Sports Glossaries
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ace

A serve that cannot be reached by the opponent.

ad

Short for advantage.

ad in

Indicates that the server has the advantage.

ad out

Indicates that the player returning serve has the advantage.

advantage

The player who scores the first point after deuce is said to have the advantage.

anti-spin rubber

A slick rubber that has little reaction to spin on the opponent's shot. Compare sticky rubber.

attacker

A player who tries to overpower opponents by killing as many balls as possible. Compare defender.

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backhand

A shot hit on the opposite side of the body from the racket hand; the left side, for a right-handed player.

backspin

Reverse spin applied by drawing the face of the racket down across the ball at impact. Also called "underspin."

ball

The table tennis ball is a hollow sphere of celluloid or similar plastic, 40 millimeters in diameter and 2.7 grams in weight.

blade

The paddle without its rubber surface.

block

A return shot on which the paddle is simply held in front of the ball, with little or no movement.

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carbon blade

A blade with a layer of carbon between two wood surfaces.

center line

A white line down the middle of the table, parallel with the side lines, that divides the courts into half-courts.

chop

A sharp downward stroke that produces backspin.

chopper

A player who hits a lot of chops.

closed paddle

A paddle tilted downward, toward the table. Striking the ball with a closed paddle tends to produce topspin. Compare open paddle.

combination paddle

A paddle that has two different coverings on opposing sides of the face, for example, anti-spin rubber on one side and sticky rubber on the other .

counter-drive

An attacking shot used to return the opponent's attacking shot.

court

The playing area on one side of the net, which is 5 feet wide and 4 ½ feet long. Sometimes used to mean the entire surface of the table.

cup

To close the palm on the ball when tossing it up for a serve. Cupping is against the rules, since it can be used to put spin on the ball.

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dead ball

A ball that has little or no spin.

defender

A player who concentrates on returning shots, hitting many pushes, chops, and blocks, waiting for the opponent to make a mistake. Compare attacker.

deuce

The situation when the score is 10 all (20-all if game is 21). The players then alternate serves until one of them wins by taking a 2-point lead.

double hit

A shot on which the ball contacts a player's paddle or paddle hand twice; results in loss of point.

doubles

A game between two teams of two players each. Partners have to alternate shots.

drive

A shot hit with great force, usually a loop.

drop shot

A shot that falls just over the net.

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end line

One of the two white lines marking an end of the table.

expedite system

A method of limited a game's duration under certain circumstances, most commonly if neither player has reached 9 points after 10 minutes of play (19 points after 15 minutes if game is 21). Players alternate serving and the receiver is awarded a point for returning 13 successive shots.

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five-ball attack

A strategy in which the server attempts to win the point on the fifth ball over the net. The ideal sequence is serve, return, loop, return, and kill. Compare third-ball attack.

flip

A soft shot hit with a quick upward turn of the wrist that imparts topspin, often used to return a soft serve that has backspin.

forehand

A shot hit on the same side of the body as the paddle hand; the right side, for a right-handed player.

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game

A table tennis game ends when one player has scored at least 11 or 21 points and at least 2 more than the opposing player. International rules now call for an 11-point game, but the 21-point game is still often used in informal player. See deuce.

grip

The way in which the paddle is held. See penholder grip; Seemiller grip; shakehand grip.

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half-court

One side of a court, 4 ½ feet long by 2 ½ feet wide, representing one quarter of the table, delineated by the net and the center line.

hardbat

An older type of paddle, on which the rubber sheet is attached with the pips out.

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inside out

Descriptive of a shot hit with sidespin so that it will curve and bounce away from the opponent.

inverted rubber

A type of covering for the blade that has a smooth hitting surface on the outside and the surface with pips attached to the blade. It's called "inverted" because it's basically the same covering used on a hardbat, but upside down.

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junk rubber

Anti-spin rubber or long pips rubber.

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kill

A shot on which the ball is hit as hard as possible, often with topspin. See also loop kill.

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let

A rally whose result doesn't count, usually because the umpire called a halt in play because of some distraction or interruption. See the following entry.

let serve

A serve that touches the net before entering the opponent's court. It doesn't count and is replayed.

loaded

Descriptive of a shot that has a great deal of spin.

lob

A shot that's hit high into the air, often as a way of buying time after the opponent has hit a kill shot.

long pips rubber

A rubber sheet covered with long, cyclindrical projections (pips) that allow the player to put a lot of unpredictable spin on the ball.

loop

A shot hit with a long, upward motion, from as low as the knees to as high as the forehead, grazing the ball and putting heavy topspin on it. It's often used to set up a kill, since the opponent's return is likely to be high.

loop kill

A loop hit very hard, with a flat trajectory.

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match

A series of games played to determine a winner, typically best-of-three or best-of-five.

men's doubles

Doubles competition between male teams.

misbehavior

This includes unsportsmanlike conduct such as using abusive language, deliberately breaking the ball, kicking the table, and showing disrespect toward the officials. The first offense generally brings a yellow card, the second a penalty point for the player's opponent, the third two penalty points. Any misbehavior beyond the third offense is likely to result in suspension.

mixed doubles

Doubles competition in which each team has a male and a female player.

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net

The net is 6 inches high and stretches the width of the table.

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obstruction

Touching the ball with any part of the body or clothing while it is over the table and before it has bounced in the proper court. The offender loses the point.

open paddle

A paddle tilted upward, away from the table. Striking the ball with an open paddle tends to produce backspin. Compare closed paddle.

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paddle

The table tennis paddle must be made primarily of wood. There are no restrictions as to size. A legal rubber sheet must be applied to any side used for striking the ball. One side must be black, the other cherry red. If there is a non-hitting side with no rubber sheet attached, it must have a paint sheet of the appropriate color.

paint sheet

Not paint at all, but a sheet of colored plastic used to cover the non-hitting side of the paddle.

penalty point

A point awarded by the umpire to a player because of a rules violation by that player's opponent. A penalty point can be awarded for a second misbehavior offense, after the player has been cautioned with a yellow card for the first offense. A third offense incurs two penalty points.

penholder grip

A grip, especially popular in Asia, in which the racket is held between the thumb and first finger, with the handle pointing up.

playing surface

The table's upper surface.

pick

A shot used to turn the opponent's backspin into topspin, effected by using a hitting motion parallel to the table top with an open paddle.

ping-pong

A trademarked name for table tennis, originally registered by Parker Brothers in 1901.

pips

Small cylinders that protrude from a rubber sheet.

pips out

Descriptive of a rubber sheet attached to the paddle so that the side with pips will contact the ball, as on a hardbat. The opposite of inverted rubber.

point

A single scoring unit. A player loses a point if: He fails to make a good service or a good return of the opponent's shot; the ball bounces twice consecutively in his court; his free hand touches the playing surface. Points are also lost because of a double hit, obstruction, or a volley. See also penalty point.

push

A gentle shot with backspin, struck with an open paddle against the bottom of the ball and usually hit short and low.

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racket

The paddle.

rally

The period during which the ball is in play; an exchange of shots that begins with a serve and ends with a point or a let.

receiver

The player who is returning serve.

red card

A card that calls for dismissal of an illegal advisor, when shown by the umpire. If shown along with a yellow card, it indicates that a penalty point has been awarded.

rubber sheet

A covering that's glued to the hitting side of a table tennis paddle, often over a thin layer of sponge. Many rubber sheets have pips on one side and are smooth on the other. See anti-spin rubber; combination paddle; hardbat; inverted rubber; long pips rubber; pips out; sandwich rubber; sticky rubber.

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sandwich rubber

A rubber sheet attached to the paddle with an underlying layer of sponge.

Seemiller grip

A grip in which a combination paddle is constantly rotated so that the ball can be struck with either side of the hitting surface.

serve

Short for service.

server

The player who strikes the ball first in a rally.

service

The shot that starts a rally. The server must toss the ball up at least 16 centimeters (6 inches) and strike it as it's falling, so that it touches first in the server's court and then in the receiver's court, without touching the net. When struck, the ball must be above the level of the playing surface and behind the server's end line. See also let.

shakehand grip

A grip in which the paddle is held as if the player were shaking hands with it.

side line

One of the two white lines marking the side edges of the table.

sidespin

Spin around the ball's vertical axis, imparted by drawing the paddle sideways across the ball at impact.

singles

Competition between two individuals.

smash

A kill.

stroke counter

An official who counts return strokes when the expedite system is in effect.

sponge

A thin layer of sponge rubber attached between the rubber sheet and the blade to increase speed and spin.

sticky rubber

A type of rubber that allows the player to put a lot of spin on the ball.

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table

The table must be 9 feet long and 5 feet wide, with the surface 30 inches above the floor.

third-ball attack

A strategy in which the server attempts to win the point on the third ball over the net, almost invariably with a kill shot on the receiver's return of service. Compare five-ball attack.

topspin

Forward spin applied by drawing the face of the paddle up across the ball at impact.

two-color rule

The rule that one of the paddle's striking surfaces must be black, the other red.

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underspin

See backspin.

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volley

To hit the ball before it has bounced. Illegal in table tennis; the offender loses the point.

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women's doubles

Doubles competition between female teams.

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yellow card

A card that signifies a warning for a violation when shown to a player by the umpire. If shown along with a red card, it indicates that a penalty point has been awarded.

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