What is a let in table tennis?

When is a let called in table tennis?

Under the ITTF Laws a rally is a let, and is replayed, when:

• The serve touches the net assembly (the net, or the posts and clamps that hold it) and is otherwise good, or the receiver or their partner obstructs it: touches it before it bounces on their side, while it is still over the table or heading toward it.
• The receiver was not ready when the ball was served, as long as neither the receiver nor their partner tried to hit it.
• A disturbance outside the player's control makes them miss a serve or a return, such as a ball from the next table rolling into the court.
• The umpire stops play, for example to correct the order of serving, receiving or ends, or to warn a player.

A let never changes the score. Neither player wins the point, and the rally starts again with a new serve. Para table tennis adds a few more service lets for receivers in wheelchairs.

Let or point? Common calls

What is the let serve rule?

A good serve bounces once on the server's court, passes over or around the net, then lands on the receiver's court (in doubles, the receiver's right half court). If it touches the net assembly on the way but does everything else right, it is a let and the server serves again.

The key words are "otherwise good". A net serve that lands off the table, lands in the wrong half in doubles, or breaks another service rule is not a let but a fault, and the receiver wins the point. There is no second serve in table tennis, so the difference matters: a let costs nothing, a fault costs the point.

The one exception is obstruction. If the receiver or their partner touches a net serve before it bounces, while it is still over the table or heading toward it, the serve is a let even if it was going to miss. Once a net serve has gone past the table without touching the receiver's court, it is a fault, whatever the receiver does with it.

Is it a let if the ball hits the net during a rally?

No. Once the serve is in, the net is part of play. A return that touches the net and drops onto the opponent's court is good, however lucky it looks, and the opponent has to play it. Only serves are replayed for touching the net.

Does a let change who serves?

Usually not. Whose serve it is depends only on how many points have been played, and a let adds no point. The same player serves again, and if the let came on their first of 2 serves, the replay is still their first of 2.

The exception is a let called to correct a mistake in the order of serving or receiving. Then the player who should have been serving takes over at the score reached, and every point already played still counts. If you lose track, the whose serve helper works it out from the score, and how to keep score in table tennis covers the rest of the scoring.