Table Tennis
Table tennis (also colloquially and commonly known as ping pong, a trademark in the U.S. of Parker Brothers) is a sport where two or four players hit a ball back and forth to each other with paddles. The game takes place on a table divided by a net. Players must allow a ball played towards them only one bounce on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opponent’s side. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. A skilled player can impart spin to the ball, which makes its bounce and its reaction on the opponent's bat difficult to predict or return with confidence.
Table tennis is very popular in East Asia and is the most popular sport in the world in terms of player numbers, as well as one of the newest of the major sports.
Table tennis is very popular in East Asia and is the most popular sport in the world in terms of player numbers, as well as one of the newest of the major sports.
General description
A standard table tennis table, together with paddle and ball.
Table tennis is an Olympic sport where two or four players hit a ball with a bat back and forth to each other on a table, in a manner similar to tennis. The rules are slightly different, but the concept is basically the same. Ball spin, speed, placement, strategy and tactics play an important part in competitive table tennis matches. The speed of the ball can vary from slow serves with much spin to smashes that travel as fast as 112.5 kilometers per hour (69.9 miles per hour).
The game is played on a 274 cm × 152.5 cm × 76 cm high (approx 9 ft × 5 ft × 30 in high) hard rectangular table with the surface usually colored green, black, or dark blue. A 15.25 cm (6 inch) tall net divides the table in half (similarly to tennis) and is strung to extend 15.25 cm (6 inches) beyond the table on each side.
Table tennis requires a large enough room so that players can move freely. In international competitions, the International Table Tennis Federation requires an area not less than 14 m (46 ft) long, 7 m (23 ft) wide and 5 m (16 ft) high. The 4 corners may be covered by surrounds of not more than 1.5 m (5 ft) length.
The bats, also known as paddles or racquets, are usually about 10 inches long, with a hitting surface that is approximately 6 in × 6 in (15.2 cm × 15.2 cm), although the rules specify no limitations in size or shape. Modern bats usually have a thin layer of rubber covering the paddle's striking surface. The rubber may have pimples pointing outwards or inwards, as well as a thin layer of sponge between the plywood center and the rubber surface. Since spin plays a large role in the modern sport of table tennis, the composition of the rubber and the combination of sponge and rubber is designed to maximize the amount of spin and speed a player can impart onto the ball. Other technological improvements include the use of carbon or other synthetic layers as part of the blade to increase the sweet spot or the stiffness of the blade.
The ball used in table tennis has a diameter of 40 mm, is made of celluloid, and is completely hollow. A three star rating on a ball usually implies a top quality ball, in relation to its bounce, roundness and their respective consistency between balls of the same make and type.
The winner is the first to score 11 points, with each player alternating serves every two points. At 10-10 (or deuce) the players alternate with every serve; the winner is then the first person to gain a clear two points advantage over his opponent. The 11 point game is an International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) change which occurred in 2001. All games played at national level and at international tournaments (ITTF) are played to 11 points in either a best of five (5) games (preliminaries) or best of seven (7) games format (championship matches).
History
Table tennis making an 'impression' on the world of sports
Table tennis has its origins in England as an after dinner amusement for upper class Victorians in the 1880s. Mimicking the game of tennis in an indoor environment, everyday objects were originally enlisted to act as the equipment. A line of books would be the net, a rounded top of a Champagne cork or knot of string as the ball, and a cigar box lid as the bat.
The popularity of the game led game manufacturers to sell the equipment commercially. Early bats were often pieces of parchment stretched upon a frame, and the sound generated in play gave the game its first nicknames of "whiff whaff" and "Ping pong". A number of sources indicate that the game was first brought to the attention of Hamley’s of Regent Street under the name "Gossima". The name ping pong was in wide use before English manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. The name ping pong then came to be used for the game played by the rather expensive Jaques equipment, with other manufacturers calling theirs table tennis. A similar situation came to exist in the United States where Jaques sold the rights to the ping pong name to Parker Brothers. The term is now used as a generic name for table tennis.
The next major innovation was by James Gibb,an English enthusiast of the game, who discovered novelty celluloid balls on a trip to the U.S. in 1901 and found them to be the ideal balls for the game. This was followed by E.C. Goode who in 1903 invented the modern version of the racket by fixing a sheet of pimpled, or stippled, rubber to the wooden blade. Table tennis was growing in popularity by 1901 when table tennis tournaments were being organized, books on table tennis were being written, and an unofficial world championship was held in 1902. During the early 20th century the game was banned in Russia due to the belief that was held by the rulers at the time that playing the game had an adverse effect on players eyesight. In 1921 the Table Tennis Association was founded in England, and the International Table Tennis Federation followed in 1926. London hosted the first official world championship in 1927. Table tennis was introduced as an Olympic sport at the Olympics in 1988. In the 1950's rackets that used a rubber sheet combined with a underlaying sponge layer changed the game dramatically, introducing greater spin and speed. These were introduced to England by the sports goods manufacturers S.W. Hancock Ltd. and the Hancock bat gave Johnny Leach the edge when he became World Champion in 1949. The use of speed glue increased the spin and speed even further, resulting in changes to the equipment to "slow the game down".
A standard table tennis table, together with paddle and ball.
Table tennis is an Olympic sport where two or four players hit a ball with a bat back and forth to each other on a table, in a manner similar to tennis. The rules are slightly different, but the concept is basically the same. Ball spin, speed, placement, strategy and tactics play an important part in competitive table tennis matches. The speed of the ball can vary from slow serves with much spin to smashes that travel as fast as 112.5 kilometers per hour (69.9 miles per hour).
The game is played on a 274 cm × 152.5 cm × 76 cm high (approx 9 ft × 5 ft × 30 in high) hard rectangular table with the surface usually colored green, black, or dark blue. A 15.25 cm (6 inch) tall net divides the table in half (similarly to tennis) and is strung to extend 15.25 cm (6 inches) beyond the table on each side.
Table tennis requires a large enough room so that players can move freely. In international competitions, the International Table Tennis Federation requires an area not less than 14 m (46 ft) long, 7 m (23 ft) wide and 5 m (16 ft) high. The 4 corners may be covered by surrounds of not more than 1.5 m (5 ft) length.
The bats, also known as paddles or racquets, are usually about 10 inches long, with a hitting surface that is approximately 6 in × 6 in (15.2 cm × 15.2 cm), although the rules specify no limitations in size or shape. Modern bats usually have a thin layer of rubber covering the paddle's striking surface. The rubber may have pimples pointing outwards or inwards, as well as a thin layer of sponge between the plywood center and the rubber surface. Since spin plays a large role in the modern sport of table tennis, the composition of the rubber and the combination of sponge and rubber is designed to maximize the amount of spin and speed a player can impart onto the ball. Other technological improvements include the use of carbon or other synthetic layers as part of the blade to increase the sweet spot or the stiffness of the blade.
The ball used in table tennis has a diameter of 40 mm, is made of celluloid, and is completely hollow. A three star rating on a ball usually implies a top quality ball, in relation to its bounce, roundness and their respective consistency between balls of the same make and type.
The winner is the first to score 11 points, with each player alternating serves every two points. At 10-10 (or deuce) the players alternate with every serve; the winner is then the first person to gain a clear two points advantage over his opponent. The 11 point game is an International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) change which occurred in 2001. All games played at national level and at international tournaments (ITTF) are played to 11 points in either a best of five (5) games (preliminaries) or best of seven (7) games format (championship matches).
History
Table tennis making an 'impression' on the world of sports
Table tennis has its origins in England as an after dinner amusement for upper class Victorians in the 1880s. Mimicking the game of tennis in an indoor environment, everyday objects were originally enlisted to act as the equipment. A line of books would be the net, a rounded top of a Champagne cork or knot of string as the ball, and a cigar box lid as the bat.
The popularity of the game led game manufacturers to sell the equipment commercially. Early bats were often pieces of parchment stretched upon a frame, and the sound generated in play gave the game its first nicknames of "whiff whaff" and "Ping pong". A number of sources indicate that the game was first brought to the attention of Hamley’s of Regent Street under the name "Gossima". The name ping pong was in wide use before English manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. The name ping pong then came to be used for the game played by the rather expensive Jaques equipment, with other manufacturers calling theirs table tennis. A similar situation came to exist in the United States where Jaques sold the rights to the ping pong name to Parker Brothers. The term is now used as a generic name for table tennis.
The next major innovation was by James Gibb,an English enthusiast of the game, who discovered novelty celluloid balls on a trip to the U.S. in 1901 and found them to be the ideal balls for the game. This was followed by E.C. Goode who in 1903 invented the modern version of the racket by fixing a sheet of pimpled, or stippled, rubber to the wooden blade. Table tennis was growing in popularity by 1901 when table tennis tournaments were being organized, books on table tennis were being written, and an unofficial world championship was held in 1902. During the early 20th century the game was banned in Russia due to the belief that was held by the rulers at the time that playing the game had an adverse effect on players eyesight. In 1921 the Table Tennis Association was founded in England, and the International Table Tennis Federation followed in 1926. London hosted the first official world championship in 1927. Table tennis was introduced as an Olympic sport at the Olympics in 1988. In the 1950's rackets that used a rubber sheet combined with a underlaying sponge layer changed the game dramatically, introducing greater spin and speed. These were introduced to England by the sports goods manufacturers S.W. Hancock Ltd. and the Hancock bat gave Johnny Leach the edge when he became World Champion in 1949. The use of speed glue increased the spin and speed even further, resulting in changes to the equipment to "slow the game down".
Competition
Competitive table tennis is popular in Asia and Europe and has been gaining attention in the United States. China continues to dominate most world titles. France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Sweden, and Taiwan also have many world-class players.
Skilled players exhibit extraordinarily swift reaction times, footwork and body control. Also, bat construction and new rubber technology (skilled elite players typically select and attach the rubber to their own bats and glue them before every match) contribute significantly to the amount of deviation from the expected ball flight path. The fairly recent development of speed glue speeds up the departure of the ball from the rubber considerably, though at the cost of some ball control. There are also competitions in table tennis variants: "Hardbat", in which all competitors use a paddle with small pips-out rubber (sponge is not allowed); and "Large ball", where a 44 mm ball is used to decrease the speed.
Competitive table tennis is popular in Asia and Europe and has been gaining attention in the United States. China continues to dominate most world titles. France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Sweden, and Taiwan also have many world-class players.
Skilled players exhibit extraordinarily swift reaction times, footwork and body control. Also, bat construction and new rubber technology (skilled elite players typically select and attach the rubber to their own bats and glue them before every match) contribute significantly to the amount of deviation from the expected ball flight path. The fairly recent development of speed glue speeds up the departure of the ball from the rubber considerably, though at the cost of some ball control. There are also competitions in table tennis variants: "Hardbat", in which all competitors use a paddle with small pips-out rubber (sponge is not allowed); and "Large ball", where a 44 mm ball is used to decrease the speed.
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