And is it legal to drop your racket and hit the ball with your hand instead? Or to throw your racket in order to hit the ball?
This is according to the ITTF Handbook for Match Officials, Points 9.2 and 9.3, which state:
9.2 For instance, the definition of "to strike" the ball is "to touch it with the racket, held in the hand, or the racket hand below the wrist". From this it follows that a player who drops his racket during a rally but attempts to return the ball by hitting it with the hand in which he had been holding the racket cannot make a good return, because he is not "striking" the ball according to the definition.
9.3 For the same reason he cannot make a good return by throwing his racket at the ball, because the racket does not "strike" the ball if it is not held in the racket hand at the moment of impact. However, a player may transfer his racket from one hand to the other during play and strike the ball with the racket held alternately in either hand, because the hand holding the racket is automatically the "racket hand".
So you can see that it is perfectly OK to change the bat between hands during a rally, or between points if you wish. But you you must hit the ball with the racket while it it held in your hand. You can also hit the ball with the hand holding the racket (below the wrist), provided it does not cause a double hit by hitting your hand and then the racket.
Reader Comments
I've read a recent Q&A topic regarding balls hit with your hand or with a (thrown) racquet. You said it is illegal to do so because according to an ITTF handbook, a legal stroke has to be performed with a racquet held in your hand.But I remember seeing Ma Lin throwing his paddle towards the net to return a net ball he wasn't able to reach in time otherwise. I've also seen Li Ching trying to return a smash with his empty hand after he accidentally dropped his blade over the table.
If hitting the ball was illegal under those circumstances, why did both players try at all?
Regards,
Heinz
Hello Heinz,
As I explained in the article above, both of these actions are illegal, and the player will lose the point if the umpire is doing his job properly.
So why do they take such an action? I've seen local players do the same thing, and generally I think it is one of three reasons:
- The player wants to win the point so much - he does whatever it takes to get the ball back, even though he knows it is illegal to do so. He is so desperate to make the return he just does it without thinking.
- Frustration. The player knows he will lose the point, and he is frustrated, so he throws his racket to return the ball or swats it with his hand in disgust. This helps relieve his tension.
- Humour. The player knows he will lose the point, but he thinks it would be funny to throw his racket or hit the ball with his hand, and then he laughs about it with his opponent.
