Whose serve is it in table tennis?

The rule: 2 serves each, then 1 each from 10-10

Each player serves 2 points in a row, then the receiver becomes the server. That carries on until the end of the game unless both players reach 10 points: from 10-10 each player serves 1 point in turn until someone leads by 2 (ITTF Law 2.13). Who wins each rally makes no difference to whose serve it is; only the number of points played does.

So the only things you need are the score and who served first in the game. The player who served first also serves at 10-10, because 20 points is 10 full turns of 2.

The quick way to work it out

1. Add both scores together. At 7-4 that is 11.
2. Before 10-10, divide by 4 and look at the remainder. A remainder of 0 or 1 means the player who served first in the game is serving; 2 or 3 means the other player is. 11 divided by 4 leaves 3, so the other player serves.
3. Even or odd tells you which serve it is. An even total is the first of the 2 serves, an odd total the second. 11 is odd, so this is the last serve of the turn, and the first server takes over after it.
4. From 10-10, even or odd is all you need. An even total (10-10, 11-11, 12-12) means the player who served first in the game serves; an odd total (11-10, 12-11) means the other player does.

Who serves at every score

With player A serving first in the game (swap the letters if B served first). Serve 1 of 2 means the server has 2 serves left, counting this one:

Worked examples: at 6-2 (8 points) the first server is on the first of 2 serves. At 12-11 (23 points, both past 10) the player who did not serve first serves, for 1 point only.

Who serves first in the next game

At the start of the match the first choice is decided by lot, usually a coin toss: the winner chooses to serve, to receive or which end to start at, and the opponent takes the remaining choice. After that nobody chooses who serves first again (in doubles the serving pair still picks which partner serves). The side that served first in a game receives first in the next game, so the first serve alternates from game to game, and players change ends after every game. If A served first in game 1:

In a best of 5 match that means A serves first in games 1, 3 and 5, and B in games 2 and 4. Who won the previous game does not matter.

The deciding game: change ends at 5

In the last possible game of a match (game 5 of a best of 5, game 7 of a best of 7, or a single-game match), the players also change ends when the first player reaches 5 points. The serve rotation carries on exactly as before: changing ends does not change who serves.

Doubles: the 4-player serve and receive order

Doubles uses the same counting: 2 serves per turn, 1 each from 10-10. What changes is which of the 4 players serves and receives. Every serve goes diagonally from the server's right half court to the receiver's right half court, and at each change of service the previous receiver becomes the server and the previous server's partner becomes the receiver. If A1 serves first to B1, the order is:

1. A1 serves to B1 (2 serves)
2. B1 serves to A2
3. A2 serves to B2
4. B2 serves to A1
5. then round again: A1 to B1, and so on.

Within a game (until the deciding-game swap at 5), each player serves to the same opponent and receives from the other one; the pairings change in the next game (see below). In a rally the partners must also hit in turn: server, receiver, server's partner, receiver's partner, then repeat.

Who serves and receives first in each doubles game

In every game the pair serving first chooses which partner serves. In the first game the receiving pair also chooses who receives first. In later games the first receiver is fixed: it is the player who served to the first server in the previous game. If A1 served to B1 and A2 to B2 in game 1, then in game 2 pair B serves first: if B1 serves, A1 receives; if B2 serves, A2 receives.

Deciding game in doubles: the receiving order swaps at 5

In the last possible game of a doubles match, when the first pair reaches 5 points, the pairs change ends and the pair due to receive next swaps its receiving order. If 5 is reached in the middle of a turn (5-0, 5-2 or 5-4), the server does not change: they finish their turn, now serving to the other opponent, and the rotation continues from there. If 5 is reached on the last serve of a turn (5-1 or 5-3), the next server takes over as usual but serves to the other opponent. Here pair A reaches 5 at 5-2 in the deciding game; the scores after 5-2 are one way the game could go, and any score with the same number of points played gives the same pairing:

Because the swap depends on the score at the moment a pair first reached 5, the helper above asks for it in a doubles deciding game (or works it out itself when you tap each rally).

Edge cases

• Lets do not count. A serve that clips the net and is otherwise good is a let and is replayed, and no let rally is scored, so the same player serves again and still has the same number of serves left. See the let rule.
• There is no second serve. A faulty serve gives the point to the receiver, and that point counts as one of the server's 2 serves.
• Wrong server or receiver. If a player serves or receives out of turn, play stops as soon as someone notices and restarts with the correct server and receiver at the score reached; every point already played still counts (Law 2.14). The table above tells you who should be serving.
• Expedite system. If a game is still going after 10 minutes of play (unless at least 18 points have been scored), the expedite system starts: players serve 1 point each in turn for the rest of the match, whatever the score. The helper assumes normal serving.
• 21-point games. Before the switch to 11-point games in September 2001, each player served 5 points in a row, and serve alternated every point from 20-all. Some casual games still play that way; see 11 or 21 points. This helper covers the 11-point game.
• Calling the score. Umpires call the next server's score first, so at 4-7 with the player on 4 serving, the call is 4-7. The helper shows the call for every score.
• Time-outs, towel breaks and intervals do not change who serves next.

For the rest of the scoring rules (11 points, win by 2, best of 5 or 7), see how to keep score in table tennis.