Singles and doubles matches are played by men and women in search of a
total of four Olympic titles. Matches are played to the best of five
games. Preliminary doubles matches are played to the best of three.
In singles, the top 16 seeds enter the main draw automatically, while 48
players go through a qualification round, 16 of those proceeding to the
main draw, which is a single-elimination tournament. The winners of the
semi-finals play for the gold and silver medals, while those who lose in
the semi-finals play off for the bronze medal. In doubles, the same format
applies for the 32 teams that compete.
The table is 9ft long and 5ft wide and must be 2ft 6in high from floor to
table surface. White lines mark the court. For doubles, each court is
divided in half by a line 3mm wide that runs parallel with the
sidelines and is important for serving purposes.
The net is 6in high and splits the table in halves across its width. The
ball, which has to be white or orange must be white, yellow or orange, is
38mm in diameter and weighs 2.5g. The umpire choses the balls that are to
be used for play. There is no size limitation on rackets, though the rubber
must be either pimpled rubber no thicker than 2mm or sandwich rubber no
thicker than 4mm. Some glues are banned from the sport because they emit
dangerous gases and can help to increase the speed of the ball by up to
30kmp.
The object of the game is to land the ball in the opponent's court, much as
it is in tennis. At the serve, the player puts the ball on his or her open
palm and tosses it up into the air by at least 16cm before hitting it with
the racket. The ball must bounce on the server's side before crossing the
net. If the ball hits the net but lands true in the opponent's court, a
second serve is allowed. Service is changed every five points.
In singles, a player can serve from any part of his or her half of the
court, but in doubles, the serve must go from right-hand corner to
right-hand corner of the table and play must be strictly in rotation of
server to receiver to server's partner to receiver's partner, back to
server and so on. The point is lost by whomever breaks the pattern.
Points are won in the main by the rival of a player who hits the ball out
of play (without it bouncing on the table in the opponent's court) or by
failing to return play. The first player, or team, to reach 21 points wins
the game, unless the score reaches 20-20, or deuce, after which the winner
is the player who gets 2 points ahead. The terminology of shots reveals
much about the nature and speed of the game; the kill, the chop and the hit
are three examples.
In a move designed to prevent lengthy drawn-out duels, the expedite rule
is brought into play if a game has not reached a score of at least 19-19 in
15 minutes. If the server has not won the point by the thirteenth hit with the
racket in any given rally, he or she loses the point.
