Paul Kovac

See if you can Stump the Ump... E-mail questions to Paul Kovac - your friendly on-line USATT umpire. Please note: Questions which have answers that are easily found by consulting the rules may not merit a reply.

Q: If a player moves the table on a kill shot before the ball hits the floor but the opponent has no chance of making a return, whose point is it?

- submitted by Anonymous

A: Player B scores the point because player A moved the table while the ball was still in play. The points are not decided based on assumptions (that it is impossible for the receiver to make a good return), but on facts. In your situation, the fact is that A moved the table when the ball was still in play. When the outcome of a rally can be decided according to facts, such situations are not judgment calls.

- answered by Paul Kovac - your friendly on-line USATT umpire