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TABLE TENNIS

HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT

The game has its origin in England as an after-dinner amusement for upper-class
Victorians in the 1880’s. Mimicking the game of tennis in an indoor environment,
everyday objects were originally enlisted to act as the equipment. A line 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 racket.

Other versions developed in England during the 1880’s, known variously as “

whiff whaff “ and “ gossima,” and Parker Brothers began manufacturing an indoor
tennis kit that included a portable net that could be set up on a table, a small ball
covered with netting, and miniature paddles.

James Gibb, an Englishman who visited the United States in 1890’s brought
some hollow celluloid balls home and began playing indoor tennis with friends, using the
new balls; Gibb apparently came up with the name “ping pong,” representing the
sounds of the ball hitting the paddle and the table.

However, an Englishman manufacturer of sporting goods, John Jacques,

registered “Ping Pong” as a trade name in 1901 and sold American rights to Parker
Brothers, who came out with a new kit under that name.

Another Englishman, E.C. Goode, in 1902 covered his wooden ping pong paddle
with pebbled rubber, which allowed him to put spin on the ball. A Ping Pong Association
was founded in England that year, but it lasted less than 3 years. mainly because
Parker Brother’s control of the name made equipment rather expensive.

Nevertheless, the sport spread rather quietly in England and Europe, primarily
with equipment marketed by other manufacturers using the generic name of table
tennis. A new Table Tennis association was established in England in 1921. It was
followed by the International Table Tennis Federation, (ITTF) founded at a 1926 meeting
in Berlin by England, Sweden, Hungary, India, Denmark, Germany, Czechoslovakia,
Austria, Wales.

The first world championship tournament was held in London in 1927. From then
until World War II, Hungary dominated the sport. Central European dominance
continued for a time after World War II, but Asian players took over the sport beginning
in 1953. One factor in the sudden emergence of Asian stars was the introduction of the
foam rubber paddle by Japan’s Horoi Satoh in 1952. The new coating made the game
faster and also allowed players to put even more spin in the ball.

Asian players also developed the “penholder” grip, in which the handle of the
paddle is held between forefinger and thumb, which allows the player to strike the ball
with the same face of the paddle on any stroke. That grip is now used by virtually all top
international players.

Table Tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988, with singles and doubles
competition for both men and women.
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Toward the end of 2000, the ITTF instituted several rules changes aimed at
making table tennis more viable as a televised spectator sport. First, the older 38
mm(1.5 inch) balls were officially replaced by 40 mm balls. This increased the ball’s air
resistance and effectively slowed down the game. By the time, players had begun
increasing the thickness of the fast sponge layer on their rackets, which made the game
excessively fast, and difficult to watch on television . Secondly, the ITTF changed from
21 to 11-point scoring system. This was intended to make games more fast-paced and
exciting. The ITTF also changed the rules on service to prevent a player from hiding the
ball during service, in order to increase the average length of rallies and to reduce the
server’s advantage.

AIM
The aim of the game is to hit the ball consistently into your opponent’s half of the
table in such a way that it cannot be returned into yours.

EQUIPMENT

TABLE and NET

BALL

The ball is made of a high-bouncing gas-filled celluloid, colored white or orange, with a
matte finish. Stars on the ball indicate the quality of the ball. 3 stars indicate that it is of
the highest quality, and is used in official competitions.

The international rules specify that the game is played with a light 2.7 gram, 40mm
diameter ball. Generally, it is the most-used ball. The rules say that the ball shall bounce
up to 23 cm when dropped from a height of 30 cm. The 40 mm ball was introduced after
the 2000 Olympic Games. However, this created some controversy as the Chinese
National Team argued that this was merely to give non-Chinese players a better chance
of winning. A 40 mm table tennis ball is slower and spins less than a 38 mm one.
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RACKET

Players are equipped with laminated wooden racket covered with rubber on one or two
sides depending on the grip of the player. It is 15 cm. across or 6 in., and 25 cm.
long(including the handle) or 10 in.. This is called a paddle, racket, blade or a 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”.

Table tennis regulations allow different surfaces on each side of the racket. The different
types of surfaces provide various levels of spin or speed, or in some cases, nullify spin.
For example, a player may have a rubber that provides much spin on one side of his
racket, and no spin on the other side of the racket. By flipping the racket in play,
different types of returns are possible. To help a player distinguish between different
types of rubber used by his opposing player, international rules specify that one side
must be red while the other side must be black. The player has the right to inspect his
opponent ‘s racket before a match to see the type of rubber used and what color it is.
Despite high speed play and rapid exchanges , a player ca see clearly what side of the
racket was used to hit the ball. Current rule state that, unless damaged in play, the
racket cannot be exchanged for another racket at anytime during a match.

BASIC SKILLS

A. GRIP

1. Shakehand grip
The shakehand grip is so-named because one grips the racket similarly to
the way one performs a handshake. The grip is sometimes colloquially referred to as a
“tennis grip” or a “western grip” although it has no correlation to the Western grip used
in Tennis. The shakehand grip is most popular among players originating Western
nations and South Asian nations. Your fingers should lie roughly parallel with the straight
edge of the rubber at the base of the racket head. This enables you to have good
control over the racket angle. The remaining three fingers are wrapped around the
handle of the racket.

2. Penhold grip
The penhold grip is so-named because one grips the racket similarly to
the way one holds a writing instrument; curling the 3 fingers at the back of the blade.
Penhold styles are popular among players originating from East Asian regions such as
China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.

B. SERVICE

Kinds of Service

1. Forehand service

2. Backhand service

MECHANICS IN SERVING

1. At the beginning of the service the ball must be resting of the free hand (the hand not
holding the bat) which should be stationary, open and flat with the fingers together and
the thumb free.

2. The free hand must be above the level of the table.

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3. The whole of the bat must be above the level of the table throughout the service.

4. The ball must be tossed to a minimum of 16 cm into the air without any spin and wait
while it is traveling down again before you first hit it.

5. When it is first hit, the ball must be behind the white baseline, which runs along the
end of the table, or behind the imaginary extension of that line.

6. The ball has to bounce twice, once on your side of the net and once on your
opponent’s side.

7. If the ball brushes the net but still lands correctly on your side of the table, a LET is
called and the service is taken again. This does not affect the score and the server
repeats the service until a clean service is being delivered.

8. Apart from the let, there is no second service if you net the ball or it goes out of your
court, you lose the point.

9. Do not stamp your feet during service.

10. In single play, the service can be made in any part of the receiver’s court.

C. RETURN

A good return is a single hit of the ball with the racket, after it has bounced on the
players’ side of the table, so that the ball returns directly unto the opponents’ side of the
table.
The ball is permitted to hit the net (or the net assembly) on the way.

In doubles, there is a sequence in returning the ball.

2 KINDS OF STROKE

1. Forehand stroke - imagine you are rolling a big tyre along the road with one hand.

2. Backhand stroke - this is a swinging action in which the racket moves forward and
backward.

D. FOOTWORK

2 BASIC RULES

1. The side which first scores 11 points except in a deuce wins each game. A
match is made up of the best of 5 games.

2. The right to serve changes after every 2 points except in a deuce.

SCORING

Table tennis can be played between individuals (singles) or pairs (doubles). A

point is won by the player who last makes a fair return of the ball unto the opponent’s
side of the table. This is called rally or point system.
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The server score is announced first. The server is the player whose turn it is to
put the ball into play.

DOUBLES GAME

In doubles, all the rules of singles play apply except for the following:

A line (3 mm white line) painted along the long axis of the table to create doubles courts
bisect the table. This line’s ONLY purpose is to facilitate the doubles service rules,
which is that service, must originate from the right hand “box” in such a way that the first
bounce of the serve bounces once in said right hand box and then must bounce at least
once in the opponent side’s right hand box.
Play then continues normally with the exception that players must alternately hit the ball.
The play proceeds this way until one side fails to make a legal return and the point is
then awarded to the other team.

ALTERNATION OF SERVICE

In doubles, service alternates every two points between sides, but also rotates
between players on the same team. At the end of every two points, the receiving player
becomes the server, and the partner of the serving player becomes the receiver.

THE FOLLOWING ARE CONSIDERED FAULTS

1. Hand below the table during service.

2. Racket below the table during service.
3. Ball over the table during service.
4. Ball behind the server during service.
5. Spinning the service ball.
6. Hitting a rising ball during service.
7. Stamping of foot during service.
8. Touching the net (with hand, body, racket or clothing for any reason).
9. Touching the table(with hand, body, racket or clothing for any reason).
10. Volleying the ball.
11. Obstructing the ball.
12. Ball between the net and post.
13. Double hit.
14. Double bounce.
15. Hitting overhead obstructions.
16. Playing out of double sequence.

GAME COURTESIES/ETIQUETTE

1. Never start the play until your opponent is ready.

2. Never question the referee’s decision.
3. If you lose congratulate your opponent.
4. Congratulate your opponent for well-executed shots.
5. Never throw the racket nor slam the ball.

PS: I-memorize ang tanang sizes sa table and net!!!!! Di sya ma highlight gud….
And also (if mag tie gani 10-10, ang term ana kay DEUCE.

Godspeed mga yads! Laban!