How does serving and receiving work in doubles?

Under the Laws of Table Tennis (ITTF Statutes 2026):

• The serve must touch the server's right half-court and then the receiver's right half-court (the centre line counts as part of each right half-court). Law 2.6.3.
• Order of play: server, receiver, server's partner, receiver's partner, and so on in that sequence (Law 2.8.2). Hitting out of turn loses the point. Where at least one player of a pair is in a wheelchair, after the serve and return either player of that pair may return.
• First server and receiver: in each game the pair serving first chooses which of them serves. In the first game the receiving pair chooses who receives first; in later games, the first receiver is the player who served to the first server in the previous game (Law 2.13.4).
• Change of service (every 2 points, or every point from 10-all): the previous receiver becomes the server and the partner of the previous server becomes the receiver (Law 2.13.5).
• Last possible game: when either pair first reaches 5 points, the pair due to receive next changes its order of receiving, and the pairs change ends (Laws 2.13.6 and 2.13.7).