----- Martin's Reply -----

John,

Thanks for your question.

Before I answer your question directly, it's important to know about the difference between the "Laws of Table Tennis" and the International "Regulations" because the answer to your question can be found in the "Regulations".

The Laws of Table Tennis (commonly referred to as the rules of table tennis) are just the "basic" rules of table tennis which means they only prescribe the equipment to be used; how to serve and return; the order of play; how to score points and how long the game can last - whereas the International "Regulations" deal with everything else.

 

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The Laws of Table Tennis are mandatory for all sanctioned table tennis events, but the Regulations are only mandatory for International events, although they can be used in non-International events.

So what this means is that most organised table tennis events will use at least some of these additional Regulations so that they'll be consistent in dealing with situations which aren't covered by the basic Laws of Table Tennis.

At the start of a game the umpire should announce the family-name/surname of the player who is serving first, followed by the score.

So, for example, the umpire would announce... "Smith to serve", "Love all" (or "Zero-Zero")

The score 0 can be expressed as either "love" or "zero".

When each player or pair has scored an equal number of points (for example 4 points each), the score may be called either as "4-4" or "4-all".

During a game, the International Regulations say that umpires should normally call the score as soon as the rally has been decided and that they shouldn't wait until they judge that the players are ready to resume play.

However, if there's loud applause or a player is retrieving the ball from the back of the playing area, they can delay it slightly until they're satisfied that both players or pairs will be able to hear it.

The umpire will then call the score by saying the number of points scored by the player (or pair) due to serve in the next rally, followed by the number of points scored by the opposing player (or pair).

If the rally is a let, the umpire should repeat the existing score to confirm that no point has been scored.

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The International Regulations also deal with the speed of play, and they say that "play shall be continuous throughout an individual match".

"Not ready" hand signal by player

However, if a player isn't ready, they're normally expected to raise their hand to indicate that they're not ready.

It's then up to the umpire to decide whether to call a let, but only if the receiver makes no attempt to return the ball.

But just because the receiver makes no stroke doesn't itself justify a let. The umpire must decide whether the receiver was really unready or, perhaps, merely unwilling to try to return what appeared to be a difficult service.

However, if the umpire notices that the receiver is not ready when the server is about to serve, the umpire will usually call a let whether the receiver raises their hand or not.

If the receiver is a persistent offender, and thought to be trying to delay the game, the umpire could give a verbal warning and/or issue a yellow card (if the International Regulations dealing with yellow/red cards are being used).

When you're playing in a table tennis event, it's important to know which Regulations are being used by the organiser.

As I said earlier, the Regulations are primarily intended for International events, but they can be used in any table tennis event.

You should therefore always check what the entry form or prospectus or rule-book states, for the event you're playing in.

For lower-level events, few or even none of the International Regulations may be in use.

In that scenario, if a situation arises which isn't covered by the Laws, and the relevant Regulation isn't being used, then consensus has to be reached between the players taking part as to how to proceed.