Table tennis is a ball game played on a flat table that is split into two equal courts by a net that is fixed across the middle of the table. It is conceptually similar to lawn tennis. The goal is to strike the ball so that it crosses the net and bounces on the other player’s side of the table, where it will remain unaffected and impossible for the other player to retrieve or correctly return. The players’ little rackets, sometimes known as bats or paddles, push the light hollow ball back and forth across the net. The game is well-liked everywhere in the world. It is a highly structured competitive sport in most nations, especially in Asia and Europe, especially in China and Japan.
When the game was first created in England at the beginning of the 20th century, it was known by the trade name Ping-Pong. When the former Ping-Pong Association, founded in 1902, was resurrected in 1921–1922, the term table tennis was chosen. About 1905, the original association disbanded, but it seems that the game was still played in some areas of England outside of London, and by the 1920s, it was being played in other nations. The Fédération Internationale de Tennis de Table (International Table Tennis Federation) was established in 1926 with the following founding members: Denmark, England, Sweden, Hungary, India, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Wales. The organization was led by representatives of Germany, Hungary, and England. Over 165 national associations were members as of the middle of the 1990s.
Following the inaugural world championships in London in 1926, players from central Europe dominated the sport until 1939, with Hungary winning the men’s team event nine times and Czechoslovakia twice. China’s athletes have dominated the individual and team events (for both men and women) since the mid-1950s, when Asia began to emerge as a breeding ground for winners. The development in popularity of the game in China is noteworthy because it contributed to the era known as “Ping-Pong diplomacy,” which took place in the 1970s and involved highly publicized table tennis matches between athletes from China and the US to defuse Cold War tensions between the two nations. The initial one, which took place in BeijingThe equipment for table tennis is reasonably basic and affordable. The table is rectangular, measuring 9 by 5 feet (2.7 by 1.5 meters), with a flat plane 30 inches (76 cm) above the ground on its upper surface. The net’s upper edge is 6 inches (15.25 cm) above the playing surface for its whole length of 6 feet (1.8 meters). The hollow, round ball was originally composed of white celluloid. A material that resembles celluloid has been in use since 1969. The ball, which comes in white, yellow, or orange colors, is roughly 1.6 inches (4 cm) in diameter and weighs about 0.09 ounces (2.7 grams). Typically composed of wood, a racket’s or bat’s blade is flat, stiff, and may
A match is made up of the best of any odd number of games, with the winner of each game being the person who scores 11 points in the first place or who wins two clear points after each player scores 10 points. Points are awarded for poor service by the server, poor returns by either player, or specific infractions (such as touching the playing surface with a free hand while the ball is in play) by either player. Up until 10-all is reached, service switches hands every two points; after that, it switches hands after each additional point.
The ball is tossed upward from the palm of the serving hand and struck as it descends to bounce first on the server’s court and then, after crossing the net, on the opponent’s court. The serve is done from behind the end of the table. No spin may be applied to the ball by the fingertips during serving. This wasn’t always the case. Particularly in the US, finger spin evolved to the point that professionals could provide unbeatable services, making the game ridiculous. In 1937, finger spin was outlawed globally.
Watching a player defeat another with a well-planned strategy piques the interest of the observer. Some of the strategies that can be employed to support the intended strategy include speeding up or slowing down the game, changing the direction of the ball or giving it variable spin or tempo, and using delicate drop shots over the net when the opponent is out of position.
At one point, slow or defensive play was so dominant that it took an hour to decide a single point at the 1936 World Championships in Prague. Play is currently limited. The remainder of that game and the other games in the match continue under the Expedite System if a game is left unfinished fifteen minutes after it starts. The server loses the point if the recipient returns the service and the next 13 strokes made by the server. After every point, the service is modified.
One player at each end of the table, two players at each end—either a man and a woman, or one of each—can play table tennis. Women compete in world championships and all other sanctioned events, and their game is organized similarly to that of men’s around the world. In addition to being well-organized, table tennis is a very well-liked recreational game that can be played in gaming rooms, social clubs, sports clubs, homes, and even outside in peaceful weather.
