Table tennis, also known as ping pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball

back and forth across a table using a small bat. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a
net. Except for the initial serve, the rules are generally as follows: players must allow a ball played
toward them to bounce one time on their side of the table, and must return it so that it bounces on
the opposite side at least once. A point is scored when a player fails to return the ball within the
rules. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. Spinning the ball alters its trajectory and limits an
opponent's options, giving the hitter a great advantage.
Table tennis is governed by the worldwide organization International Table Tennis
Federation (ITTF), founded in 1926. ITTF currently includes 226 member associations.[3] The table
tennis official rules are specified in the ITTF handbook.[4] Table tennis has been an Olympic
sport since 1988,[5] with several event categories. From 1988 until 2004, these were men's singles,
women's singles, men's doubles and women's doubles. Since 2008, a team event has been played
instead of the doubles.

Contents
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1History
o 1.1Rule changes
2Equipment
o 2.1Ball
o 2.2Table
o 2.3Paddle/racket
3Gameplay
o 3.1Starting a game
o 3.2Service and return
o 3.3Let
o 3.4Scoring
o 3.5Alternation of services and ends
o 3.6Doubles game
o 3.7Expedite system
4Grips
o 4.1Penhold
o 4.2Shakehand
o 4.3Seemiller
5Types of strokes
o 5.1Offensive strokes
5.1.1Hit
5.1.2Loop
5.1.3Counter-hit
5.1.4Flip
5.1.5Smash
o 5.2Defensive strokes
5.2.1Push
5.2.2Chop
5.2.3Block
5.2.4Lob
6Effects of spin
o 6.1Backspin
o 6.2Topspin
 o 6.3Sidespin
o 6.4Corkspin
7Competition
8Notable players
9Governance
10See also
11References
12Bibliography
13External links

History

Parker Brothers Ping-Pong game

The sport originated in Victorian England, where it was played among the upper-class as an after-
dinner parlour game.[1][2] It has been suggested that makeshift versions of the game were developed
by British military officers in India in around 1860s or 1870s, who brought it back with them.[6] A row
of books stood up along the center of the table as a net, two more books served as rackets and were
used to continuously hit a golf-ball.[7][8]
The name "ping-pong" was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son
Ltd trademarked it in 1901. The name "ping-pong" then came to describe the game played using the
rather expensive Jaques's equipment, with other manufacturers calling it table tennis. A similar
situation arose in the United States, where Jaques sold the rights to the "ping-pong" name to Parker
Brothers. Parker Brothers then enforced its trademark for the term in the 1920s making the various
associations change their names to "table tennis" instead of the more common, but trademarked,
term.[9]
The next major innovation was by James W. Gibb, a British enthusiast of table tennis, who
discovered novelty celluloid balls on a trip to the US in 1901 and found them to be ideal for the
game. This was followed by E.C. Goode who, in 1901, 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 to the extent that tournaments were being organized, books being written on the
subject,[7] and an unofficial world championship was held in 1902.
In 1921, the Table Tennis Association was founded, and in 1926 renamed the English Table Tennis
Association.[10] The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) followed in 1926.[1][11] London hosted
the first official World Championships in 1926. In 1933, the United States Table Tennis Association,
now called USA Table Tennis, was formed.[1][12]
In the 1930s, Edgar Snow commented in Red Star Over China that the Communist forces in
the Chinese Civil War had a "passion for the English game of table tennis" which he found
"bizarre".[13] On the other hand, the popularity of the sport waned in 1930s Soviet Union, partly
because of the promotion of team and military sports, and partly because of a theory that the game
had adverse health effects.[14]
In the 1950s, paddles that used a rubber sheet combined with an underlying sponge layer changed
the game dramatically,[1] introducing greater spin and speed.[15] These were introduced to Britain by
sports goods manufacturer S.W. Hancock Ltd. The use of speed glue increased the spin and speed
even further, resulting in changes to the equipment to "slow the game down". Table tennis was
introduced as an Olympic sport at the Olympics in 1988.[16]

Rule changes

Assortment of 40 mm table tennis balls

After the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, the ITTF instituted several rule changes that were aimed at
making table tennis more viable as a televised spectator sport.[17][18] First, the older 38 mm (1.50 in)
balls were officially replaced by 40 mm (1.57 in) balls in October 2000.[7][19]This increased the ball's
air resistance and effectively slowed down the game. By that time, players had begun increasing the
thickness of the fast sponge layer on their paddles, which made the game excessively fast and
difficult to watch on television. A few months later, the ITTF changed from a 21-point to an 11-point
scoring system (and the serve rotation was reduced from five points to two), effective in September
2001.[7] This was intended to make games more fast-paced and exciting. The ITTF also changed the
rules on service to prevent a player from hiding the ball during service, in order to increase the
average length of rallies and to reduce the server's advantage, effective in 2002.[20] For the opponent
to have time to realize a serve is taking place, the ball must be tossed a minimum of 16 cm in the air.
The ITTF states that all events after July 2014 are played with a new poly material ball.[21] [22]

Equipment
Ball

Table Tennis Plastic Ball 40+ mm

The international rules specify that the game is played with a sphere having a mass of 2.7 grams
(0.095 oz) and a diameter of 40 millimetres (1.57 in).[23] The rules say that the ball shall bounce up
2426 cm (9.410.2 in) when dropped from a height of 30.5 cm (12.0 in) onto a standard steel block
thereby having a coefficient of restitution of 0.89 to 0.92. The ball is made of celluloid plastic as of
2015, colored white or orange, with a matte finish. The choice of ball color is made according to the
table color and its surroundings. For example, a white ball is easier to see on a green or blue table
than it is on a grey table. Manufacturers often indicate the quality of the ball with a star rating
system, usually from one to three, three being the highest grade. As this system is not standard
across manufacturers, the only way a ball may be used in official competition is upon ITTF
approval[23] (the ITTF approval can be seen printed on the ball).
The 40 mm ball was introduced after the 2000 Summer Olympics.[19] However, this created some
controversy at the time as the Chinese National Team argued that this was merely to give non-
Chinese players a better chance of winning since the new type of ball has a slower speed (a 40 mm
table tennis ball is slower and spins less than the original 38 mm one, and at that time, most Chinese
players were playing with fast attack and smashes). China won all four Olympic gold medals and
three silvers in 2000, and have continued to dominate.[citation needed]

Table

Diagram of a table tennis table showing the official dimensions

The table is 2.74 m (9.0 ft) long, 1.525 m (5.0 ft) wide, and 76 cm (2.5 ft) high with any continuous
material so long as the table yields a uniform bounce of about 23 cm (9.1 in) when a standard ball is
dropped onto it from a height of 30 cm (11.8 in), or about 77%.[24][25] The table or playing surface is
uniformly dark coloured and matte, divided into two halves by a net at 15.25 cm (6.0 in) in height.
The ITTF approves only wooden tables or their derivates. Concrete tables with a steel net or a solid
concrete partition are sometimes available in outside public spaces, such as parks.[26]

Paddle/racket
Main article: Table tennis racket
Players are equipped with a laminated wooden racket covered with rubber on one or two sides
depending on the grip of the player. The ITTF uses the term "racket",[27] though "bat" is common in
Britain, and "paddle" in the U.S. and Canada.
The wooden portion of the racket, often referred to as the "blade", commonly features anywhere
between one and seven plies of wood, though cork, glass fiber, carbon fiber, aluminum fiber, and
Kevlar are sometimes used. According to the ITTF regulations, at least 85% of the blade by
thickness shall be of natural wood.[28] Common wood types include balsa, limba, and cypress or
"hinoki", which is popular in Japan. The average size of the blade is about 17 centimetres (6.7 in)
long and 15 centimetres (5.9 in) wide. Although the official restrictions only focus on the flatness and
rigidity of the blade itself, these dimensions are optimal for most play styles.
Table tennis regulations allow different surfaces on each side of the racket.[29] Various types of
surfaces provide various levels of spin or speed, and in some cases they nullify spin. For example, a
player may have a rubber that provides much spin on one side of their racket, and one that provides
no spin on the other. By flipping the racket in play, different types of returns are possible. To help a
player distinguish between the rubber used by his opposing player, international rules specify that
one side must be red while the other side must be black.[28] The player has the right to inspect his
opponent's racket before a match to see the type of rubber used and what colour it is. Despite high
speed play and rapid exchanges, a player can see clearly what side of the racket was used to hit the
ball. Current rules state that, unless damaged in play, the racket cannot be exchanged for another
racket at any time during a match.[30]