saying Thank you to your rival

[Rusifizio]

hi there,

could you tell me if its common and ok to thank your opponent for failing to execute a serve? i.e. a serve in the net, missing touch due to wrong timing etc?
as for me i hate it when i fail to serve and hear Thank you from the opposite side of the table.

 

[Baal]

It should not be done.

 

[Brs]

That's okay if you are friends, training partners, or whatever. Not for people you don't really know, that's just rude

 

[Tinykin]

hi there,

could you tell me if its common and ok to thank your opponent for failing to execute a serve? i.e. a serve in the net, missing touch due to wrong timing etc?
as for me i hate it when i fail to serve and hear Thank you from the opposite side of the table.

Of course you shouldn't. You earned that point so instead, cho loudly in your best Harimoto impression.

 

[An0n]

Around here people tend to say sorry to their opponents when they miss a serve. I think saying thank you would not sit well with most players lol. Just keeping quiet would be the best option imo but even though I hate it I do catch myself saying sorry occasionally when an opponent misses a serve.

 

[Rusifizio]

yes, i really am sorry for an opponent's serve failed. fightlust. and earning that point does not make me very happy.

 

[Baal]

For questions on this see the Rules thread. It answers all your questions.

 

[Airoc]

For questions on this see the Rules thread. It answers all your questions.

Really?

Because this is a matter of behaviour rather than rules.

It seems over the years the view on certain things has changed.

We have a few 70+ players who say "thank you" for service errors and also "sorry" for their own net balls while the rally is still on. None of them is especially rude, it´s just what they learned to be gentleman-like when they started playing.
That they didn´t learn otherwise by now, and not only in this matter, is the sad part of it.

 

[Xylit]

It should not be done and gladly it is not common from my experience.

I only do that against very good friends as funny banter.

 

[bricec]

I guess it heavily depends on where and when you come from. When I learned table tennis in France about 25 years ago it was definitely part of the etiquette to say thank you because fault services were considered (and called) “gifts”.

Nowadays it seems the mode has faded indeed. I personally try to not speak that much during matches and just raise one finger for any point that I consider I didn’t earn, such as fault serves, net and edges, or even totally uncontrolled blocks that just happened to come back hard on the table.

 

[Hysteresis]

I personally try to not speak that much during matches and just raise one finger for any point that I consider I didn’t earn, such as fault serves, net and edges, or even totally uncontrolled blocks that just happened to come back hard on the table.

This basically. Just don't say anything specific, raise a hand or a finger to acknowledge those factors that may have affected a point.

Nets, edges, service errors, being put into a weird position and just improvising some weird spin shot, whatever situation that involves anything that not just clean hitting on both sides, you can just raise a hand. That way you don't have to think about whether this should be a 'sorry' or 'thank you' or 'commiserations'.

 

[JHB]

Of course if you DO thank the opponent for his/her net serves, then is also good etiquette to remember to say "Well left !" when he or she plays an air shot. In doubles, this can also be used for your partner's air shots.

 

[Baal]

Really?

Because this is a matter of behaviour rather than rules.

It seems over the years the view on certain things has changed.

We have a few 70+ players who say "thank you" for service errors and also "sorry" for their own net balls while the rally is still on. None of them is especially rude, it´s just what they learned to be gentleman-like when they started playing.
That they didn´t learn otherwise by now, and not only in this matter, is the sad part of it.

Of course The Rules I am talking about cover behavior and they come from The Table Tennis Gods, a far higher authority than ITTF. For example they state that in a doubles match you are not allowed to signal your forthcoming serve to your partner unless you are actually able to execute more than one type of serve. Useful stuff like that, much more important than ITTF. Another one, you are not allowed to cho unless you are a professional player


Your 70+ players are being genuinely polite. They are not violating The Rules.

 

[GusShnaps]

Happens sometimes where I play and most of the times it's pretty annoying.
Is it against the rules? No.
Is it okay to do it then? Nah.

NOT COOL

Especially when it's a relatively important match​

Still, I think the idea of thanking your opponent for giving an accidental "gift" is pretty funny.

​

 

[Rusifizio]

thank you all!

 

[Rusifizio]

Happy New Year everyone!

 

[jawien]

I personally find it sarcastic. If it comes from a little kid I let it go by, but if it's a grown person than I tend to say something in return ...

Happy New Year!

 

[chuckjordan2]

These words are gestures. Don't you think culturally it may be polite and respectful in some cultures? Especially those aged 70+ ?

Saying 'hao cho' (Hǎo qiú) is good ball. Well, that is culturally being respectful.

My thoughts are this is polite when taken in the that person's culture/context.

 

[Baal]

These words are gestures. Don't you think culturally it may be polite and respectful in some cultures? Especially those aged 70+ ?

Saying 'hao cho' (Hǎo qiú) is good ball. Well, that is culturally being respectful.

My thoughts are this is polite when taken in the that person's culture/context.

Possibly but let's get real about this. It is obvious when this "thank you" is being polite vs. someone making a lame attempt to "mess with your head". Humans are very good at picking up the many cues that signal the difference, even across cultures. In the latter case it really is moronic.

The fact that OP is even asking about this is because he has experienced it.

 

[jawien]

These words are gestures. Don't you think culturally it may be polite and respectful in some cultures? Especially those aged 70+ ?

Saying 'hao cho' (Hǎo qiú) is good ball. Well, that is culturally being respectful.

My thoughts are this is polite when taken in the that person's culture/context.

Apart from the cultural context, think about it logically ...
Someone says "thank you" for a point while it is obvious, it was not your intention to give it ... you are probably frustrated because of your misfortune yet someone is implying, you did it purposefully (possibly because you are giving up?). Isn't this a little sarcastic ... ?