Table Tennis | History, Rules, Equipment, Champions, & Facts

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• Introduction
• History
• Equipment, rules, and play of the game

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External Websites

• University of Wyoming - Intramural Sports - Table Tennis Rules
• ABC listen - Sporty - Get fit, have fun — Table tennis
• International Olympic Committee - Table tennis rules, scoring system and all you need to know
• National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Table Tennis for Health: A Multidimensional Perspective on Its Physical, Emotional, and Social Advantages
• LiveAbout - A Brief History of Table Tennis (Ping-Pong)
• International Table Tennis Federation - History of Table Tennis

Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

• Table Tennis - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

table tennis sport Ask Anything Quick Summary Homework Help Also known as: Ping-Pong Written by Victor Barna World table tennis champion, men's singles, 1930, 1932–35; men's doubles, 1929–35; mixed doubles, 1932, 1935. Author of Table Tennis Today. Victor Barna Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors History Britannica AI Ask Anything Quick Summary Table of Contents Table of Contents Quick Summary Ask Anything Top Questions

• What is table tennis?
• How is table tennis played?
• What equipment do you need to play table tennis?
• What are some basic rules of table tennis?
• What are some common techniques or strokes used in table tennis?
• How are official table tennis competitions organized and scored?

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table tennis, ball game similar in principle to lawn tennis and played on a flat table divided into two equal courts by a net fixed across its width at the middle. The object is to hit the ball so that it goes over the net and bounces on the opponent’s half of the table in such a way that the opponent cannot reach it or return it correctly. The lightweight hollow ball is propelled back and forth across the net by small rackets (bats, or paddles) held by the players. The game is popular all over the world. In most countries it is very highly organized as a competitive sport, especially in Europe and Asia, particularly in China and Japan.

History

The game was invented in England in the early days of the 20th century and was originally called Ping-Pong, a trade name. The name table tennis was adopted in 1921–22 when the old Ping-Pong Association formed in 1902 was revived. The original association had broken up about 1905, though apparently the game continued to be played in parts of England outside London and by the 1920s was being played in many countries. Led by representatives of Germany, Hungary, and England, the Fédération Internationale de Tennis de Table (International Table Tennis Federation) was founded in 1926, the founding members being England, Sweden, Hungary, India, Denmark, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Wales. By the mid-1990s more than 165 national associations were members.

Also called (trademark): Ping-Pong (Show more) Key People: Deng Yaping (Show more) Related Topics: Olympic Games sports Summer Olympic Games Who Is Marty Supreme Based On? finger spinning (Show more) See all related content

The first world championships were held in London in 1926, and from then until 1939 the game was dominated by players from central Europe, the men’s team event being won nine times by Hungary and twice by Czechoslovakia. In the mid-1950s Asia emerged as a breeding ground of champions, and from that time the individual and team events (for both men and women) have been dominated by athletes from China. The popularity of the game in China was notable for giving rise to so-called “Ping-Pong diplomacy,” a period during the 1970s in which Cold War tensions between China and the United States were eased via a series of highly publicized table tennis matches between athletes from the two countries. The first such event—held in Beijing in 1971—is widely credited with paving the way for U.S. Pres. Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China the following year. In 1980 the first World Cup was held, and Guo Yuehua of China won the $12,500 first prize. Table tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988, with singles and doubles competition for men and women.