OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Last night there was an incident where a player, in preparation to serve, would hit the ball to floor several times, then serving. This annoyed the opponent as not only was it holding the game up slightly but also they thought that it would be getting dust on the ball.

I'm not convinced on the dust part as every point the ball generally rolls along the floor so I dont think 4 or 5 taps to the floor would make much difference but what about the time wasting aspect. Is this covered by a rule, 30 seconds to serve?

The opponent actually had a go at them mid match about it............so they did it more.

Any etiquette in this?

I've played this person several times and though it is mildly annoying, and I only say mildly, it really doesn't bother me, but then again, I'm often winning, which wasn't the case last night.

Thoughts?

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

I think it comes down to the umpires discretion if it became unsporting / time wasting (then you get to the question of are they an umpire or a scorer if we are talking local league matches!).

Doesn't sound anything wrong in it though. I encourage players I coach to take their time on serve, have a reset process, wipe hand on table, bounce ball - to have a routine to forget the last point, clear head and set them selves for the next point (the only one that matters). I have a routine to do this, and get my breathe back!!!

I got told once that bouncing the ball on table before i served was annoying my opponent and to stop by his team mate umpiring. I found it impossible to serve without doing it!!! As I coach now, I shan't say the conversation that ensued, only to say I was only 14/15 and shouldn't probably not have know such words! I duly lost the game to a poor opponent. Job done on his part...

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Match set up: Nittaku Violin, JP01T, JP03

I do this, but generally 3 bounces. I don't recall ever getting a comment about it. As a side note, I hate non bouncy floors (such as the 'proper' red flooring)

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Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g

As long as we are not talking about 10+ bounces, especially if it changes from point to point to mess up opponent's anticipation, then no big deal IMHO. Part of routine and all.

Someone is trying to copy Ding Ning, I guess - I think she does that 2 or 3 times before serve.

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

As has been said, there is no specific rule, but that "play must be continuous", and the server must not be doing it to put the other player off. Unfortunately these are both judgement calls.

I have umpired a particular player who bounced the ball several times on the table before serving. Unfortunately it was a bit like Djokovitch (sp?) used to be in tennis. The more crucial the point, the more bounces. I had a personal "rule" that if he started off doing 3 bounces regularly, once it got past 4 I would warn him, then on subsequent times card him. Other umpires did much the same.

As has also been said, if the umpire is another player then it can be very hard to police such things.

As a player, if the server is deliberately delaying and it worries you, when they are about to serve put your hand up and do not play at the ball. If asked, claim loss of concentration or distraction because of the pre-serve routine, *which is the truth for you*. Keep doing it until the message is received.

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Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

There was a time last year where an opponent at a crucial point, bounced the ball on his bat about 6 to 10 times and was looking like he was thinking where to serve, he got ready to serve, then stopped and did it again for even longer. We all know each other and play each other week in, week out so it was all in fun but I wasn't going to put up with it. When he eventually did serve, I caught the ball and said 'sorry, I wasn't ready' then threw it back at him.........all in fun of course.......sort of. He didn't do it again though.

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

Super!
Don't lose your cool.

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