Table Tennis Rules and Format

League or Knockout or both, decided by number of team registrations at close of entries
Format and grouping to be finalised and communicated after registration closes

Minimum 5 players per squad, maximum 8
Squad must include enough men and women to field all 3 sets: minimum 3 men, minimum 2 women
A man who has played in one set cannot play in another set within the same game
A woman may play in more than one set within the same game (e.g. the same women can cover both Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles)
No substitutions between games — once a game's 3-set lineup is set, it holds for that entire game. Squad rotation across different games (i.e. different ties in the tournament) is allowed, since the squad has up to 8 players to draw from

Each game (tie) between two teams consists of 3 sets: 1-set Men's Doubles, 1-set Women's Doubles, 1-set Mixed Doubles
First team to win 2 of the 3 sets wins the game — the game stops once a team reaches 2 set wins (the third set is not played if unnecessary)
Toss winner chooses which set is played first; the opponent chooses the order of the next one and so on (alternate)

First to 15, win by 2, wins the set and the match
If scores reach 20-20 (golden point), the next point wins outright
If the match is abandoned mid-set (rain, time cutoff), the team with the higher point differential at the stoppage is declared winner

Serve must be struck diagonally — from the right-hand side of the server's court to the right-hand side of the receiver's court
Service changes every 2 points
Once the game reaches 19-19 or later (approaching golden point), service changes after every single point
Doubles hitting order is fixed for the set: Server → Receiver → Server's partner → Receiver's partner → repeat. Playing the ball out of this order is a fault
A serve that clips the net and still lands correctly in the diagonal service court is a let — it is replayed and does not count as a point either way (this is different from both throwball and volleyball, where a net touch on serve is either a fault or plays on — table tennis is the one sport of the three where it's simply replayed)

Serving out of turn or receiving out of the fixed doubles order
Ball bounces twice on the receiving side before being returned
Ball is volleyed (struck before it bounces on the returning side)
Ball hits the net (outside of a let serve) and fails to cross
Ball lands outside the table boundary — a touch on the table edge/top is in play, a touch on the side of the table is out
Player touches the table with their free hand during play
Player obstructs the ball before it has passed over the table and past the end line

If a team is unable to field the required players for a game (injury, no-show, dropping below the minimum squad needed to cover all 3 sets), the opposing team is awarded the game as a walkover

- Umpire's decision is final

- Organising Committee's decision is binding in disputes

- Abusive or foul language = player or team suspension

- Only team captains may approach the referee or organising committee