HISTORICAL

TIMELINE
EVOLUTION OF TABLE TENNIS

ADAPTATION OF LAWN

TENNIS TO THE DINING

TABLE WITH IMPROVISED

EQUIPMENT

SLAZENGER PATENT, NETS

FOR GAMES, MENTIONS

TENNIS ON A TABLE

JAMES DEVONSHIRE (ENG)

GRANTED PROVISIONAL

PATENT FOR HIS “TABLE

TENNIS”, ABANDONED 1887.1

SEVERAL PATENTS

REGISTERED IN ENGLAND AND

THE USA

EARLIEST SURVIVING ACTION

GAME OF TABLE TENNIS: DAVID

FOSTER’S PARLOUR TABLE GAMES,

ENGLAND
 HISTORICAL
TIMELINE
EVOLUTION OF TABLE TENNIS

1890S
Sets produced

under trade

names such as

Gossima, and

Indoor Tennis,

1900 with Lawn

Introduction Tennis style

of celluloid rules

balls to

replace

rubber and

cork ones. 1901

Table Tennis

Association and

rival Ping Pong

Association

formed in

1901 England

First books on

the game

published in

England

1901
The game is

introduced in

China via western

settlements &

trade missions
 HISTORICAL
TIMELINE
EVOLUTION OF TABLE TENNIS

1903
Amalgamated - Table
Tennis Association and rival
Ping Pong Association

1904
Ping Pong craze fades, some pockets of popularity
in eastern Europe continue

1922
Revival of the game in England & Europe, though
laws varied.
Establishment of standard laws of the game in
England

1926
International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)
initiated in Berlin
First World Championships held in London,
England. ITTF Constitution adopted, along with first
set of standardized Laws.
Ivor Montagu (ENG) elected Chairman

1920s – 1950
Classic Hard Bat Era (European Dominance)
 HISTORICAL
TIMELINE
EVOLUTION OF TABLE TENNIS

1926 – 1931
Maria Mednyanszky (HUN) wins the World
Championships five times consecutively.
Mednyanszky wins 18 gold medals over-all

1930 – 1935
Victor Barna (HUN) becomes five times world
champion. Barna wins a record 22 gold
medals at world championships during his
career, 40 medals overall

1936
Tenth World Championships held in Prague,
Czechoslovakia. The longest rally took place,
the first point taking over two hours due to
pushing style play.
1937
Both women singles finalists defaulted
at the World Championships due to
misunderstanding about time limit

1937
law.

A lowering of the net to 6 inches (15.24cm)

encouraged more attacking style, and time
limits imposed on matches. 1937
Ruth Aarons (USA) & Trude Pritzi
(AUT) declared co-champions in 2001.

1939
First World Championship held outside
Europe: Cairo, Egypt

1940 - 1946
Due to World War II the ITTF suspended
activities, & no World Championships were
held
 HISTORICAL
TIMELINE
EVOLUTION OF TABLE TENNIS

First Continental

1943
Federation
founded December
12: South American
Confederation

ITTF resumes activity;

1947
World Championships
held in Paris, but Richard
Bergmann (ENG),
defending World Singles
Champion, not allowed
to participate.

1950s
Age of Sponge Bat
and Technology
(Beginning of Asian
Dominance)

Hiroji Satoh (JPN)

became the first player
1952

to win a World
Championship when
using a racket covered
with thick sponge and is
the first non-European
winner.

China entered the

1953

World Championships
for the first time. Thick
sponge bat causes
major controversies for
the next several years.
 HISTORICAL TIMELINE EVOLUTION OF
TABLE TENNIS

1954 1956 1957 1958

Ichiro Ogimura (JPN) Tomie Okada-Okawa World First European

is the epitome of (JPN) is the first female Championship Championships,

Japanese dominance player from Asia to win changes to a Budapest, Hungary.

with technological the World Championships two-year cycle The USSR made

development and and stops the European their entry to the

physical training reign on world’s female international scene

table tennis.

1959 1960 1962 1967

Rong Guotuan (CHN) is Ivor Montagu retired as
1st Paralympic First All-Africa
the first Chinese world President of the ITTF after forty
Games in Rome, Championships
champion in any sport. years in office. Swaythling
included Table , Alexandria,
Club International founded,
Racket standardization
Tennis Egypt Victor Barna President.
laws enacted
1971 1971 1973

First Commonwealth Championships Stellan Bengtsson (SWE) wins the

held in Singapore men’s singles title and heralds the
Ping Pong Diplomacy: table tennis start of three decades of Swedish First World University
played an important role in
influence, with top players such as
international diplomacy when several
Championships held in
Kjell Johansson, Mikael Appelgren,
teams were invited to China for a
Erik Lindh, Jan-Ove Waldner, Hanover, Germany
series of friendship matches after the
Jörgen Persson, and Peter Karlsson.
1971 World Championships.

1977 1979

ITTF received formal First European

declaration of its Championships for
recognition by the Paraplegics (wheelchair
International Olympic players) held in Stoke
Committee (IOC) Mandeville, England

1980 1981 1982

World Championships held in Nova First World Veterans’

Sad, Yugoslavia. Total triumph for Championships held in
China, whose athletes win all of the
First World Cup held seven gold medals
Gothenburg, Sweden.
First World Championships for
in Hong Kong Table tennis admitted to the
the disabled held in Stoke
Olympic programme (84th session
IOC) Mandeville, England

1985 1988

European Youth For the very first time,

Championships held in The
table tennis was
Hague, Holland
featured in the Olympic
Modern Olympics Era
(Chinese Reign with few Games, held in Seoul,
exceptions) South Korea

HISTORICAL
TIMELINE
EVOLUTION OF TABLE TENNIS
 1991 1992 1995

A United North & Former World World

South Korea team champion, Jan-Ove
won the Corbillon Cup Waldner (SWE) became
at the World Olympic singles
Championships in champion and
Chiba, Japan reputedly, the first table
tennis millionaire
Championships held
in Tianjin, China.
Total triumph for
China for the second
time, winning seven
gold medals

1996 2000 2001

Beginning of the ITTF After the Olympics in Game score changed

Pro Tour, with events Sydney, the ball size is from 21 to 11 points
taking place increased to 40mm for World Championships
worldwide improved television held in Osaka, Japan.
viewing Total triumph for
China for the third
time, winning all of the
seven gold medals
 Implementation of the ITTF
World Junior Circuit (U18) and
World Cadet Challenge (U15 2002
continental team competition)

First ITTF World Junior

Championships in Santiago, Chile

2003 Team Championships separated

from individual events, held in
alternate years

During the Olympic Games in

Athens, Table Tennis ranked 5th
among all sports for television
viewing audience
2004
World Championships held in

2005 Shanghai, China. Total triumph

again for China, winning all of
the five gold medals.

World Championships held in

Bremen, Germany. The Chinese
athletes complete the
collection with two gold
2006
medals in the team events
 2008 2012
China sweeps the China wins World
Team championships Team Golds and all
in Guangzhou the Gold medals at
2007
2010 the London Olympic 2016
China wins all the Games, and 24 of a
World
Gold at the Beijing
Table Tennis is part
possible 28 Golds in Plastic balls
Championships held of the first Youth used at World
Olympic Games 7 Olympic Games.
in Zagreb, Croatia. Olympic Games Championships

Total triumph
Persson (SWE), & Olympics
number five for
Primorac (CRO) and
China, winning all of
J-M Saive (BEL) The Chinese
the five gold medals
participated in all 7 again win all 4

Olympic Games. Olympic Gold

First appearance of
medals, and
table tennis as a
overall 28 of 32
compulsory sport at
Olympic Golds

HISTORICAL
the Universiade in
since 1988
Bangkok, Thailand

TIMELINE
EVOLUTION OF TABLE TENNIS
International Table Tennis Federation [ITTF].
(2020). History of Table Tennis. Retrieved from:
https://www.ittf.com/history/documents/histor
yoftabletennis/

Burlington Table Tennis Club. (2015). History.

Retrieved from: https://www.burlingtonta
bletennisclub.com/knowledge-base/table-
tennis-history/