Table tennis serve rules: how to serve legally
The serve is the only shot you fully control, and it is the most common source of arguments. Here is what a legal serve looks like.
The legal serve, step by step
- Start with the ball resting on your open, flat palm. The ball must be still, and your free hand must stay flat with the fingers together and the thumb apart.
- Toss the ball nearly straight up. It must rise at least 16 cm (about 6 inches) after leaving your palm, with no spin added by your hand.
- Hit it on the way down. You must strike the ball as it falls.
- Keep it above the table surface and behind the end line. The ball and your paddle must be behind the end line of the table, and the ball must be visible to the receiver the whole time.
- Bounce it on your side first, then on the receiver's side.
Common faults
- Tossing the ball too low or at an angle.
- Hiding the ball with your body or arm (it must be visible).
- Serving from below table level.
- Hitting the ball on its way up.
- Letting the ball leave the palm with spin.
Practice it
A legal serve is easy once you have drilled it. Ask a friend to watch for the 16 cm toss, since it is the one most players get wrong. At a club, nobody expects perfection, but a quick serve with a high toss is respected.
New to the sport? Start with the basic rules.
Published Oct 3, 2026.