Glossary of Table Tennis Terms

Backhand: Table tennis shot made with the back of the ping pong paddle. This shot is the opposite of the forehand. Backspin: Backward spin on the table tennis ball. May also be called underspin. Table Tennis Blade: Wooden portion of the table tennis paddle. Block: A defensive shot accomplished by blocking the path of the ping pong ball. Chop: A shot with heavy backspin. This shot will force the table tennis ball to drop downwards as it hits the opponent's table tennis paddle. Cross-court: Term applied to ping pong balls hit diagonally across the ping pong table. Dead ball: A shot that has no spin. Drive: A basic topspin shot. May also be called a smash. Drop shot: A shot meant to fall close to the net. When executed properly, the table tennis ball bounces twice on the ping pong table before the opponent can return it.

Forehand: Table tennis shot made with the front of the table tennis paddle.

Game point: The final point of a game.

ITTF: International Table Tennis Federation. This is the sport's governing body.

Kill: An aggressive shot hit with too much speed for the opponent to return it.

Let: Playing the point over because a service shot has hit the net or because of an outside distraction.

Lob: A shot in hit high in the air with both sidespin and topspin. This shot is meant to be difficult for the opponent to return with a smash.

Loop: A shot similar to the drive but with more topspin. This shot also curves in the air, and it is the most common shot in the sport today.

Penhold Table Tennis Racket: A style of grip in which the ping pong paddle handle is inverted between the thumb and forefinger, making forehands relatively easy and backhands difficult.

Pips: The small bits of rubber protruding from table tennis rubber sheets.

Serve: The opening shot of a table tennis game.

Shakehand: The most common ping pong paddle grip in table tennis. It allows the player to execute both backhands and forehands with equal ease.

Skunk: The table tennis slaughter rule. If a game is played to the score of 11-0, it is considered a skunk.