No matter how skilled you are at a sport, the learning never stops. This is also the case with ping pong. In this highly detailed and complicated game, you will find yourself discovering new and minute things at every turn.
While there is ample talk about the ball and the paddle, what about the hand usage in ping pong? This question can baffle many players if they are unaware of the strict rules and unintentionally employ unethical methods.
Can the player hit the ball with their hand? What if they touch the playing surface with their free hand? When you strike a shot, can the opponent touch the playing surface? What about accidental touch? These questions induce many arguments among players.
The Hand – What Are the Basics?
To start, here are the basics you need to know about using hands in ping pong.
- The player’s hand is their paddle hand if it holds the ping pong racket. A player is not allowed to drop the racket and strike the ball with their hand.
- Touching the playing surface with the free hand is illegal. However, touching the table’s side with the freehand is allowed.
With that explained, we will dive deeper into the endless argument of freehand touching or hitting the ball with the hand.
Using the Hand To Hit the Ball
The only legal racket hand is the one clenching the paddle, and therefore, it gives you some leeway. Many players wonder if they can hit the ball with their hand, and the answer is yes.
You can hit the ball with your hand only if it is the racket hand and it is legal to hit:
- With the back of that hand
- With the fingers of that hand
- It is also legal if the ball touches the wrist of that hand
But be noted that you cannot hit the ball with your free hand. It is strictly prohibited, illegal, and considered highly unethical conduct.
Touching the Playing Surface of the Ping Pong Table
Although the rules might are clear, things often are not that simple. There are some scenarios where utilizing the free hand can cause some pause and consideration.
Was the player’s free hand touching the playing surface, or was it the sides of the table? Such a scenario commonly happens if a player touches the table with their free hand in the midst of playing a stroke. Therefore, it is evident that the point is active.
Sometimes, players can put their free hand on the table for steadying themselves while attempting to reach and hit a relatively short ball. In both cases, if you touch the top of the ping pong table with the free hand, the opponent gets the point. However, if the touch was on the table’s sides, the play continues.
The other scenario is if players place their free hand on the playing surface to support themselves after playing the stroke. Then, there remains no doubt that the player placed their hand, but the question arises if it was before or after the point.
If the point is still active, the player cannot put their free hand on the table’s top. In this situation, the point is over if the rally islet or the player has scored a point.
How Does It Apply in Practice?
With the game in play, the rules and the actual practice can sometimes cause some confusion. Therefore, we have decided to explain the above scenarios in practice to give you better insight. Here are the two possibilities this can take:
Possibility One
Player 1 strikes the ball and begins to overbalance. Player 2 hits back at the ball but misses or fails to reach the ball. During this, Player 1 wanted to stabilize themselves by putting their free hand on the table’s playing surface.
Now, Player 1 has to wait until the point is over. This implies you must hold on until the ball touches anything other than the net or the opponent’s paddle after you hit the opponent’s court.
If the ball touches anything except the net or the opponent’s paddle like the ground or some barriers, the point is over. You get it and can now put your hand on the table.
However, if the ball even brushed the net or the foe’s paddle, the point remains active, and you cannot touch the table.
Possibility Two
Player 1 hit the serve and felt a little shaky on their feet, but Player 2 hit back at the ball and made contact. However, the ball failed to come towards Player 1’s court.
In this situation, Player 1 needs to wait until after the ball swings over their court or beyond their end line (or brushes anything except the net) before placing their free hand on the playing surface to steady their feet.
As the ball goes over the court or across the end line, Player 1 wins the point and can now put their free hand on the ping pong table. However, if the ball brushed the net, the point remains live, but if it strokes anything else, it is over and won by Player 1.
Therefore, if your opponent had a massive miss-hit and the ball went off high and towards the table’s side, then you have to wait until it goes over the opponent’s court or end line to place your free hand on the playing surface.
Verdict on Hands in Ping Pong
Although the quick answer seems simple enough, it is easy to get confused because minor situations can lead to big complications. They can also induce major conflict and arguments if things are not clear enough for a player. Hence, we discussed all the possible scenarios in detail.
In ping pong, every little detail counts and can lead to significant decisions. Players must understand every aspect so you can focus on the winning strategies and understand all the legalities. Hopefully, this article gives you enough information to understand the role of using hands in ping pong.
Also Read: Can You Lose on a Serve in Ping Pong?
