Table Tennis Notes

History of Table Tennis

Table tennis started as an after-dinner game; it is thought that upper-class Victorians in

Ping Pong (table tennis) was invented as a parlor game trademarked by the English firm
of J. Jacques and Son in the 1880s. The game quickly grew in popularity and spread to the United
States, Europe, and Asia over the next few decades.

Equipments in Table Tennis

• Ball

The ball that is used in the game is a 2.7 gram, small celluloid ball that is usually colored
white or orange depending on the preference of the players. Also, they come in a range of sizes
from 38 mm to 54 mm in diameter.

• Racket/Paddle

Players are equipped with a laminated wooden racket covered with rubber on one or two
sides depending on the grip of the player. According to the ITTF regulations, at least 85% of the
blade by thickness shall be of natural wood.

• Table

The table or playing surface is uniformly dark colored and matte, divided into two halves
by a net at 15.25cm in height. The table is 274m long, 152.5m wide, and 76cm high
Hand Grips in Table Tennis

• Penhold

The penhold grip is so-named because one grips the racket similarly to the way one holds a
writing instrument. The most popular style, usually referred to as the Chinese penhold style,
involves curling the middle, ring, and fourth finger on the back of the blade with the three
fingers always touching one another.

• Shakehand

The shakehand grip is so-named because the racket is grasped as if one is performing a
handshake. The racket is rotated 90°, and played with the wrist turned so that on impact the
knuckles face the target.
 • Seemiller

The Seemiller grip is named after the American table tennis champion Danny Seemiller,
who used it. It is achieved by placing the thumb and index finger on either side of the bottom of
the racquet head and holding the handle with the rest of the fingers.

Officiating Officials

• Umpire - someone chosen to judge and decide a disputed issue. In table tennis, the main
role of the umpire is to check the equipment regulations, control the match, and check
the fault serve, etc.

• Scorer - a person who keeps a record of the score in a game.

Gameplay in a Table Tennis Match

Starting a game

the first service is decided by lot, normally a coin toss. It is also common for one player or the
umpire to hide the ball in one or the other hand allowing the other player to guess which hand
the ball is in.

Service

In game play, the player serving the ball commences a play. The server first stands with the ball
held on the open palm of the hand not carrying the paddle, called the freehand, and tosses the
ball directly upward without spin, the server strikes the ball with the racket on the ball's descent
so that it touches first his court and then touches directly the receiver's court without touching
the net assembly.

Return

If the service is "good", then the receiver must make a "good" return by hitting the ball
back before it bounces a second time on the receiver's side of the table so that the ball passes
the net and touches the opponent's court, either directly or after touching the net assembly.
Thereafter, the server and receiver must alternately make a return until the rally is over.
Let

A Let is a rally of which the result is not scored, and is called in the following
circumstances:

• The ball touches the net in service

• When the player on the receiving side is not ready and the service is delivered.

• Player's failure to make a service or a return or to comply with the Laws is due to a
disturbance outside the control of the player.

• Play is interrupted by the umpire or assistant umpire.

Basic Skills in Table Tennis

Offensive strokes

● Hit

Also known as speed drive, a direct hit on the ball propelling it forward back to the
opponent. This stroke differs from speed drives in other racket sports like tennis because
the racket is primarily perpendicular to the direction of the stroke and most of the
energy applied to the ball results in speed rather than spin, creating a shot that does not
arc much, but is fast enough that it can be difficult to return. A speed drive is used
mostly for keeping the ball in play, applying pressure on the opponent, and potentially
opening up an opportunity for a more powerful attack.

● Loop

The loop is essentially the reverse of the chop. The racket is parallel to the direction
of the stroke ("closed") and the racket thus grazes the ball, resulting in a large
amount of topspin. A good loop drive will arc quite a bit, and once striking the
opponent's side of the table will jump forward.

● Counter Hit

The counter-hit is usually a counterattack against drives, normally high loop drives.
The racket is held closed and near to the ball, which is hit with a short movement "off
the bounce" (immediately after hitting the table) so that the ball travels faster to the
other side.

● Fllip

When a player tries to attack a ball that has not bounced beyond the edge of the
table, the player does not have the room to wind up in a backswing. The ball may still
be attacked, however, and the resulting shot is called a flip because the backswing is
compressed into a quick wrist action. A flip is not a single stroke and can resemble
either a loop drive or a loop in its characteristics. What identifies the stroke is that the
backswing is compressed into a short wrist flick.

● Smash

A player will typically execute a smash when the opponent has returned a ball that
bounces too high or too close to the net. It is nearly always done with a forehand
stroke. Smashing use rapid acceleration to impart as much speed on the ball as
possible so that the opponent cannot react in time. The racket is generally
 perpendicular to the direction of the stroke. Because the speed is the main aim of
this shot, the spin on the ball is often minimal, although it can be applied as well. An
offensive table tennis player will think of a rally as a build-up to a winning smash.
Smash is used more often with penhold grip.

Defensive Strokes

● Push
The push (or "slice" in Asia) is usually used for keeping the point alive and creating
offensive opportunities. A push resembles a tennis slice: the racket cuts underneath
the ball, imparting backspin and causing the ball to float slowly to the other side of
the table. A push can be difficult to attack because the backspin on the ball causes it
to drop toward the table upon striking the opponent's racket. In order to attack a
push, a player must usually loop (if the push is long) or flip (if the push is short) the
ball back over the net. Often, the best option for beginners is to simply push the ball
back again, resulting in pushing rallies. Against good players, it may be the worst
option because the opponent will counter with a loop, putting the first player in a
defensive position. Pushing can have advantages in some circumstances, such as
when the opponent makes easy mistakes.

● Chop
A chop is the defensive, backspin counterpart to the offensive loop drive.[A chop is
essentially a bigger, heavier push, taken well back from the table. The racket face
points primarily horizontally, perhaps a little bit upward, and the direction of the stroke
is straight down. The object of a defensive chop is to match the topspin of the
opponent's shot with backspin. A good chop will float nearly horizontally back to the
table, in some cases having so much backspin that the ball actually rises

● Block
A block is executed by simply placing the racket in front of the ball right after the ball
bounces; thus, the ball rebounds back toward the opponent with nearly as much
energy as it came in with.

● Lob
The defensive lob propels the ball about five metres in height, only to land on the
opponent's side of the table with great amounts of spin. The stroke itself consists of
lifting the ball to an enormous height before it falls back to the opponent's side of the
table. A lob can have nearly any kind of spin. Though the opponent may smash the
ball hard and fast, a good defensive lob could be more difficult to return due to the
unpredictability and heavy amounts of the spin on the ball.

Governance

Founded in 1926, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the worldwide
governing body for table tennis, which maintains an international ranking system in addition to
organizing events like the World Table Tennis Championships. In 2007, the governance for table
tennis for persons with a disability was transferred from the International Paralympic Committee
to the ITTF.