Scoring: First to 11, Win by 2

## The basic scoring structure A game of table tennis is won by the first player to reach 11 points — but they must lead by at least 2 points. If the score reaches 10-10 (deuce), play continues until one player leads by 2 clear points. ## Match formats Competitive matches are typically best of 5 or best of 7 games. Olympic and World Championship events use best of 7 for singles. ## Service rotation Each player serves 2 points consecutively, then service switches. At deuce (10-10), service alternates after every single point. ## Why 11 points changed the sport Table tennis switched from 21-point games to 11-point games in 2001. The change was driven by television — shorter games create more decisive moments. From an analytical perspective, 11-point games increase variance: a single bad stretch of 3-4 points can cost an entire game.