RULES and Definitions Eng
The Table.The upper surface of the table, known as the playing surface, shall be rectangular, 2.74 m long and 1.525 m wide, and shall lie in a horizontal plane 76 cm above the floor.
The playing surface shall be uniformly dark colored and matt, but with a white side line, 2 cm wide, along each 2.74 m edge and a white end line, 2 cm wide, along each 1.525 m edge.
The playing surface may be of any material and shall yield a uniform bounce of about 23 cm when a standard ball is dropped on to it from a height of 30 cm.
For doubles, each court shall be devided into 2 equal half-courts by a white centre line, 3 mm wide, running parallel with the side lines; the centre line shall be regarded as part of each right half-court.
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The Ball.
The ball shall be spherical, with a diameter of 40 mm.
The ball shall weigh 2.7 g.
The ball shall be made of celluloid or similar plastics material and shall be white or orange, and matt.
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The Service
Service shall start with the ball resting freely on the open palm of the server's stationary free hand (if the ball accidently rolls off the server`s hand before he starts to throw it his opponent does not score a point because the ball wasn`t in play)
The server shall then project the ball near vertically upwards, without imparting spin, so that it rises at least 16cm (6.3 inches) after leaving the palm of the free hand and then falls without touching anything before being struck.
As the ball is falling the server shall strike it so that it touches first his court and then, after passing over or around the net assembly, touches directly the receiver's court; in doubles, the ball shall touch successively the right half court of server and receiver.
From the start of service until it is struck, the ball shall be above the level of the playing surface and behind the server's end line, and it shall not be hidden from the receiver by the server or his doubles partner and by anything they wear or carry.
As soon as the ball has been projected, the server’s free arm shall be removed from the space between the ball and the net. Note: The space between the ball and the net is defined by the ball, the net and its indefinite upward extension.
It is the responsibility of the player to serve so that the umpire or the assistant umpire can see that he complies with the requirements for a good service.
If the umpire is doubtful of the legality of a service he may, on the first occasion in a match, declare a let and warn the server.
Any subsequent service of doubtful legality of that player or his doubles partner will result in a point to the receiver.
Whenever there is a clear failure to comply with the requirements for a good service, no warning shall be given and the receiver shall score a point.
Exceptionally, the umpire may relax the requirements for a good service where he is satisfied that compliance is prevented by physical disability.
The ball, having been served or returned, shall be struck so that it passes over or around the net assembly and touches the opponent's court, either directly or after touching the net assembly.
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The Expedite System (правила ускорения игры)
Except where both players or pairs have scored at least 9 POINTS, the expedite system shall come into operation if a game is unfinished after 10 MINUTES` play or at any earlier time at the request of both players or pairs.
If the ball is in play when the time limit is reached, play shall be interrupted by the umpire and shall resume with service by the player who served in the rally that was interrupted.
If the ball is not in play when the time limit is reached, play shall resume with service by the player who received in the immediately preceding rally.
Thereafter, each player shall serve for 1 POINT in turn until the end of the game and if the receiving player or pair makes 13 RETURNS the receiver shall score a point.
Once introduced, the expedite system shall remain in operation until the end of the match..
a RALLY is the period during which the ball is in play.
The ball is in play from the last moment at which it is stationary on the palm of the free hand before being intentionally projected in service until the rally is decided as a let or a point.
a LET is a rally of which the result is not scored.
a POINT is a rally of which the result is scored.
a player STRIKES the ball if he touches it in play with his racket, held in the hand, or with his racket hand below the wrist.
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
the UMPIRE is the person appointed to control a match.
the ASSISTANT UMPIRE is the person appointed to assist the umpire with certain decisions.
The ENDLINE is a line that overlaps the end of each player's side of the table, and extends indefinitely in both directions.
Players commonly say endline when they actually mean the end of the table.
In table tennis, SIDESPIN occurs when the ball is rotating at an angle to its direction of movement. When the ball is rotating parallel with the ground, it has pure sidespin. When the ball is rotating at 90 degrees to the floor, it has either topspin or backspin only. When the ball is rotating at some other angle to the floor, it will have a combination of sidespin and either topspin or backspin.
Sidespin will make the ball curve to the left or right in the air. If the left side of the ball is moving in the opposite direction to the motion of the ball, the ball will curve to the left, and vice versa. A ball with sidespin will also tend to bounce a little sideways on the playing surface instead of straight forward, and do the same when hitting a racket.
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The phrase "PLAYING ELBOW" is used in table tennis to describe the area in front of a player, in which the player has to choose between hitting a forehand or backhand stroke, and neither stroke is significantly easier to play, making the decision more difficult. You can see a visual representation of the playing elbow here.
The size and placement of this target will vary from player to player, although a general guide would be the 6-9 inches on each side of the elbow of the player's racket arm, hence the name.
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a FOREHAND (накат справа) is a stroke that is played on the right hand side of the player's body (for a right hander), and vice versa for left handers.
The forehand side of a player is the right hand side of a right hander, and the left hand side for left handers.
a BACKHAND (накат слева) is a stroke that is played on the left hand side of the player's body (for a right hander), and vice versa for left handers.
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a TWIDDLE / twiddling (ВРАЩЕНИЕ РАКЕТКИ) is the turning of the racket in a player's hand, so that the rubbers are the other way around. For shakehanders, this means that the forehand rubber is now the backhand rubber, and vice versa. For penholders, this means that the rubber on the front of the bat is now at the back, and vice versa.
Twiddling is used mainly by players who have rubbers that are quite different on both sides of the bat (a combination bat), in order to make it harder for the opponent to tell which side has hit the ball, hopefully causing the opponent to make more mistakes.
The carbon fiber layer is also supposed to strengthen the racket, and give the racket a stiffer, harder feel, suitable for hitting the ball faster.
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a THIRD BALL attack is the term used to describe the situation where the server hits a powerful attack on his first stroke after serving - the third stroke of the rally.
Different players will have different types of third ball attacks - some players will prefer to use a fast, flat attack with little spin. Others will use very spinny attacks (topspin) with only medium speed. The most common version of the third ball attack in modern table tennis is a fast attack with enough topspin to land the ball deep on the receiver's side of the table. The trajectory of the ball is flat and low, with a dip at the end towards the table. This type of stroke is often called a power loop, rip, or loop kill.
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a BLOCK is a shot used to take advantage of the speed and spin of an opponent's stroke. The racket will not move very much with this stroke, and the angle of the bat will be adjusted to cope with the amount of topspin on the ball. The ball is hit soon after it bounces, before it has a chance to move too far off the table in any direction.
Blocks are typically used against powerful attacks from an opponent, where the player does not have time to use a fuller swing, or against attacks that have such heavy spin they are difficult to control.
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The ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation, www.ittf.com) is the governing body of table tennis worldwide, and has its Headquarters and Olympic office in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is made up of many affiliated table tennis organizations.
The ITTF has various committees and boards to look after the many aspects of table tennis, such as the Board of Directors, the Umpires and Referees Committee, and the Equipment Committee.
Президент ИТТФ - Ахдам Шарара (Канада)
Each participant is allowed to enter in one Singles and one Doubles Event.
The Qualifying Competition for the World Championships proper will be played in groups of four – singles and doubles.
The first and second placed persons will auto-matically qualify for the WVC proper.
The third and fourth placed persons automatically qualify for the Consolation Competition.