Ping Pong Safety

Avoiding stress injuries and life-or-death ping pong tournaments.

The first rule of ping pong safety is "don't enter a life-or-death tournament being organized by Feng," aka Christopher Walken in the movie Balls of Fury. Steer clear of that one and take all basic precautions, and any injuries you incur around the table tennis table should be relatively minor. However, just to be on the safe side-and that's what this article is all about - here are a few ping pong safety tips that everyone should follow.

Warm Up

For many people, ping pong is a casual game. But if you intend to get into some serious rallies with smashing, lobbing, and the like, take a few minutes to stretch first, and engage in some progressively competitive rallies to warm up your muscles.

Playing Space

Table tennis games have a way of roaming beyond the table. Make sure your ping pong table is in a room that's large enough for players to swing wildly without breaking things like human arms or Hummel figurines.