Idea of a new technique - hitting with your hand

[XpingpingpongpongX]

It's legal if the ball hits any area below the wrist of your racket hand. Can we intentionally hit the ball with the back of our hand? I think it would function like a defensive anti. This could cause big surprise if you use it once in a while.

It's just a random thought. Never actually try it. But is this feasible? legal? fair play?

 

[boretennis]

i'm actually surprised it's allowed to do that on purpose, apparently even with the back of your hand. of course it happened to me a few times by accident, that i missed and hit the ball with a finger, and if those land on the table they most often don't get returned. interesting thought to actually practise this, sort of like the infamous handle shot but even weirder.

 

[Tinykin]

The intention of the rule is that the ball hitting the hand accidentally is allowed.
It's the same as hitting the ball with the side of the racket. Again allowed when accidental.
The rule is written as it is because it is extremely difficult for an umpire to judge such occurrences.
It is expected that players understand this nuance and act accordingly. That's why when you sometimes see a fantastic shot, yet the player follows up with an apology to his/her opponent to indicate that the hit was accidental.

 

[pongguy69]

a possible future: once people exploit it, ittf bans it (as in: it is a violation, thus losing point), then we get cheese plays like in pickle ball where players will smash balls directly at people to force a point (makes for not fun and not good viewership).

 

[golden_son]

Despite the low mass, there's still quite a bit of energy on the ball especially closer to the table where a "shot" like this would be most effective. I've suffered more than a few welts from hitting--or being hit by--the ball with parts of my hand on accident; I can't imagine doing it intentionally.

 

[NextLevel]

It is extremely hard at a decent level to get an advantage hitting consistently with the hand, beyond serve, it is highly impractical. Anyone who masters it deserves their rewards.

 

[allencorn]

When serving, we used to call that an anti-skin serve. Pretty effective, though tough to do consistently.

 

[Colestt]

I learned to serve off the back of my hand when I was a kid. It's very easy. I have been told it's legal since above the wrist. However, there is terminology about this or that rule for intentded hitting surfaces that makes me think it's not. Maybe if I painted it red?

 

[Lula]

Sweaty hand serve at 10-10 is probably effective, at least for mental warfare haha

 

[NetProphet]

It is extremely hard at a decent level to get an advantage hitting consistently with the hand, beyond serve, it is highly impractical. Anyone who masters it deserves their rewards.

This is a surprise.
Do you honestly believe that anyone getting good at deliberately making hand ball contact to make a shot deserves reward for exploitation of rules and (imo) making a total mockery of the game? 🤢

Yes, it would be difficult to do it but it's also farcical and dishonest.
There's a reason why rubbers have to be different colours and it's so players can reasonably expect to judge the incoming shot based on opponents chosen equipment, pips, anti etc.
I have to say, your post both surprises and dismays.

I would happily walk off the table, refusing to play while laughing at the clown attempting this. I personally wouldn't care about anyone else's interpretation of the rules, I just absolutely would not partake in someones idiot acting.
If this is what they wanted to do they could go and waste someone else's time.....
Like really, what serious person in here would tolerate this? 🤷‍♂️

 

[NextLevel]

This is a surprise.
Do you honestly believe that anyone getting good at deliberately making hand ball contact to make a shot deserves reward for exploitation of rules and (imo) making a total mockery of the game? 🤢

Yes, it would be difficult to do it but it's also farcical and dishonest.
There's a reason why rubbers have to be different colours and it's so players can reasonably expect to judge the incoming shot based on opponents chosen equipment, pips, anti etc.
I have to say, your post both surprises and dismays.

I would happily walk off the table, refusing to play while laughing at the clown attempting this. I personally wouldn't care about anyone else's interpretation of the rules, I just absolutely would not partake in someones idiot acting.
If this is what they wanted to do they could go and waste someone else's time.....
Like really, what serious person in here would tolerate this? 🤷‍♂️

The analogy i would draw is serving or returning with the blade handle. Or an uncovered point in the blade.

Of course, you are free to feel anyway you want. I am just pointing out that while the rules permit it (just as the rules permit hitting the ball with the blade handle), it is extremely difficult to get a point consistently at the higher levels playing that way. So anyone who can make that style work has solved a problem so difficult that whatever I feel about what he is doing, he has achieved something really difficult that likely deserves respect in its own right. No doubt others can disagree, which is why I provide the racket handle analogy to be clearer on the point.

 

[NetProphet]

The analogy i would draw is serving or returning with the blade handle. Or an uncovered point in the blade.

Of course, you are free to feel anyway you want. I am just pointing out that while the rules permit it (,just as the rules permit hitting the ball with the blade handle), it is extremely difficult to get a point consistently at the higher levels plating that way. So anyonr who can make that style work has solved a problem so difficult that whatever I feel about what he is doing, he has achieved something really difficult that likely deserves respect in its own right. No doubt others can disagree, which is why i provide the racket handle analogy to be clearer on the point.

Sure, but now you're using B to defend A which is like creating a strawman defense.
And the racket handle isn't the hand, it's part of the racket. So there is a line between the two.
Anyway, am surprised to read that you would easily tolerate someone making a deliberate farce.
Its all hypothetical here of course and maybe you'd react differently if act confronted with it, or maybe not...
I know it's not forbidden by how the rules are written, and the rules don't need changing because nobody would ever be able to use it to get anywhere at pro level.
But I fully believe that if someone started (unsportingly, but permissible within the current rules) using the back of their hand to enact a chop block type return, the rules would quickly be rewritten to forbid this. I 100% believe that.

And that's my point, it would otherwise encourage farce.
Which is exactly what would drive me nuts if I encounterd it. Respect for figuring out how to use your hand to return the ball is not how I would be thinking. I be telling them to f off and play handball.
Anyway......

 

[NextLevel]

Sure, but now you're using B to defend A which is like creating a strawman defense.
And the racket handle isn't the hand, it's part of the racket. So there is a line between the two.
Anyway, am surprised to read that you would easily tolerate someone making a deliberate farce.
Its all hypothetical here of course and maybe you'd react differently if act confronted with it, or maybe not...
I know it's not forbidden by how the rules are written, and the rules don't need changing because nobody would ever be able to use it to get anywhere at pro level.
But I fully believe that if someone started (unsportingly, but permissible within the current rules) using the back of their hand to enact a chop block type return, the rules would quickly be rewritten to forbid this. I 100% believe that.

And that's my point, it would otherwise encourage farce.
Which is exactly what would drive me nuts if I encounterd it. Respect for figuring out how to use your hand to return the ball is not how I would be thinking. I be telling them to f off and play handball.
Anyway......

That's a legitimate point of view for sure.

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

The intention of the rule is that the ball hitting the hand accidentally is allowed.
It's the same as hitting the ball with the side of the racket. Again allowed when accidental.
The rule is written as it is because it is extremely difficult for an umpire to judge such occurrences.
It is expected that players understand this nuance and act accordingly. That's why when you sometimes see a fantastic shot, yet the player follows up with an apology to his/her opponent to indicate that the hit was accidental.

Didn't know it's only allowed for accidental occasions. No wonder nobody ever tried this. lol

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

When serving, we used to call that an anti-skin serve. Pretty effective, though tough to do consistently.

haha so I am not the first one thought of it. I think it would be a fun thing to do when playing a casual game with friends.

 

[NextLevel]

Didn't know it's only allowed for accidental occasions. No wonder nobody ever tried this. lol

No, the reason why no one ever tried this is not about the rules, trust me, it is like saying no one ever tried a handle return because of the rules (in fact, we see the Dane use it for fun). Rules do not change the laws of physics, try to rally with your hand against a player using a regular blade to hit the ball and see how far it gets you beyond service and maybe service return. Some things are just hard to do whether they are legal or not. An example is serving to the edge of the table which would be an ace every time. If a pro could master it, it would produce points on demand. But if you have seen how hard it can be for the pros to hit their spots consistently, you can see that the risk of hitting the edge vs missing the table is real and no one would seriously practice it. In fact, Larry Hodges I believe talked about serving with the hand while holding the racket (which is entirely legal - and that is the other consideration, the racket has to be in your hand for it to be used to hit the ball) and the opponent thought it wasn't legal so he just let it go.