A Beginner's Guide to Table Tennis  (This page has been inspired by a young girl called Anna)

Benefits of Learning Table Tennis

Table tennis might look like a stationary game without a lot of movement or exercise, but it can be very physical. Players are working their upper and lower legs, arms, abs, lungs, and heart as they play. Gameplay helps to strengthen muscles, moves the joints, and elevates the heart rate. It can also help improve one's hand-eye coordination. All these physical benefits can work together to improve the player's overall quality of life.

Table Tennis Rules

All table tennis games are played to eleven points and a game must be won by two points. In an official table tennis match, the winner takes three out of five individual games.

Players take turns serving, alternating after every two points. The exception to this is if the game is tied ten to ten, in which case the serve alternates with every point.

When serving, the ball is considered in play as soon as it leaves the player's hand. The ball must be held in an open palm and tossed straight up in the air. It must strike the table on the serving side before it is hit to the opponent's side of the table.

When playing singles, the ball can land anywhere on your opponent's side of the table. When playing doubles, the serve must strike on the server's right side and then on the receiver's right side. Partners then switch places once their team serves two times.

When a ball is being served, it cannot touch the net on its way over to the opponent's side. If this happens, it is called a "let" and the player serving is given another chance to serve it. There's no limit on the number of "lets" in a game.

When playing doubles, players on the same side must alternate hitting the ball each time, regardless of where on the table it hits.

Players must let the ball hit the table before making contact between the ball and a player's bat.

If a ball bounces back to your side of the table after striking on your opponent's side without the opponent making contact, it is the point of the player whose side it bounced back to.

Form and Technique

The simplest table tennis stance to hold is to have your feet placed shoulder-width apart with a bend in your knees and the weight focused on the balls of your feet. This stance makes it easier to make swift movements and helps to facilitate the pivots needed to make good shots.

There are four techniques that every table tennis player should know:

Forehand - The most basic table tennis stroke is the forehand drive. Whereas the forehand push is the best to return short balls and is one of the first techniques that every table tennis player must learn.

Backhand - Like the forehand, there is a backhand drive and push stroke for the backhand technique as well. The backhand drive should be used to return offensive shots. Ideally, it will land at your opponent's baseline. The backhand push stroke is best to return short balls. It can also be used to limit offensive returns.

Serving - Serving the ball is the only time a player truly has full control over the ball. The aim is to have the ball bounce on your side of the table before it bounces over the net to your opponent's side. There are different forms of service that can impact the ball as it is served and as players become more experienced, they may choose to experiment with their serve.

Return of the serve - Some might think that a good serve is the most important technique in table tennis but, really, the return serve is as important, if not more so. If a player makes a bad return, they open themselves up to an easy attack by their opponent and will lose a point. It is important that players learn to keep their eyes on the ball and read the spin on the serve to determine the next best stroke.

Table Tennis is a sport where there are so many different styles of play, from playing different players, which makes it one of the most exciting, tactical, and enjoyable games to play.