History of Table Tennis

Twelfth century festivals of merriment, intended to relieve stress and add order to mayhem, actually consisted of more than eating, drinking, and sideshows. It is believed that after the jester sang for the king and queen, a game that resembled table tennis, derived from their Royal Court Tennis, was enjoyed by all. The Birth of Ping Pong Stationed in South Africa and India in 1881, bored British officers carved ping pong balls from the Champagne corks and used lids of cigar boxes as ping pong paddles. Stacks of books formed the table tennis net line. This game of table tennis grew to a fashionable sport among the elite, including the women. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF, the governing body) recognized the first use of the term table tennis in 1887, and the earliest marketable game was invented by Parker Brothers in 1890. The game consisted of a ping pong net, table tennis paddles, and cork-wrapped ping pong balls. In 1891 the drum-type ping pong paddle was developed, and by 1900 the USA crafted a hollow celluloid ping pong ball. The sound of the hollow ping pong ball bouncing from the drum paddle made a ping pong sound.

The Adolescent Years
In 1901, England formed both the Table Tennis Association and the Ping Pong Association. In 1903, the two associations joined to form The United States Table Tennis and Ping Pong Association, which later became the Table Tennis Association, and in 1926 the International Table Tennis Federation was formed. In 1935, three groups (the American Ping Pong Association, the National Table Tennis Association and the US Amateur Table Tennis Association) merged to create the US Table Tennis Association.

In Its Maturity
In the 1950s, the sport rocketed into worldwide popularity. New paddle constructions, lowering of the net line, and bans on shots changed competition. The top world players of this era came out of China and South Korea. In 1971 the US Table Tennis Team made a diplomatic trip to China, and in 1988 table tennis became an Olympic sport in South Korea.

In 2000, the ITT revised their rules. Increasing ball size from 38 mm to 40mm and going from a 21-point to an 11-point scoring system promoted television broadcasts and made the game easier to see on home screens.