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:

In tennis, I am allowed to strike a ball so that it travels around the net post and onto my opponent's court. The ball doesn't have to clear the height of the net as long as it lands on my opponent's court. Is this the case in table tennis or must I angle my return over the net.

If my return hits the net post and lands on my opponent's side of the table, is this a legal shot?

- submitted by Puck Wong on 23 Dec 96

A: Officially, in Table Tennis we do not have "the net" or "the post". We speak of"The Net Assembly". It consists of the net, its suspension and the supporting posts, including the clamps attaching them to the table. Thus the answer to your situation is rather easy: your is a good return, and you score a point. To know the definition of The Net Assembly is particularly important, for example, in the following situation. Picture these two situations:

1. Suppose, following your stroke, the ball hits the net, then rolls towards your opponent's side of the table, and INSIDE THE WIDTH OF THE TABLE touches the metal part of the clamp assembly which holds the net, and then goes off the side of the table without ever touching the top of the table.
2. Following your stroke, the ball hits the net, then rolls towards your opponent's side of the table, then touches the metal part of the clamp assembly which holds the net OUTSIDE THE WIDTH OF THE TABLE, and then rolls onto the top of the table, where it dies.
3. Following your clumsy stroke, the ball hits the metal part of the clamp assembly which holds the net ON YOUR SIDE OF THE TABLE, then bounces high and still driven by the spin manages to fall on your opponent's side of the table. Since your opponent saw the ball hitting first "your side of the table", h/she does not even attempt to make a return.

In the case #1, the ball hits the "Net Assembly" twice. This itself would be O.K. if, after that, the ball had touched your opponent's side of the table before it rolled off it. Since in the situation I described in #1 this was not the case, your opponent scores a point.
In the case # 2, technically, the ball hitting the net assembly outside the with of the table is the same as if it had hit the net itself within the width of the table. Since after that it touched the playing surface, you score a point.
In the case # 3, no matter how unusual this situation is, the ball hitting the net assembly on your side of the table means the same as if it had hit the net. In other words, the net assembly is "side neutral". There is no "your side" or "my side" of the net assembly. Since after hitting first the net assembly, the ball then landed on your opponent's side of the table, to your opponent's surprise, you score a point.

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