Stamping on the serve

Simon Lewis Asked 12 years ago

Hi Pingskills,

I have yet another gripe with the service rule!!

Stamping on the serve is meant to cover up the sound of bat on ball. Obviously the less sound you hear, the more spin is going to be on the ball. How is this different to covering the contact point? Some people may try to work out amounts of spin by listening to the sound, so covering up that sound is identical to covering the contact point. Sound is something that plays a huge role in table tennis, so I dont think covering that sound should be allowed, weather that be through stamping or as some people now do, grunting as they hit the ball like a tennis player.

As much as I love this game, some of its rules need to be corrected!!

Alois Rosario Answered 12 years ago

Hi Simon,

I think you are right here.  It does help to disguise the serve.  There is no rule against it though.