Where does this come from, and can I check it?

It must rise at least 16 centimetres up from a flat, open palm. The figure is taken from International Table Tennis Federation, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a sports fact?

Yes. It sits on the Sports shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

A table tennis serve must toss the ball up

It must rise at least 16 centimetres up from a flat, open palm The server must keep the ball visible to the opponent and cannot hide it behind the body or the free arm. The rule was tightened in the 2000s to stop servers concealing spin. A serve that touches the net and lands correctly is a let and is replayed. It sits in Mondo's sports collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

International Table Tennis Federation

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Sports trivia

More facts like this

Table tennis games run to 11 pointsThe change came in 2001, along with serving every two points instead of five Table tennis bats have two different rubber surfacesPlayers flip the bat to hide which side is about to strike the ball China has won most Olympic table tennis goldsThe sport joined the Games in 1988 and China has taken the large majority of titles A table tennis ball is 40 millimetres acrossThe size went up from 38 millimetres in 2000 to slow the game slightly Snooker colours are worth different pointsA red is one point, a black seven, and the colours must be potted in order at the end Snooker frames have no time limitA single frame once lasted more than two hours in a professional match

Tags: table-tennis, serve, rules

A table tennis serve must toss the ball up: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: It must rise at least 16 centimetres up from a flat, open palm. The figure is taken from International Table Tennis Federation, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a sports fact?: Yes. It sits on the Sports shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.