An indoor bat-and-ball game played by two or four players on a table measuring 9 ft (2·75 m) by 5 ft (1·52 m). The centre of the table has a net 6 in (15·25 cm) high stretched across it. The ball must be hit over the net and into the opposing half of the table. The object is to force one's opponent to make an error and thus not return the ball successfully. In doubles, the players must hit the ball alternately and in order. The winner is the first to reach 11 points with at least a two-point lead. The exact origins of the game are uncertain, but it is thought to have been first played in the 1880s. Known as ping pong in the early part of the 20th-c, it is very popular in China and Korea.
For the video game from Rockstar Games, see Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis. The game takes place on a table divided by a net and players hit the ball with paddles. During play each player must allow a ball played towards him or her only one bounce on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opponent’s side. Spin combined with speed makes table tennis an exciting sport to play as well as to watch.Table tennis is very popular in Asia and is one of the most popular sports in the world in terms of player numbers, as well as one of the newest of the major sports.
General description
Table tennis is an Olympic sport where two or four players hit a ball back and forth to each other, with a racket on a table, in a manner similar to tennis. Ball spin, speed, strategy and tactics play an important part in competitive table tennis matches.
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, dark blue, or black. 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. 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.
The ball used in table tennis has a diameter of 40 mm, is made of celluloid, and is completely hollow. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. Table tennis was introduced as an Olympic sport at the Olympics in 1988.
Toward the end of 2000, the ITTF instituted several rules changes aimed at making table tennis more viable as a televised spectator sport. "Large ball" table tennis uses a 44 mm ball which slows down the game significantly.
There is a move towards reviving the table tennis game that existed prior to the introduction of sponge rubber, Classic table tennis or "Hardbat" table tennis players reject the speed and spin of reversed sponge rubber, preferring the 1940-60s style of no-sponge, short pimpled rubber of play which makes defense less difficult by decreasing the speed and eliminating any meaningful magnus effect of spin. Because hardbat killer shots are almost impossible to hit against a skilled player, hardbat matches focus on the strategic side of table tennis, requiring skillful maneuvering of the opponent before an attack can be successful.
Equipment
The ball
The international rules specify that the game is played with a light 2.7 gram, 40 mm (formerly 38 mm) diameter, high-bouncing hollow celluloid ball, colored white or orange, with a matte finish. The choice of ball colour is made according to the table colour and its surroundings. For example a white ball is easier to see on a green table or a blue table. A table tennis ball is not, as is often supposed, empty.
The table
The table is 2.74 m (9 ft) long, 1.525 m (5 feet) wide, and 76 cm (30 inches) high with a masonite or similarly manufactured timber, layered with a smooth, low-friction coating. The table or playing surface is divided into two halves by a 15.2 cm (6 inch) high net.
The racket
Players are equipped with a wooden racket (also known as paddles or bats) covered with rubber on one or two sides.
Recent years have seen an advancement in technology of table tennis blades (a racket without rubber). Materials incorporated into table tennis blades today include kevlar, titanium, arylate, aramid, and aluminium.
The rubber coating may be of pimpled rubber, with the pimples outward, or it may be a rubber that is composed of two materials, a sponge layer, covered by a pimpled rubber, with the pimples pointed inwards or outwards.
Players have many choices and variations in rubber sheets on their racket. The player can choose from different types of rubber sheets which will provide a certain level of spin, speed and specific playing characteristics.
Table tennis is the only racket sport that allows different surfaces on each side of the racket. Despite high speed play and rapid exchanges, a player can see clearly what side of the racket was used to hit the ball. A Grand Slam is earned by a player who wins an Olympic Games gold medal, world championship title, and World Cup of Table Tennis gold medal. Vint (England) Angelica Rozeanu (Romania), six times consecutively the world champion (betwixt 1950 and 1955) Anna Sipos (Hungary) Bettine Vriesekoop (Netherlands), 1982 and 1992 European champion Bohumil Vana (Czechoslovakia) Cao Yanhua (China) Chuan Chi Yuan (Taiwan) Deng Yaping (China), twice Olympic singles and doubles champion (1992 and 1996), thrice world champion, thrice world doubles champion Desmond Douglas (England), an attacking player famous for his scissor jump smash Ding Song (China), the first chopper in the world to counterattack consistently and successfully Ella Zeller (Romania) Ferenc Sido (Hungary) Frantisek Tokar (Czechoslovakia) Fujie Eguchi (Japan) Ge Xinai (China) Gizi Farkas (Hungary) Guo Yuehua (China), noted for his extremely powerful forehand even without the use of speedglue; twice a world championship finalist and a back-to-back world champion H. Roy Evans (Wales) Ichiro Ogimura (Japan) Ivan Andreadis (Czechoslovakia) Ivor Montagu (England) Jan-Ove Waldner (Sweden) The first grand slam winner in 1992, 1989 and 1997 World champion, 1987 and 1991 World runner-up, 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games singles gold medalist, 2000 Sydney Olympic silver medalist, 2004 Athens Olympic Games 4th place (defeating Ma Lin and Timo Boll), 1990 World Cup winner. Jean-Philippe Gatien (France) 1992 Olympic singles silver medalist, 1993 World champion Jean-Michel Saive (Belgium) 1993 World runner-up, 1994 Euro Top-12 Winner, 1994 European champion, 1994 World Cup runner-up Jiang Jialiang (China) Said by Jan-Ove Waldner to be the fastest player ever, perhaps rivaled only by Ma Lin. Famous for his service return, killing any loose serves and one of the only players to successfully defend his title as World Champion (1985 and 1987). Jimmy McClure (USA) Johnny Leach (England) Britain's only world champion Joo Se Hyuk (Korea), currently the best defensive player, 2003 World Championship runner-up. Kimiyo Matzusaki (Japan) Kong Linghui (China) The third grand slam winner in 2000, 1995 World champion, 2001 World runner-up, 1996 Olympic doubles gold medalist, 2000 Olympic doubles silver medalist, 2000 Olympic singles gold medalist, 1995 World Cup winner, 2002 World Cup runner-up. Liang Geliang (China) Lin Huiquing (China) Liu Guoliang (China) The second grand slam winner in 1999, 1999 World champion, 1996 Olympic singles and doubles gold medalist. Ma Lin (China) 1999 and 2005 World runner-up, 2004 Olympic doubles gold medalist, 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2006 World Cup winner. Possesses a deadly combination of smarts and firepower, very much a table tennis McEnroe. Michael Maze (Denmark) 2005 World 3rd place, 2004 Olympic doubles bronze medalist, 2004 Euro Top 12 winner Miklos Szabados (Hungary) Nobuhiko Hasegawa (Japan) Peter Karlsson (Sweden) Qiao Hong (China) Richard Bergmann (Austria) Stephen Kelen (Hungary) Timo Boll (Germany) 2002 and 2005 World Cup winner, 2002 and 2003 Euro Top 12 winner, 2002 European champion Vladimir Samsonov (Belarus) 3 times European champion, Twice World Cup champion, 3 times Euro Top 12 champion Toshiaki Tanaka (Japan) Vera Votrubcova (Czechoslovakia) Victor Barna (Hungary and England) Early table tennis master. 5-time singles and 7-times doubles world champion in 1930s Wang Liqin (China) 2001 and 2005 World champion, 2000 Olympic doubles gold medalist, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, 2001 World Cup Finalist. Thought by many to be the best player in the world (and ever) due to his extremely high quality of play, having top-notch power, consistency and high speed. Wang Nan (China) 2000 Olympic singles champion, 3 times World champion Wang Hao (China) Werner Schlager (Austria) 2003 World champion, 1999 World 3rd place, 1999 World Cup runner-up, 2000 Euro Top-12 winner Zhang Xielin (China) Zhang Yining (China) ranked #1 in the ITTF rankings, in both women's singles and women's doubles, 2005. Zhuang Zedong (China) 3-time world men's singles champion, 1961, 1963 and 1965 Zoltan Mechlovitz (Hungary) Zoran Primorac (Croatia) 1993 and 1997 World Cup winner, 1998 and 2000 European runner-up
Physics of table tennis
A table tennis ball is governed first and foremost by Newton’s laws of motion.
Governance
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF): worldwide governing body with national bodies responsible for the sport in each country.
USA Table Tennis (USATT): national governing body for table tennis in the United States.
The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA): official governing body for collegiate table tennis in the United States.
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