sent cross-court to your opponent’s side.
For every two points, the serve changes sides. After two points have been awarded, your opponent — or, in doubles. The opposing team member who is cross-court from the server — is given the opportunity to serve. The original server (or, in doubles, his partner) serves after two additional points are awarded.
The serve is a “let” if the ball touches the net on an otherwise valid serve, and the serve is repeated with no points scored. While many recreational players award the point to the player on the other side of the server after two consecutive lets. In table tennis, there is no limit to the number of lets that can be served. Points are never awarded on lets.
While many recreational players play so that the person who is losing is the server on game point. Service actually continues to alternate every two serves as usual until the game ends or a deuce score of 10-10 is reached. At a game point or match point, you can lose on your opponent’s serve or due to a service error resulting in a fault on your serve.
Return the ball
The ball may be returned over or around the net to any point on the opponent’s side of the table after a serve or return. After the ball bounces once on your side, but before it bounces twice or touches the floor or any object off the table, it must be returned.
The ball is still in play and your opponent must return it if it strikes the net on a return but then goes over the net and hits your opponent’s side.
Score points
Each rally that does not end in a let earns a point, regardless of who served. Either opponent can gain a point. The gist of it is as follows:
The receiving opponent or team wins a point if your serve falls into the net. Goes off the table without reaching the opponent’s side. Or (in doubles) strikes the wrong half of the opponent’s side.
A point is awarded to your opponent if you do not make a legal return (as indicated above — the ball goes into the net or does not contact your opponent’s side of the table).
A point is scored to your opponent if you receive a valid serve or return and hit the ball with your paddle more than once or touch the ball with your body. Even if the ball strikes you or you grab it after it crosses the end of the table. You still get the point if your opponent’s serve or return does not hit your side of the table.
Your opponent receives a point if you move the table or touch it with your free hand.
Win the game
Many players like to play to a score of 21 or 15 (with the server rotating every 5 points), which is good for casual play. However, according to the formal rules, state play is limited to 11 points (alternating server every 2 points). To win, one must be two points ahead of the competition. If the players or teams are tied at 10-10 or 20-20, the standard order of service is followed, but the serve alternates sides every point rather than every two points.
Play again
In sanctioned competition, the person or team who wins three out of five games wins the match. After each game, the participants exchange sides, and they also switch sides in the fifth game (if one is required) when one individual or team scores five points.
Each game also has a different team or player serving first. In general, things remain as consistent as feasible. There should be no advantage given to one player over the other.
Developing a skill
Practice consistently
With constant practice, you can quickly improve your ping-pong skills. Keeping your focus on the ball, acquiring a feel for proper timing, and keeping the ball low are the most crucial things to do at first.
You should make a conscious effort to follow the ball with your eyes from the moment it is served until it strikes your paddle, and so on, starting the first time you take up a paddle.
Your timing will improve with practice — you just have to get used to it — but listening to the ball as well as seeing it intently can assist.
Keeping the ball low and out of the net is probably the most difficult technique for novices to learn. Because a high ball can be readily bashed down by your opponent, it’s also one of the most important. Keep your paddle as horizontal as possible while imparting energy to the ball and aiming it with your wrist. The easier it is to keep the ball down, the faster it is traveling.
Develop a strong backhand and forehand
If you want to develop successfully at table tennis, you’ll need to be able to strike the ball from both sides of your body, and switching hands isn’t always practical, so get acquainted with both your forehand and backhand shots.
Learn to put a spin on the ball
This is accomplished by flicking the wrist from side to side or up and down when the ball is struck. Put your own spin on the ball to counter-spin it. If you have some free time, try practicing this against a wall to see what works best for you.
Consider slicing the ball by undercutting the bottom side as it descends toward you. The ball will spin, slow down, and be thrown on a new trajectory as a result of this. Experiment with your forehand and backhand strokes to see what you can come up with.
Smash balls that your opponent hits high
Smashing (also known as slamming or spiking) the ball requires striking it with sufficient force to make it unreturnable. A smash is a formidable weapon, but it can be tough to use correctly at first, and your smashes may end up in the net or well off the opposite side of the table. But don’t be afraid to try them again. You’ll figure it out eventually.
This is a sport that is comparable to volleyball. It’s nearly impossible for your opponent to keep the ball in play once you slam, smash, or spike it. When you master this skill, it will be one of your most used — and one of the most annoying for your opponent.
Develop a killer serve
When you’re up against stronger players, a fast serve or a serve with a lot of spin can be the difference between winning and losing. You’ll be lucky to get a paddle on your opponent’s return if you give him an easy serve. An easy serve allows him to warm up before slamming you with a slam you won’t see coming.
As you rise through the ranks, speed is crucial, but you must also retain your aim and precision. You’ll be able to forecast where the ball will travel and how it will behave with each strike as you improve.
Outmaneuver your opponent
Even if you’re hitting the ball hard, you can’t expect your opponent to make mistakes as your competition improves. You must take control of the game and make your opponent. Roam around the table a lot in order to force blunders. You might be able to keep your opponent from receiving the ball. If you can hit one shot off the right side and then swiftly hit another one off the left side. Tricks like imitating a slam and then dunking the ball, or getting into a right-left pattern and then hitting two or three consecutive shots to the right. Can throw your opponent off guard and set you up for a slam.
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