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PE 3 – TABLE TENNIS
UNIT 3
Introduction
Table tennis is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball back and
forth to each other with rackets (also sometimes spelled as racquets and sometimes called bats
or 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. If the ball doesn't land on the opponent's
side then it's a dead ball unless the other opponent hits the ball with their bat. 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.
 Ping Pang Qiu - is the official name for the sport in Mainland China, Hong
Kong, Taiwan and Macau.
 Takkyu - is the official name for the sport in Japan.
 Tak-gu – is the name for the sport in Korea.
The game is controlled by the International Table Federation (ITTF), founded in
1926.
Early Origins of Table Tennis/Ping-Pong
12the Century AD - The game of table tennis probably descended from the
game of "Royal Tennis" (also known as Real Tennis or Court Tennis), which was
played in the medieval era.
The exact origin of table tennis is not known, but the game became popular in
England and the United States in the late 194 century. Commercial interests in England
and United States popularized it under the trade name *Pingpong," and in the early
20* century the game became sensationally popular.
1880's - Some sources claim that the sport was once known as indoor tennis,
and was played in the early 1880's by British army officers stationed in India
and South Africa.
The game 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.
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.
1880’s - The game had become fashionable among the upper classes in England.
1887 - According to the IT*TF website, the first use of the name "Table Tennis"
appeared on a board and dice game made by J.H. Singer of New York.
1890 - The earliest existing evidence of a table tennis game is a set made by
David Foster, patented in England, which included table versions of Lawn
Tennis, Cricket and Football,
1891 - John Jacques of London introduce their "Gossima" game, which
used drum-type paddles, a 50mm web wrapped cork ball, and a 30cm high net.
1890’s - Parker Brothers begin making an indoor tennis kit which included
a portable net, a small ball covered in netting, and paddles.
1900 - Englishman James Gibb is credited with bringing hollow celluloid
balls back to England from the USA, although some other sources claim
they were plastic balls. Previously most balls were solid rubber or cork,
often covered in material. Some sources also credit Gibb with inventing the
name "ping pong", which was supposed to have been derived from the
sound of the ball bouncing off the drum battledores (paddles), each of which
had a different sound.
1901 - John Jacques register "Ping Pong" as a trade name in England. The
American rights to the name are sold to Parker Brothers.
1902 - Englishman E.C. Goode is credited with puttking pebbled rubber on
his wooden blade, allowing him to put more spin on the ball. This is the
forerunner of the ordinary pimpled rubber racket, which will dominate table
tennis until 1952.
At that time, when a web-covered ball was used, the game was also called "whiff-
whaff" and "gossima." The racket originally was a somewhat clumsy, paddle-shaped
frame with a drumhead skin stretched tightly across it. This racket was superseded
about 1902 by the wooden paddle with stippled rubber face, and about the same
time the celluloid ball was introduced.
1903 - On the 1st May 1903. "The Table Tennis Association" and The Ping
Pong Association' amalgamate, forming "The United Table Tennis and Ping
Pong Association". This association will later revert its name to The Table
Tennis Association", before becoming defunct in 1904.
1920's- In the early 1920's the game began to revive in England and Europe
1922 - The The Table Tennis Association" is reconstituted, with the name
"English Table Tennis Association" being adopted in 1927.
1926 - The International Table Tennis Federation is formed.
In 1926 the International Table Tennis Federation was organized. In the same
year international team competition was inaugurated when Lady Swaythling of
England donated the Swaything Cup, which is like the Davis Cup in lawn tennis.
Probably the best-known player to win the world championship singles title in table
tennis was Fred Perry of England, who later won greater renown in lawn tennis.

1935 - The American Ping Pong Association, US Amateur Table Tennis
Association, and National Table Tennis Association merge to form the US
Table Tennis Association (which was renamed USA Table Tennis in 1994).
1938 - The ITTF lowers the net from six and three quarter inches to six
inches, and bans the fingerspin serves used with devasting effect by American
players.
Although sponge rackets were being developed by John Jacques and Company
as early as 1928, the players had limited success with them. Before 1937 certain
players used to combine the effects of the 'fingerspin' service and their sponge racket
to produce some surprising results in leading competitions. Their services were almost
unplayable and the rallies were usually very short.
1940-1946 - No World Championships held due to World War II.
1950's - there was the introduction of a new stroke. It was really an
exaggerated topspin where there was a greater preparation, follow-through
and wrist action. The ball was given a finer touch and the stroke was nearer
to the vertical plane. The lop drive in simpler form had arrived. It had almost
probably been first though of because players were getting used to their
opponent's services and were able to return them in such a position that the
server could not follow-up a smash.
1952 - Hiroji Satoch of Japan becomes notorious for his use of a wooden
racket and spin than conventional pimpled rubber rackets. He wins the 1952
World Championships over Josef Koczian of Hungary, and begins a period
of Asian male dominationa in the sport which will last until Sweden rises to
supremacy from 1989 into the early 1990's.
1959-1960 - The ITTF standardizes the thickness of ordinary pimpled rubber
and sponge rubber.
1960’s - In the early 1960's, the loop drive was invented and become popular
around the world.
1960’s - In the early 1960's, Xhang Xi Lin of China uses a "Yin-Yan" bat
with normal rubber on one side, and long pimples on the other - the first
recorded instance of successful combination bat play.
1971 - China returns to International Competition at the 1971 World
Championships.
1971 - The US Table Tennis Team takes a "Ping-Pong Diplomacy" trip to
China, in a world first effort to use sport to establish and improve diplomatic
relations.
1971 -Jean-Paul Weber of France uses the first anti-spin rubber in the World
Championships in Nagoya, Japan, and enjoys some success with its use.
FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT
THE TABLE
It shall be made of any material and shall yield a uniform bounce of not less than
220 mm. And not more than 250 mm. When a standard ball is dropped from a height
of 305 mm. Above its surface. The playing surface shall be dark-colored, preferably
dark green and matt, with a while line of 20mm. Broad along each edge. The lines at
the 1.525m. edges, or ends, shall be termed as end lines and the lines at the 2.74 m.
edges or side, shall be termed as side lines.
For doubles, the playing surface shall be termed center line, divided into halves
by a white line 3mm, broad, running parallel to the side lines. The center line may,
for convenience, be permanently marked in full length on the table and this is no
way invalidates the table for singles play.
The upper surface of the table, known as the playing surface, shall be rectangular
9 feet (2.74m) in length and 5 feet (1.52m) in width. The playing surface shall be in
a horizontal plane 2 ft. 6 inches (76 cm.) above the floor.
THE NET
The net shall be suspended by a cord attached at each end to an upright post
15.25 cm high, the outside units of a post being 15.25 cm outside the side line. The
top of the net along its whole length shall be 15.25 cm above the playing surface and
bottom of the net shall be as close as possible to the playing surface along its whole
length and the ends of the net shall be as close as possible to the supporting posts,
THE BALL
The International rules specify that the game is played with a light 2.7 gram, 40
mm (formerly 38 mm) diameter ball. The ball is required to have a coefficient of
restitution of 0.94. The 40 mm ball was introduced at the 2003 Work Table Tennis
Championship. However, this created some controversy as the Chinese National
Team argued that this was merely to give non-Chinese players a better change of
winning. A 40 mm table tennis ball is slower and less "spinny" than a 38 mm one.
The ball is made of
1970's - Table tennis players discover that using bicycle tire repair glue to
put rubber on a blade dramatically increases the speed and spin that can be
produced. This discovery is often credited to Dragutin Surbek of Yugoslavia,
and Tibor Klampar of Hungary. This discovery is called speed glue.
1980 - John Hilton of England wins the European Championships using a
combination bat of normal rubber and antispin, twiddling the racket and
playing aggressively.
1980's - In 1985, the two color rule is adopted to reduce the effectiveness of
combination rackets.
1988 - Table Tennis becomes an Olympic sport, in Seoul, South Korea,
2000 - The ITTF introduce new rule changes, including increasing the ball
diameter to 40mm and changing to 11-point-games.
2002 - Table Tennis becomes a Commonwealth Games Sport, at Manchester,
England.
2000's - In the early 2000's, frictionless long pimples become popular among
many players, in an attempt to negate the power and spin produced by modern
technology and speed glue.
2006 - The intended banning of frictionless long pips and speed glues with
toxic organic solvents is announced by the ITTF high-bouncing gas-filled
celluloid ball, 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. A star on the ball indicated the quality of the ball, 3 stars is the
highest indicating that it is of the highest quality.

THE RACKET

Players are equipped with a wooden blade covered with rubber on one or two
sides depending on the grip of the player. This is called either a paddle, racket or bat
depending on where in the world the game is being played. In the USA the term
"paddle" is common, in Europe the term is "bat," and the official ITTF term is
"racket." This section will use the ITTF term.
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. Some rackets are
not covered with rubber at all, because a "naked" racket is believed to be more
resistant to a spin. However, it is illegal to use these types of racket in competition
as they are not approved by the ITTF. Some types of rubbers are also not approved
Approved rubbers have the IT IF emblem on the base of the rubber.

Different Types of Rubber Sheet

 Inverted (Non-Chinese)
 Inverted (Chinese)
 Short Pimples
 Long Pimples
 Anti-spin

Charles Steve Belarmino

PE Instructor