Serving behind the line

Hello, Alois,

I have read the serving rules several times and can't seem to get a definitive answer on this. 

When serving, do I need to contact the ball between the sides of the table, or can I hit from outside them, as long as I am in back of the end line.  The rules state that the end line extends indefinitely beyond the sides, but it's not clear whether that means that I can serve from anywhere in back of it.

I do think it's necessary to toss the ball from inside the sides of the table, but I am actually not sure if that is right either.  The vertical toss rule comes into play here, but since it does not have to be perfectly vertical, it might be legal to toss from inside the lines and still hit from outside.

Some clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Hi Marv,

You are definitely allowed to throw the ball up and hit it from outside the line of the table.  You are right the end line extends indefinitely and as long as you are behind that line you are OK.

Obviously for practical purposes you don't want to do too wide away from the table but you are allowed to go as far away as you want.