An Olympic discipline since 1988, table tennis is a sport invented at the end of the 19th century in England by high Victorian society. We agree that the idea came during a dinner to show some tennis strokes: the “field”, the dining table, the ball, a champagne cork, cigar boxes as a racket, and finally, books to materialize the net.
Table tennis was born !
It gained popularity thanks to English harsh winter climate which discouraged tennis players from playing their sport outdoors. Alternatives were sought in the hall to achieve a rudimentary table game which should be very successful and develop as a real sport and leisure discipline, popular all over the world.
Officialization of the rules and creation of the International Federation
After these festive beginnings to say the least, table tennis experienced a slump during the first part of the 20th century. Then, from 1920, with the homogenization of the rules of the game, there was a resurgence in the popularity of sport. In 1926, the International Federation, the ITTF, was created in Berlin and the first world championships were organized in England.
In general and until the 1950s, the Europeans dominated international championships. Thus, in 1936, some changes to the rules of the game, as well as the height of the net and the painting of the tables slowed down the game, which made it more difficult for attackers.
Rubber and Asian domination
Then, from the 50s, a big technological change occurred in rackets: a rubber coating was added which notably allowed the Japanese Hiroji Satoh to win the 1952 world championships with a faster game, containing more spin. Table tennis became very popular in Asia and players from countries like China, Japan and Korea began to dominate the international podiums.
Starting in the 1970s, a new material brought about a change in the game. Experiments were carried out with tire repair glue which resulted in even more speed and spin. These innovations are attributed to Dragutin Surbek, Yugoslav, and Tibor Klampar, Hungarian.
Accession of Sweden
China had exercised its dominance for several decades when in the 80s, the Swedes entered the dance: they won the team tournaments of 1989, 1991 and 1993 as well as two world championship titles in 1989 and 1991 for men.
Table tennis as an Olympic sport
After gaining popularity throughout the 20th century and around the world, it made perfect sense that table tennis would become an Olympic discipline. It was therefore in 1988 that the first games were held in Korea, in Seoul. From now on, there are no less than 875 million players around the world and more than 200 countries registered with the federation !
Table tennis or ping pong? A bit of etymology...
The term “ping-pong” refers to this popular sport in everyday life. However, it is not used in official texts. It would come from the 19th century. Indeed, it would be an onomatopoeia referring to the sound caused by the contact between the ball and the racket “Ping” and that of the ball and the table, more muted “pong”. The ping pong brand was deposited worldwide at the end of the 19th or the beginning of the 20th century by John Jacques of Croydon. Other companies in the sector therefore had to refer to this sport by the term table tennis. But the now-obsolete term “indoor tennis” was also used, as opposed to outdoor tennis.
From now on, we rather reserve the term ping-pong for the leisure activity and the term table tennis for the sport.
Evolution of the equipment: first rackets, balls and tables.
As you would expect, equipment, rackets, balls or tables have evolved a lot over the 140-year history of table tennis.
Starting from a dining table, cigar boxes and champagne corks, table tennis players now benefit from cutting-edge technical products, constantly improved and whose evolution is monitored and controlled at least for the competition, by the International federation.
The Rackets
From the references available, the first rackets were, as we mentioned, rudimentary to say the least. But with the resumption of popularity of the activity, ingenuity quickly took precedence over improvisation and we began to develop all kinds of rackets as evidenced by the collection of the Lausanne Table Tennis Museum: some with strings similar to the tennis rackets, ones with leather membranes stretched over a wooden frame, solid wood racquets of various shapes and species to produce the light and efficient racquets that we know today.
The Ball
As with rackets, balls have undergone a lot of changes: made of cork or rubber, they were just too unpredictable. It was only later that it acquired characteristics more suitable to the game. In 1901, James W. Gibb, discovered 38 mm cellulose balls which seemed to him perfect for playing. They quickly became the norm until the 2000s when the diameter of the bullet increased to 40mm. Finally, from 2014, the balls are made of plastic.
La Table
The starting table was a dinner table because the game arised, remember, on social gatherings. We improvised several forms of rigid nets in the form of boards. Tables dedicated to the activity were then created and there are even old tables that included side nets to collect stray balls! Today the dimensions of the table are regulated as follows: Height: 76 cm, Width: 152.50 cm, Length: 274.30 cm
Table Tennis History
An Olympic discipline since 1988, table tennis is a sport invented at the end of the 19th century in England by high Victorian society. We agree that the idea came during a dinner to show some tennis strokes: the “field”, the dining table, the ball, a champagne cork, cigar boxes as a racket, and finally, books to materialize the net.
Table tennis was born !
It gained popularity thanks to English harsh winter climate which discouraged tennis players from playing their sport outdoors. Alternatives were sought in the hall to achieve a rudimentary table game which should be very successful and develop as a real sport and leisure discipline, popular all over the world.
Officialization of the rules and creation of the International Federation
After these festive beginnings to say the least, table tennis experienced a slump during the first part of the 20th century. Then, from 1920, with the homogenization of the rules of the game, there was a resurgence in the popularity of sport. In 1926, the International Federation, the ITTF, was created in Berlin and the first world championships were organized in England.
In general and until the 1950s, the Europeans dominated international championships. Thus, in 1936, some changes to the rules of the game, as well as the height of the net and the painting of the tables slowed down the game, which made it more difficult for attackers.
Rubber and Asian domination
Then, from the 50s, a big technological change occurred in rackets: a rubber coating was added which notably allowed the Japanese Hiroji Satoh to win the 1952 world championships with a faster game, containing more spin. Table tennis became very popular in Asia and players from countries like China, Japan and Korea began to dominate the international podiums.
Starting in the 1970s, a new material brought about a change in the game. Experiments were carried out with tire repair glue which resulted in even more speed and spin. These innovations are attributed to Dragutin Surbek, Yugoslav, and Tibor Klampar, Hungarian.
Accession of Sweden
China had exercised its dominance for several decades when in the 80s, the Swedes entered the dance: they won the team tournaments of 1989, 1991 and 1993 as well as two world championship titles in 1989 and 1991 for men.
Table tennis as an Olympic sport
After gaining popularity throughout the 20th century and around the world, it made perfect sense that table tennis would become an Olympic discipline. It was therefore in 1988 that the first games were held in Korea, in Seoul. From now on, there are no less than 875 million players around the world and more than 200 countries registered with the federation !
Table tennis or ping pong? A bit of etymology...
The term “ping-pong” refers to this popular sport in everyday life. However, it is not used in official texts. It would come from the 19th century. Indeed, it would be an onomatopoeia referring to the sound caused by the contact between the ball and the racket “Ping” and that of the ball and the table, more muted “pong”. The ping pong brand was deposited worldwide at the end of the 19th or the beginning of the 20th century by John Jacques of Croydon. Other companies in the sector therefore had to refer to this sport by the term table tennis. But the now-obsolete term “indoor tennis” was also used, as opposed to outdoor tennis.
From now on, we rather reserve the term ping-pong for the leisure activity and the term table tennis for the sport.
Evolution of the equipment: first rackets, balls and tables.
As you would expect, equipment, rackets, balls or tables have evolved a lot over the 140-year history of table tennis.
Starting from a dining table, cigar boxes and champagne corks, table tennis players now benefit from cutting-edge technical products, constantly improved and whose evolution is monitored and controlled at least for the competition, by the International federation.
The Rackets
From the references available, the first rackets were, as we mentioned, rudimentary to say the least. But with the resumption of popularity of the activity, ingenuity quickly took precedence over improvisation and we began to develop all kinds of rackets as evidenced by the collection of the Lausanne Table Tennis Museum: some with strings similar to the tennis rackets, ones with leather membranes stretched over a wooden frame, solid wood racquets of various shapes and species to produce the light and efficient racquets that we know today.
The Ball
As with rackets, balls have undergone a lot of changes: made of cork or rubber, they were just too unpredictable. It was only later that it acquired characteristics more suitable to the game. In 1901, James W. Gibb, discovered 38 mm cellulose balls which seemed to him perfect for playing. They quickly became the norm until the 2000s when the diameter of the bullet increased to 40mm. Finally, from 2014, the balls are made of plastic.
La Table
The starting table was a dinner table because the game arised, remember, on social gatherings. We improvised several forms of rigid nets in the form of boards. Tables dedicated to the activity were then created and there are even old tables that included side nets to collect stray balls! Today the dimensions of the table are regulated as follows: Height: 76 cm, Width: 152.50 cm, Length: 274.30 cm