Ball in flight

Hello,

After the serve has taken place, and during a rally, are you allowed to hit the ball while it is in flight? In other words, do you HAVE to let it bounce before you hit it back over the net?

Hi Keith,

Thaks for the rules question.

The short answer is, Yes, you do have to let it bounce before you hit it.

If you hit the ball before it bounces while it is over th etable, then it is your opponents point straight away.  If however the ball has already gone past the end of the table then it is out and even if you hit it after that it is still your point because the ball is out of play.

Either way, as soon as someone hits the ball before it bounces that is the end of the point.

Hope this helps.