Play Singles With the Right Score, Server and Decisions

Singles table tennis is one player against one player. Play games to 11, win by two points, and switch server every two scored points—then every point at 10–10. You can serve anywhere on your opponent’s side; you do not have to serve diagonally. These are the standard ITTF rules, not informal games-to-21 house rules. Source: 2026 Laws of Table Tennis, §§2.6, 2.11–2.13

Service order depends on the total number of points scored, not on who won the previous rally. Use the checker when you lose track; it also distinguishes a live game from a completed one. It assumes standard singles scoring, without the expedite system.

Enter both scores and choose who served first; the checker shows who serves next.

Games End at 11 Only With a Two-Point Lead

Every scored rally gives one player a point, regardless of who served. Winning a point on your opponent’s serve changes the score, but it does not immediately give you the serve.

A player wins a game by reaching at least 11 with a lead of at least two points. At 11–9, the game is over. At 11–10, it is not: another point is needed. If the trailing player makes it 11–11, play continues until either player leads by two. Scores such as 12–10 and 15–13 are completed games.

There is no fixed final score once both players reach 10. Do not stop at 11 simply because that was the target at the start, and do not replace the two-point requirement with a deciding single point unless you have explicitly agreed to house rules rather than standard play.

A match is won by taking the majority of an odd number of games. Best of five means the first player to win three games wins the match. Game points do not carry into the next game: after a completed game, the next starts at 0–0. Check the competition’s match format before starting rather than assuming every singles match uses the same number of games.

Service Changes After Scored Points, Not Attempts

Under ordinary singles scoring, each player serves for two scored points. Those points can both go to the server, both to the receiver, or one to each. The result of the rallies does not alter the service sequence.

If you serve first, you serve the first two points. Your opponent serves the next two. Your next service turn starts after four scored points, whether the score is 3–1 or 2–2.

The easiest check is to add the two scores. Before deuce, totals of 0 or 1 belong to the first server; totals of 2 or 3 belong to the other player. That four-point pattern repeats. The score alone does not identify the server unless you also know who served first in that game.

Score, A–B	Total Points	Next Server*
1–0	1	A
2–0	2	B
3–1	4	A
6–5	11	B

These examples assume A served first. At 6–5, B has one serve left in that two-point turn; after the next scored rally, service passes to A.

A let does not add a point and does not use up a serve. If your first serve in a turn clips the net and qualifies as a let, you still have both scored points of that turn to serve. Repeated lets do not move service to the other player.

At 10–10, Each Player Serves One Point

Once the score reaches 10–10, alternate service after every scored point. The player who served first in the game serves at 10–10. The other player serves at 11–10 or 10–11. If the score reaches 11–11, the first server serves again.

The two-point winning margin still applies. A player leading 11–10 has not won yet, and the next serve belongs to the other player. Separating these two rules—one serve each, but win by two—prevents the common mistake of treating deuce as sudden death.

If you discover that someone served out of turn, correct the order at the current score. Points already scored still count; do not replay them or reset the game. The same principle applies to an end-change error: correct the positions when the error is found rather than cancelling earlier points. Laws §§2.5, 2.11–2.14

The First Server Alternates Between Games

Before the match, decide the initial choice by lot, such as a coin toss. The winner chooses to serve first, receive first, or start at a particular end. The other player gets the remaining choice.

Choosing an end does not also give you the choice of serving first. If the toss winner chooses an end, the opponent chooses whether to serve or receive. If the toss winner chooses to serve, the opponent chooses the end.

Whoever served first in the previous game receives first in the next. This depends on who started the game, not who served its final point. A long deuce game does not change that next-game order.

Change ends between games. In the deciding game, change ends when either player first reaches five points. Keep the current score and service sequence: the end change is not a new game or a fresh service turn. For example, changing ends at 5–3 does not reset the score to 0–0.

A Legal Singles Serve Needs a Visible Toss

Use the same legal sequence for a short serve, a long serve or a spin serve. The direction and spin you want do not remove the requirements for the start, toss and contact.

1. Rest the ball freely on your open, stationary free-hand palm. Do not begin with the ball gripped between your fingers.
2. Keep the ball above table height and behind your end line from the start of the serve until contact. The ball’s position matters, not just where your feet are.
3. Toss it near vertically, without adding spin, at least 16 cm above your palm. It must then fall without touching anything before you strike it.
4. Strike the ball as it falls. Keep it visible to the receiver throughout the serve until contact. Remove your free arm and hand from the space between the ball and net as soon as you toss it.
5. Make it bounce once on your side, then on your opponent’s side.

The 16 cm requirement measures the rise above your palm, not the ball’s height above the table. Starting with your hand above table height does not make a tiny toss legal. Likewise, hitting the ball while it is still rising does not satisfy the falling-ball requirement.

Visibility is part of legality, not a courtesy to the receiver. Do not hide contact behind your torso or leave your free arm between the ball and net after the toss. For a closer check of toss and visibility, use the table tennis serve rules checklist.

Singles Serves Do Not Have to Be Diagonal

Either bounce can be anywhere on the appropriate court in singles. You can serve straight down the line, diagonally, or toward the middle, provided the serve meets the other requirements.

The centre line does not divide singles service into legal and illegal zones. The right-half-to-right-half requirement belongs to doubles. A singles serve landing on the receiver’s left half is not a fault merely because of its placement.

An incorrect serve gives your opponent a point; there is no tennis-style second serve. A service let is different: it replays an otherwise qualifying serve without changing the score. Laws §§2.6, 2.10.1.1

Net Touches Mean Different Things on Serves and Returns

A serve that clips the net and is otherwise legal is a let. Replay it with the same server and unchanged score. But a net touch alone does not make every serve a let: if the ball fails to land on the receiver’s court and the receiver has not obstructed it, the receiver wins the point.

During the rally, a ball that clips the net and then lands on the opponent’s court remains in play. Do not stop simply because you heard or saw a net touch.

Situation	Decision
Serve clips the net and is otherwise legal	Let: replay with the same server.
Serve clips the net, then misses the receiver’s court without obstruction	Point to the receiver.
Receiver is not ready and makes no attempt to hit the serve	Let.
Return clips the net, then lands on the opponent’s court	Play on.
Ball contacts the top edge of the tabletop	In.
Ball contacts only the vertical side of the tabletop	Out.

For the not-ready let, both conditions matter: the receiver is not ready and makes no attempt to strike the ball. It is not a general option to replay a serve after attempting a return and missing it.

Returns Must Follow the Bounce, Not Precede It

After the serve, take turns returning the ball to the opponent’s court. Unlike the serve, your return must not bounce on your own side first.

Let the incoming ball bounce on your court before returning it, and return it before its second bounce. Hitting it before that first bounce while it is above or travelling toward the table is obstruction and normally loses the point. A net-touching serve that the receiver obstructs is a let instead.

Do not judge an edge ball by sound alone. The relevant distinction is where the ball contacts the table. The top edge belongs to the playing surface, so a ball contacting it is in. The vertical side does not belong to the playing surface, so a ball contacting only that side is out.

Free-Hand Contact Can Lose an Otherwise Good Rally

During a live rally, you lose the point if your free hand touches the playing surface, you touch the net assembly, or you move the playing surface. Reaching for a short ball does not excuse supporting yourself with your free hand on the tabletop.

For standing players, touching the table with your racket hand is not automatically a fault, provided you do not move the playing surface. Do not turn that distinction into a blanket claim that all table contact is legal: free-hand contact with the playing surface has its own rule.

Wheelchair singles has additional service-let and table-contact provisions. The standing-player examples above do not establish every ruling for wheelchair play. Laws §§2.1.2, 2.5.8, 2.7–2.10

A Five-Minute Partner Check Tests the Service Sequence

Use one partner, a table, two rackets and a ball; no robot is needed. Start a practice game at 8–8, with you serving the next two points. Treat yourself as the first server for this exercise so the sequence matches the checker.

Before each rally, say the score and name the server. Check each other’s open palm, toss and visibility. Treat an otherwise legal net serve as a let, then announce the unchanged score and serve again.

If you reach 10–10, switch to one serve each. Otherwise, reset at 10–10 for a second mini-game. Continue until a player leads by two rather than stopping automatically at 11.

The checkpoint is specific: both players should identify the next server immediately, preserve service order after a let, and explain why a net touch on a legal serve means replay while a net touch on a successful return means play on.