How to play table tennis.

They are the same sport. "Ping pong" is the original 1901 trademarked name (owned at one point by Parker Brothers). "Table tennis" is the international/ITTF name and is what every competitive event in the world is called. Calling it ping pong in a club is fine. Calling it ping pong at a tournament will get you side-eye.

The basement game most people grew up on uses ad-hoc rules — first to 21, no proper serve, no two-serve rotation. The actual sport has been first-to-11, win-by-2 since the ITTF rules change in 2001. Most of this guide is about the difference between those two.

• — Table: 2.74m × 1.525m, 76cm tall. Net is 15.25cm high. The table surface should give a uniform bounce of about 23cm when a standard ball is dropped from 30cm.
• — Ball: 40mm diameter, white or orange, plastic (no longer celluloid since 2015). 2.7g. The bigger 40mm ball replaced the old 38mm ball in 2000 to slow the game down for TV.
• — Bat (or "racket" or "paddle"): wooden blade with rubber on each side. The two sides must be different colours — traditionally red and black — so opponents can see which side you're using and predict spin.

A legal table tennis serve is more constrained than people realise. To serve legally:

• — The ball must rest on your open palm (not your fingers, not in a fist). This is so the receiver can see it.
• — You toss the ball at least 16cm vertically (about 6 inches), without spin.
• — You strike the ball behind the end of the table, above the level of the playing surface — never below the table.
• — The serve must bounce once on your side and then once on the receiver's side. In doubles, both bounces must be on the right half of each side.
• — Your free hand and arm must not block the receiver's view of the ball at any point during the serve.

A serve that hits the net and lands on the receiver's side is a let — replay the serve, no penalty, unlimited times.

• — Game: first to 11 points, must win by 2.
• — Match: best of 5 (recreational/league) or best of 7 (Olympics, World Championships).
• — Two-serve rotation: each player serves twice in a row, then the serve switches. Not once like tennis.
• — Deuce at 10-10: serves alternate every single point until someone leads by two clear.
• — Side change: at the end of every game. In the deciding game, you also switch sides when one player reaches 5.

Doubles adds two complications. Serve direction: every serve in doubles must be diagonal — from the right half of the server's side to the right half of the receiver's side. The right half is to your right as you face the table. Strict alternation: partners must alternate hits. If A1 serves to B1, then B1 must return to A2, then A2 must return to B2, then B2 must return to A1. Hitting out of turn loses the point.

Table tennis is a game of spin. The bat's rubber generates massive amounts of topspin, backspin, sidespin and corkscrew spin. The whole strategic game at any reasonable level is about reading the spin on your opponent's shot and countering it. The four main shots:

• — Topspin loop: the main attacking shot. Brushes up the back of the ball, dips into the table, kicks forward.
• — Push: a defensive backspin shot that sits low and dies. Almost impossible to attack without lifting it.
• — Block: a flat counter against an opponent's loop. Compact, no swing.
• — Smash: the put-away. Used against a high ball with no spin. Less common at the top level than people think.

A new player who learns to push and loop will win against beginners who only flat-hit, virtually every time.