Study Guide:

SECTION 1: RULES/TACTICS/STRIKES

RULES:
1. Table tennis: When is a game won? 11 pts

2. Table tennis: When is a match won? Whoever wins the most out of an odd
number of games, best of 5 or best of 3 etc.

3. How many points are awarded before changing the server? After every 2 points”
(2017, joolausa.com)

http://www.joolausa.com/table-tennis-rules-regulations

TACTICS:

4. “What is the first tactic used when in a table tennis game? Attacking the forehand

5. What is the second tactic used when playing table tennis? Attacking the open
court

6.. When attacking the open court where do you attack? Outside of the opponents
racket radius

7. When attacking the open court what type of forehand strike are we using? The
wide forehand

8. Why would we use the middle position to strike to in table tennis? Sending the
ball to the middle position will cramp the player since it is in the midline of their
body and will give them a harder time to block or attack.

9. What is the third tactic that can be used when playing table tennis? Heavy spin
attack shots”(2014, youtube.com)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7Y2nbswDuI

Strategy for Forehand:

10. “Where is the starting position during the forehand counter strike? At hip height

11. Where is the back of the racket facing when striking with forehand? Facing
where you want the ball to go

12. Where does the forehand follow through finish? Near the eyebrow closest to
your racket hand”(2012, youtube.com)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnaY6ltLY-g

STROKES:

13. “The four shots are;

Forehand drive
Backhand drive
Backhand push
Forehand push” (2012, experttabletennis.com)

14. Back Hand Push:

https://www.experttabletennis.com/how-to-play-a-backhand-push-in-table-
tennis/
 “The backhand push is one of the four basic table tennis strokes. The other
three are the forehand drive, backhand drive and forehand push.
 The backhand push is a defensive stroke played with a small amount of
backspin.
 The backhand push is usually played against short and low, backspin or float
balls, although beginners that have not developed a loop (or open up shot) can
play a push off a longer ball. At the intermediate stage any long balls should be
attacked and any balls that are short but high should be flicked or hit.
 The backhand push is primarily played from the backhand side of the table.
Only rarely will a player play a backhand push from their forehand side.

15. MECHANICS OF THE BACKHAND PUSH

The Back hand Push Stance:
 Feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
 Stance is ideally square to the line of play (like the backhand drive) but you can
usually get away with a square to the table stance as well.
 Knees should be slightly bent and the body should be leaning forward. You may
want to be slightly lower for a push as usually we play this shot against lower,
backspin balls.
 Both arms should be out in front of you.
 About a 90-110 degree bend at the elbow.
 Stand quite close to the table, an arms length away.
 Weight distributed on both feet and on the balls/toes, not heels.
The Back hand push back swing:
 Bring your bat backwards, towards your chest
 Create a slightly open bat angle.
 Keep your wrist straight.
 The angle at your elbow will be quite closed.
The Back Hand Push Strike:
 The shot is played directly in front of the body.
 The arm moves forwards, to meet the ball.
 The movement comes predominantly from the elbow.
 The bat angle stays open throughout the shot.
 Take the ball at the peak of the bounce (or slightly earlier) and out in front of you.
 To get less spin you can play slightly more down the back of the ball.
 To generate slightly more spin you can play more underneath the ball with a
“brushing” action.
The Back Hand Push Finish:
 Follow through forwards, towards the net.
 Your bat should finish pointing where you have hit the ball.
 Don’t let your arm swing across your body to the right.
 You will likely have also played downwards slightly, so the bat will be closer to
the table now than it was during the backswing or strike phases.
 Always get back to the ready position”(2013, experttabletennis.com)

16. Forehand Push

https://www.experttabletennis.com/forehand-push-table-tennis/
 “The forehand push is one of the four basic table tennis strokes. The other
three are the forehand drive,backhand drive and backhand push.
 The forehand push is a defensive stroke played with a small amount of
backspin.
 The forehand push is usually played against short and low, backspin or float
balls, although beginners that have not developed a loop (or open up shot) can
play a push off a longer ball. At the intermediate stage any long balls should be
attacked and any balls that are short but high should be flicked or hit.
 The forehand push is primarily played from the forehand side. Only rarely will
a player play a forehand push from their backhand side.

17. MECHANICS OF THE FOREHAND PUSH:

The Forehand Push Stance:
 Feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
 Stance can be square to the table or you can have your right foot slightly further
back (as in the forehand drive).
 Knees should be slightly bent and the body should be leaning forward. You may
want to be slightly lower for a push as usually we play this shot against lower,
backspin balls.
 Both arms should be out in front of you.
 About a 90-110 degree bend at the elbow.
 Stand quite close to the table, an arms length away.
 Weight distributed on both feet and on the balls/toes, not heels.
The Forehand Push Back Swing:
  Bring your bat backwards and out to the side of your body.
 Create a slightly open bat angle.
 Keep your wrist straight.
 You should have a small gap between your elbow and hip.
 Try to keep your playing arm slightly in front of your body, you don’t need a big
backswing for the push.
The Forehand Push Strike:
 The shot is played slightly to the side of the body, not directly in front of you.
 The arm moves forwards, to meet the ball.
 The movement comes predominantly from the elbow and forearm.
 The bat angle stays open throughout the shot.
 Take the ball at the peak of the bounce (or slightly earlier) and out in front of you.
 Maintain a small gap between the elbow and the body.
 To get less spin you can play slightly more down the back of the ball.
 To generate slightly more spin you can play more underneath the ball.
The Finish Forehand Push:
 Follow through forwards, towards the net.
 Your bat should finish pointing where you have hit the ball.
 Don’t let your arm swing across your body to the left.
 You will likely have also played downwards slightly, so the bat will be closer to
the table now than it was during the backswing or strike phases.
 Always get back to the ready position”(2013, experttabletennis.com)

https://www.experttabletennis.com/forehand-drive-in-table-tennis/
18. The Forehand Drive

 “The forehand drive is one of the four basic table tennis strokes. The other
three are the backhand drive, backhand push and forehand push.
 The forehand drive is an attacking stroke played with a small amount of
topspin. It is a drive shot and not a topspin loop!
 The forehand drive is played against long or medium length topspin or float
balls. You can’t play a forehand drive off a short ball (that would be a flick) and
you can’t play a forehand drive off a backspin ball (that would go into the net).
 The forehand drive is usually played from the forehand side but players are
also encouraged to use their forehand drive against balls that come to their
middle. Advanced players will even sometimes move around to play a
forehand drive from their backhand side, if they see the ball early enough!

19. MECHANICS OF THE FOREHAND DRIVE:

Forehand Drive Stance:
 Feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
 If right-handed, the right foot should be slightly further back than the left.
 Knees should be slightly bent.
 Body should be leaning forward.
  Both arms should be out in front of you.
 About a 90-110 degree bend at the elbow.
 Stand quite close to the table, an arms length away.
 Weight distributed on both feet and on the balls/toes, not heels.
Forehand Drive Back swing:
 Rotate your body to the right, from your hips.
 Elbow and bat rotate back with you.
 Bat angle closes.
 Weight shifts onto the back foot, right foot for a right-handed player.
 The body is moving the arm, not the other way round!

The strike Forehand Drive:

 Hips and shoulders rotate forwards to meet the ball.
 The arm moves forward with the body.
 Accelerate the forearm slightly as you make contact, similar to doing a military
salute.
 Weight transfers to the front foot, left foot.
 Bat angle stays closed throughout the shot.
 Take the ball at the peak of the bounce and out in front of you.
 Keep a small gap between the elbow and the body.

The Finish Forehand Drive:

 Follow through, forward and upward.
 Your bat should finish roughly pointing where you have hit the ball.
 Always get back to the ready position”(2012, experttabletennis.com)

https://www.experttabletennis.com/backhand-drive-table-tennis/

20. Back hand drive

 “The backhand drive is one of the four basic table tennis strokes. The other three
are the forehand drive, backhand push and forehand push.
 The backhand drive is an attacking stroke played with a small amount of topspin. It
is a drive shot and not a topspin loop!
 The backhand drive is played against long or medium length topspin or float balls.
You can’t play a backhand drive off a short ball (that would be a flick) and you
can’t play a backhand drive off a backspin ball (that would go into the net).
 The backhand drive is primarily played from the backhand side. Players are
generally not encouraged to play backhand shots from their forehand side as this
can lead to poor technique and their forehand is usually stronger.

21. MECHANICS OF THE BACKHAND DRIVE:

Back hand drive Stance:

 Feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width apart.

  Stance is “square to the line of play”, basically your feet should be pointing in the
direction you are hitting the ball.
 Knees should be slightly bent.
 Body should be leaning forward.
 Both arms should be out in front of you.
 About a 90-110 degree bend at the elbow.
 Stand quite close to the table, an arms length away.
 Weight distributed on both feet and on the balls/toes, not heels.
Back swing Back hand drive:

 Bring your bat backwards and down to somewhere just in front of your belly
button.
 Create a slightly closed bat angle.
 Keep your wrist straight
 The backhand rubber should be pointing in the direction you wish to play.

Back hand drive strike:

 The arm moves forwards, to meet the ball, and slightly up, to create a bit of
topspin.
 The movement comes predominantly from the elbow and forearm.
 Bat angle stays closed throughout the shot.
 Take the ball at the peak of the bounce and out in front of you.
 Keep a small gap between the elbow and the body.
Back hand drive finish:

 Follow through, forward and upward.

 Your bat should finish pointing where you have hit the ball, roughly at about chin
level.
 Don’t let your arms swing across your body too much to the right.
 Always get back to the ready position”(2013, experttabletennis.com)

What is the basic table tennis strike that is the easies learn? The backhand push!
https://www.experttabletennis.com/how-to-play-a-backhand-push-in-table-
tennis/
SECTION 2: TERMINOLOGY

 22. “Anti-topspin - a rubber type that deactivates spin

and speed, returning a "dead" ball
 23. Backhand - a stroke done directly in front of the
body, with the racket turned so that the back of the
hand faces the opponent
 24. Backspin - a type of spin where, if struck with a
normal racket position, the ball would not make it
over the net
 25. Block - a defensive shot done mostly against loops
and smashes, where the racket is in a closed position
to keep the ball on the table
 26. Chop - a defensive shot that carries a tremendous
amount of backspin
 27. Closed - a racket angle that allows the top of the
ball to be struck
 28. Dead ball - a ball returned without any spin. Very
difficult to execute, read, and return
 29. Doubles - a format in table tennis where two
people play on each side and must alternate turns at
striking the ball
 30. Drive - an offensive shot used mostly as a setup or
in rallies, where the racket is in a normal position and
the ball is struck at a medium pace
 31. Drop shot - a surprise shot where the ball is placed
precisely near the net
 32. Expedite rule - after a time limit (10 minutes) has
expired during a single game, the receiver
automatically wins the point if he/she returns the ball
successfully 13 times in a row. This forces the server
to change his rallying tactics.
 33. Forehand - a stroke done to the right-front (for
right-handers) of the body, with the racket in a normal
position (palm of hand facing opponent)
 34. International Table Tennis Federation - the
international governing body for the sport of table
tennis
 35. Inverted - See pips-in
 36. Let - a stoppage of play as a result of a serve hitting
the net or interference from outside the playing court
 37. Lob - a defensive shot used against high-speed
balls, where the ball (usually with unpredictable spin)
is returned very high in the air, causing difficulty in
timing and technique
 38. Long pips - a rubber type whose surface consists of
fairly long pimples. Produces unpredictable spin.
 39. Loop - an offensive shot that carries a tremendous
amount of topspin
 40. Match - a competition format with the winner
winning two of three or three of five games
 41. Medium-long - a serve whose second bounce, given
the opportunity, would bounce near the very end or
just off the table. Difficult because the opponent
cannot execute a good attacking stroke
 42. Open - a racket angle that allows the bottom of the
ball to be struck
 43. Penhold - a grip where the racket is held exactly as
it sounds, with the racket handle held straight up and
down
 44. Pips-in - a rubber type whose surface is smooth yet
gripping. Produces much spin and in many cases
better speed. Also known as inverted rubber
 45. Pips-out - a rubber type whose surface consists of
many tiny pimples. Produces much control and speed,
but little spin
 46. Push - a defensive shot used to successfully return
backspin shots, where the racket is open to lift the
backspin over the net
 47. Receive - return of service, usually done tactically
to set up an attack
 48. Seemiller - Name of 5 time US champion Dan
Seemiller. Also the name of a table tennis grip
 49. Serve - the beginning of a point where one player
strikes the ball after tossing it. Usually used tactically
to set up a strong attack
 50. Set - one game to 21 points in a match
 51. Shakehands - a grip where the racket is held
exactly as it sounds but with the middle, ring, and
pinky fingers wrapped around the handle
 52. Short - a serve that, given the opportunity, would
bounce at least twice on the table. Difficult because the
opponent cannot execute a good attacking stroke
 53. Sidespin - a type of spin where, if struck with a
normal racket position, the ball would travel either to
the right or left without landing on the table
 54. Skunk - an informal rule in table tennis that says
that a player wins a game at a score of 7-0 or 11-1
 55. Smash - an offensive, high-speed shot used against

high balls, where the racket is in a normal position to
generate the most speed possible. Also called a kill
 56. Topspin - a type of spin where, if struck with a
normal racket position, the ball would travel over the
opposite side of the table without hitting the surface”
(2016, Megaspin.com)
 57. Which hand is the racket hand? The racket hand is
the hand that is holding the racket

 58. Which hand is the free hand? This is the hand that is
not holding the racket

 59. A player obstructs the ball if he, or anything he

wears or carries, touches it in play when it is above or
travelling towards the playing surface, not having
touched his court since last being struck by his
opponent.

https://www.megaspin.net/info/glossary.asp

SECTION 3: EQUIPMENT (THE TABLE/THE BALL/THE RACKET)

“THE TABLE:

60. The upper surface of the table, known as the playing surface, shall be
rectangular, 9 ft long and 5 ft wide, and shall lie in a horizontal plane 2.5 ft above the
floor.

61. The playing surface may be of any material and shall yield a uniform bounce of
about 9.1 in when a standard ball is dropped on to it from a height of 11.8 in.

62. The playing surface shall be uniformly dark coloured and matt, but with a white
side line, 0.79 in wide, along each 9 ft edge and a white end line, 0.79 in wide, along
each 5 ft edge.

63. The playing surface should not include the vertical sides of the tabletop

64. The playing surface should have two equal courts

THE BALL:

65. The ball shall be spherical, with a diameter of 40mm.

66. The ball shall weigh 2.7g.

67. The ball shall be made of celluloid or similar plastics material and shall be white
or orange, and matt.

THE RACKET:
68. The racket may be of any size, shape or weight but the blade shall be flat and
rigid.
69. At least 85% of the blade by thickness shall be of natural wood; an adhesive
layer within the blade may be reinforced with fibrous material such as carbon fibre,
glass fibre or compressed paper, but shall not be thicker than 7.5% of the total
thickness or 0.35mm, whichever is the smaller.
70. A side of the blade used for striking the ball shall be covered with either
ordinary pimpled rubber, with pimples outwards having a total thickness including
adhesive of not more than 2mm, or sandwich rubber, with pimples inwards or
outwards, having a total thickness including adhesive of not more than 4mm.

71. At the start of a match and whenever he changes his racket during a match a
player shall show his opponent and the umpire the racket he is about to use and
shall allow them to examine it.

References:

Larcombe, Ben. (2012, November, 16th). The Four Basic Table Tennis Strokes.
Retrieved from https://www.experttabletennis.com/basic-table-tennis-
strokes/

Larcombe, Ben. (2013, April, 30th). How to Play a Backhand Push in Table Tennis.
Retrieved from https://www.experttabletennis.com/how-to-play-a-
backhand-push-in-table-tennis/
Larcombe, Ben. (2013, April, 16th). How to Play a Backhand Drive in Table Tennis.
Retrieved from https://www.experttabletennis.com/backhand-drive-table-
tennis/

Larcombe, Ben. (2012, October, 25th). How to Play a Forehand Drive in Table Tennis.
Retrieved from https://www.experttabletennis.com/forehand-drive-in-
table-tennis/

Larcombe, Ben. (2013, April, 18th). How to Play a Forehand Push in Table Tennis.
Retrieved from https://www.experttabletennis.com/forehand-push-table-
tennis/

(2012, May, 27th). Forehand Counterhit Lesson/Table Tennis/Ping Skills. Retrieved

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnaY6ltLY-g

(2014, December, 11th). Top Table Tennis Tactics-Top Tactics Against Attackers.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7Y2nbswDuI

(2017). Table Tennis Rules and Regulations. Retrieved from

http://www.joolausa.com/table-tennis-rules-regulations

(2016). Table Tennis Terms. Retrieved from

https://www.megaspin.net/info/glossary.asp