OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hey Guys,

So my opponent gets in the ready position with the ball flat on palm and then just waits for a really long time before the toss up and then when I get visibly distracted he suddenly serves.

What is the rule regarding to stop this behaviour? Is there a rule which says that once you get in ready position then you have to toss in xyz number of seconds?

Thanks

No, just that play should be continuous.

How long is "forever"?

Are you in an umpired match, or just scoring between yourselves, or another player scoring / umpiring?

An umpire should pick up that there is a long time and that the server serves the moment the receiver gets distracted or loses concentration.

That said, there are a lot of players that will serve too quickly before the receiver is ready. That is easier in some ways to deal with.

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

Rising your free hand would help.

Thanks guys.

So long here is like after taking position he takes 3-4 seconds and then serves in that time I visibly break concentration.

What is the exact rule in the TT rule book regarding this?

Thanks

I hate to say it, but this one's on you! 3-4 seconds is not excessively long and is not likely to be called by a judge.

Why not flip the script and be grateful for the opportunity to clear your mind and focus before the point begins? "Quiet eye" training is actually a scientifically validated way to help prevent choking under pressure. I like to incorporate this as a visualization exercise while meditating, but you can even practice with a ball sitting on a table in front of you. Work until you can focus clearly and intensely for 5-10 seconds at a time.

Then, instead of being annoyed and losing focus, you can use it to your advantage!

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Ok, is 10 seconds after taking position long enough?

Again - what is the rule regarding this? there must be some mention in the service rules about such inordinate delays.

Jack_2020 wrote:


No, just that play should be continuous. It may however come under "ungentlemanly conduct", where a player is doing something to unsettle the opponent - apart from hitting good shots of course. Obviously after a strenuous point and towards the end of matches more time should be allowed.

I officially umpired a match where I penalised a player for taking too long to serve. He then told me that he was "only doing back to the other player what the other player was doing to him". I still penalised him as I had not noticed the other player being really slow to serve.

I also umpired a match where, similar to Djokovic used to in tennis, the tighter the match was the more times a player bounced the ball on his bat before serving. I took note of the number of times he bounced the ball at the beginning of the match and when he exceeded this, with a reserve, penalised him.

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

But there should be a general rule as a basis ( how many seconds ). I think it is covered in umpires hand book. I am no longer familiar since I seldom umpire anymore in an official match.

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Enjoy the game. It is a never ending learning experience once you play and keep the ball on that 45 sq ft of space or should I say half of that space.

Thanks guys!
I think the general idea is that the play should be "continuous" and no deliberate unsettling of the opponent.

I'm probably guilty of spending 3-4 seconds for a serve. I do it to calm myself down. 1-2 deep breaths maybe. But mostly or half the time I only take 1 deep breath. 1 deep breath probably takes 2 seconds I think. I definetly take 2 of them when I want to break the opponents flow a little if he's on a roll. In combination with doing a serve variation maybe. But I think that might be a very common tactic?

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Yes Jonas that is one good tactic.

On the other side, there are those who cannot wait to serve. Works also.

_________________
Enjoy the game. It is a never ending learning experience once you play and keep the ball on that 45 sq ft of space or should I say half of that space.