Service Rule
Please
take note of the following change to the service rule. It is important that *all* members
and non-members of the club abide by these rules:
An Official's View: The New Service Rule is Here!
By "Dr. Azmy"
Yes, the new service rule was passed and the ITTF (this new rule also applies to USATT)
working group has finalized the wording. Many questions have been raised and I already
received several inquires about its interpretation. The best way to make it simple is to
compare the old rule with the new rule and clarify the differences.
The Old Rule:
2.6.1 At the start of service the ball shall be stationary, resting freely on the flat,
open palm of the server's free hand, behind the end line and above the level of the
playing surface.
2.6.4 The ball and the racket shall be above the level of the playing surface from the
last moment at which the ball is stationary before being projected until it is
struck.
The New Rule - Effective September 1, 2002:
2.6.1 Service shall start with the ball resting freely on the open palm of the server's
stationary free hand.
2.6.4 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 any part of the body or clothing of the server or his doubles partner.
There are several differences between the old and the new:
1. The word "Flat" is not in the new rule. All it says is "Open" palm. There was a lot of
discussion during our Seminar, which we had at the US Open, about the interpretation of
the word "Open." How open is open? But the same could be said about how flat is
flat.
2. There is no mention of the position of the racket. However, logically if the ball has
to be above the playing service until it is struck, then part of the racket has to be
above the level of the playing surface when the ball is struck. The new rule does not
require that the racket be visible to the receiver or the umpire. It may also be below
the level of the playing surface before it strikes the ball.
3. The start of the service used to be from the last moment at which the ball is
stationary before being projected. The new rule states that the service shall start with
the ball resting freely on the open palm of the server's stationary hand.
4. The main concern of the new rule is to make the ball visible all the time to the
receiver during the serve. When the ball is resting on the open palm, the receiver and
the umpire or assistant umpire have to be able to see it. Because of this, cupping and
turning the palm toward the body may make the serve illegal. The receiver is the focal
point of the new service rule.
5. Sometimes when the server tosses the ball in the air it comes down between the
server's free hand or arm and his body. At that moment the hand or arm is hiding the ball
and it is not visible to the receiver and the umpire or the assistant umpire; therefore
it is illegal.