A game is won when the first player scores 11 points and is at least two points ahead of his or her opponent. If both players have gained 10 points, the game is won by the first player to gain a two-point advantage. If they remain tied after five games, then each winner can choose which side of the court they want to serve from.
Table tennis uses a paddle and a ball made of leather or wood. The object is to hit the ball with the racket and get it as close to the opponent's paddle as possible. In order to score, you need to touch the ball with one of your paddles. There are three main types of shots: forehand, backhand, and overheads. Each type of shot can be done with either hand.
You will usually receive a service if your opponent wins the toss during an individual match or third place match in team events. During a change of ends service is still offered but cannot be refused. If you do not take the service you lose the point and must begin again with a new end. A player can also ask for a pass on service but this is unusual.
The number of points required to win varies depending on how the match is decided. If there is no winner after five games then each player earns one point for their side.
A match consists of the best of five games. You can watch some high-quality videos of people playing ping pong here.
The winner is the first player to score 11 points in a game. However, if a game is tied at 10-10, a player must win by two points or more. If you lose a point, you do not forfeit service—each player must serve for two points in a row before passing the service to their opponent.
Table tennis uses balls made of rubber coated with leather or synthetic fibers. The ball must be hit with the racket in order to be served. Once the server has reached the baseline, they have three opportunities to send the ball into the other court; if not sent so far, it is called a "fault." A player can also signal for a free shot by hitting the ball with an open hand as it is descending after being struck by the racket.
There are two types of games in table tennis: singles and doubles. In singles play, each player takes on one opponent at a time until all players have played each other once. The last player remaining wins the match. In double matches, two teams of equal strength play against each other. The first team to win two out of three games wins the match.
When a player reaches match point, the referee will call "game" instead of "set." At this point, the player needs to act quickly to win or lose the match. If he or she fails to win the next game, the match will end in a loss.
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