Serving?

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It's most likely to hide the type of spin the serve will be until the last second :p.
 
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from what i know, they are hiding the angle of their racket until the last minute of brushing the ball. by the time the ball makes contact with racket they will cheat a little by using their body to block the view of the contact moment.

It's true that Chinese players walk the line pretty closely between what is allowed and what is not, however, calling it cheating a little isn't accurate in my opinion. Their entire motion of serving is so that their body blocks it until the exact moment they make contact, which thus complies with the rules, because you have to make sure that the opponent can see the ball the moment it touches the paddle. Even players like Ma Lin, who people complain a lot about, has his hand blocking the view, but if look carefully, he removes the hand right before the ball hits the paddle.
 

jkc

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People are right to complain because according to the rules, he should be removing his hand earlier.

'2.06.05 As soon as the ball has been projected, the server’s free arm and hand shall be removed from the space between the ball and the net.'
 
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People are right to complain because according to the rules, he should be removing his hand earlier.

'2.06.05 As soon as the ball has been projected, the server’s free arm and hand shall be removed from the space between the ball and the net.'

Eh I really don't think its that big of deal, I mean the very wording of that rule is stupid. Your arm is the thing that projects the ball, so its impossible for the arm to be out of the way when the ball is projected anyway. There is no wording that says how quickly it has to be removed, so Ma Lin the moment he projects the ball, does start removing the hand, so he is following the rule.

Frankly, I don't even agree with the rule that took away hidden serves anyway, I think its just another way to dumb down the sport so that countries who otherwise can't compete with China have a better chance.
 

jkc

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There is no wording that says how quickly it has to be removed

There is wording saying how quickly it has to be removed, it is highlighted in red in my above post.
 
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There is wording saying how quickly it has to be removed, it is highlighted in red in my above post.

What is highlighted in red, simply means you have to remove it once the ball is projected. But a player can move his arm in significantly different speeds, while still being the act of removing his arm. A player who immediately after the ball is projected, is in the process of removing his arm, but does so very slowly, is still in perfect compliance with the rule.
 

jkc

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If you are leaving your arm in there until a fraction before you hit the ball then you are not following the rule.

You say yourself that he removes the arm right before the ball hits the paddle. You don't say he begins removing his arm slowly just after throwing it up. So he is not serving legelly.
 
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I mean you say that, but as I have said, what Ma Lin does, based off a plain reading of the rule is entirely consistent. Whether you slowly remove your hand as soon as your project the ball, or do it immediately, it still follows the wording of the rule, because you are still removing your hand as soon as the ball is projected, and its only a question of how fast you are doing it.

Clearly since players like Ma Lin do it, and are not penalized for it, it is still within the rules. The fact that other players haven't taken the time or effort to perfectly time and execute their service to take all available advantages, is their own decision.
 

jkc

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No, as I said in my previous post, you actually say this - 'he removes the hand right before the ball hits the paddle'. This is illegal and it is about time umpires either picked up on this or we actually had a rule which can be enforced (rather like the boosters issue).
 
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