Serving hand motion

Hi Roger,

The ITTF rules you've quoted (2.6.2) clearly state that during the serve, the ball must be projected near vertically upwards without imparting spin, and it must rise at least 16cm after leaving the palm of the free hand. There is no explicit rule stating that the hand must only rise, and not dip, before the ball is projected upwards. However, the action of dipping the hand before the toss could potentially be considered part of the motion of projecting the ball upwards. Some players dip their hand slightly as part of their natural serving rhythm, as long as they subsequently comply with the rules mentioned above. Therefore, if your hand movement is a slight dip before the clear upward projection, and you're satisfying the 16cm upward toss without hiding the ball (referring to rule 2.6.4), then your serve should be legal. It is critical, however, that the ball isn't moving downwards or sideways when you release it to ensure the serve is indeed near vertical. Remember that the spirit of the serving rules is to ensure fairness and allow the receiver a fair chance to see and return the serve. The particular habit of dipping the hand slightly before the toss is not against the rules, provided the subsequent toss is legal and does not deceive or hide the ball from the opponent.