Encyclopedia
Table tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world in terms of player numbers, as well as being one of the newest of the major sports.
Ping pong is an early trademarked name, and is still in common use to describe the recreational game.
During play each player must allow a ball played towards him or her only one bounce on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opponent’s side. Play is fast and demands possibly the quickest reactions of any sport. A skilled player can impart spin to the ball, which makes its bounce difficult to predict or return with confidence. Spin combined with speed makes table tennis an exciting sport to play as well as to watch.
The difference between Olympic level play and the average home recreational player is tremendous. A proper foundation of table tennis skills is required to understand how competitive players can do what seems impossible to the untrained eye.
General description
Table tennis is an Olympic sport where two or four players hit a ball back and forth to each other, with a racket on a table, in a manner similar to
tennis. The rules are slightly different, but the concept is basically the same. Ball spin, speed, strategy and tactics play an important part in competitive table tennis matches. The speed of the ball can vary from slow serves with lots of spin to smashes that travel as fast as 110 km/h.
The playing surface is a 9 ft × 5 ft × 30 in high hard rectangular table with the surface usually colored green, dark blue, or black. A 6 inch tall net divides the table in half and is strung to extend 6 inches beyond the table on each side.
Table tennis requires a large enough room so that players can move freely. In international competitions, the
International Table Tennis Federation requires an area not less than 14 m long, 7 m wide and 5 m high. The 4 corners may be covered by surrounds of not more than 1.5 m length.
The
paddles, also known as bats or rackets, are usually about 10 inches long, with a hitting surface that is approximately 6 ins × 6 ins , although the rules specify no limitations in size or shape. Modern paddles usually have a thin layer of rubber covering the paddle's striking surface. The rubber may have pimples pointing outwards or inwards, as well as a thin layer of sponge between the plywood center and the rubber surface.
Spin plays a large part in the modern sport of table tennis, thus the composition of the
rubber and the combination of sponge and rubber is designed to maximize the amount of spin and speed a player can impart onto the ball. Other technological improvements include the use of carbon or other synthetic layers as part of the blade to increase the sweet spot or the stiffness of the blade. The ball used in table tennis is a 40 mm diameter ball, made of celluloid, completely hollow and lightweight. A three star rating on a ball usually implies a top quality ball, in relation to its bounce, roundness and their respective consistency between balls of the same make and type.
The winner is the first to score 11 points, with each player alternating serves every two points. At 10-10 the players alternate with every serve; the winner is then the first person to gain a clear two points advantage over his opponent. The 11 point game is an International Table Tennis Federation change which occurred in 2001. The 21 point game is still widely played at recreational level. All games played at national level and at international tournaments are played to 11 points in either a best of five games or best of seven games format .
History
Table tennis has its origins in
England as an after dinner amusement for upper class Victorians in the 1880s. Mimicking the game of
tennis in an indoor environment, everyday objects were originally enlisted to act as the equipment. A line of 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 paddle.
The popularity of the game led game manufacturers to sell the equipment commercially. Early paddles were often pieces of
parchment stretched upon a frame, and the sound generated in play gave the game its first nicknames of
"whiff whaff" and
"Ping pong". A number of sources indicate that the game was first brought to the attention of
Hamley’s of Regent Street under the name "Cossima". The name ping pong was in wide use before English manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. The name ping pong then came to be used for the game played by the rather expensive Jaques equipment, with other manufacturers calling theirs table tennis. A similar situation came to exist in the United States where Jaques sold the rights to the ping pong name to
Parker Brothers.
The next major innovation was by James Gibb , an English enthusiast of the game, who discovered novelty celluloid balls on a trip to the U.S. in 1901 and found them to be the ideal balls for the game. This was followed by E.C. Goode who in 1903 invented the modern version of the racket by fixing a sheet of pimpled, or stippled,
rubber to the wooden blade. Table tennis was growing in popularity by 1901 when table tennis tournaments were being organized, books on table tennis were being written, and an unofficial world championship was held in 1902. In 1921 the Table Tennis Association was founded in England, and the International Table Tennis Federation followed in 1926. London hosted the first official world championship in 1927. Table tennis was introduced as an Olympic sport at the
Olympics in 1988.
In the 1950's rackets that used a rubber sheet combined with a underlaying sponge layer changed the game dramatically, introducing greater spin and speed. These were introduced to England by the sports goods manufacturers S.W. Hancock Ltd. and the Hancock bat gave Johnny Leach the edge when he became World Champion in 1949. The use of speed glue increased the spin and speed even further, resulting in changes to the equipment to "slow the game down".
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 balls were officially replaced by 40 mm balls. This increased the ball’s air resistance and effectively slowed down the game. By that time, players had begun increasing the thickness of the fast
sponge layer on their paddles, which made the game excessively fast, and difficult to watch on television. Secondly, the ITTF changed from a 21 to an 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.
Variants of the sport have emerged. "Large ball" table tennis uses a 44 mm ball which slows down the game significantly. This has seen some acceptance by players who have a hard time with the extreme spins and speeds of the 40 mm game.
There is a move towards reviving the table tennis game that existed prior to the introduction of sponge rubber, Classic table tennis or "Hardbat" table tennis players reject the speed and spin of reversed sponge rubber, preferring the 1940-60s style of no-sponge, short pimpled rubber of play which makes defense less difficult by decreasing the speed and eliminating any meaningful
magnus effect of spin. Because hardbat killer shots are almost impossible to hit against a skilled player, hardbat matches focus on the strategic side of table tennis, requiring skillful maneuvering of the opponent before an attack can be successful.
Equipment
The ball
The international rules specify that it is played with a light 2.7
gram, 40 mm diameter, high-bouncing hollow celluloid
ball.
The table
The table is 2.74 m long, 1.525 m wide, and 76 cm high with a masonite or similarly manufactured timber, layered with a smooth, low-friction coating. The table or playing surface is divided into two halves by a 15.2 cm high net.
The racket
Players are equipped with a wooden racket covered with rubber on one or two sides. The rubber may be pimpled rubber, with the pimples outward, or it may be a rubber that is composed of two materials, a sponge layer, covered by a pimpled rubber, with the pimples pointed inwards or outwards. Some rackets are not covered with rubber at all, due to the fact that a "naked" racket is more resistant to a spin although it is illegal to use these types of rackets in competitions as they are not approved by the ITTF. Some racket rubbers are also not allowed as they are not approved. If they are approved they have the ITTF emblem on the base of the rubber.
Recent years have seen an advancement in technology of table tennis blades. Now, materials of different properties may be combined with the wood in the blade to enhance its playing performance. Many blades today feature one or more carbon layers within them to enhance their 'sweet spot', and to give the player a greater margin of error when playing powerful shots. Other materials incorporated into table tennis blades today include
kevlar,
titanium, arylate, aramid, and
aluminium.
Players today have many choices and variations in rubber sheets on their racket. Although rackets may be purchased with rubber by the manufacturer, most serious tournament players will create a customized racket. A player selects a blank blade , based on his playing style. The type of wood and synthetic layers used to make up the blade will provide a slower or faster blade. The player can choose from different types of rubber sheets which will provide a certain level of spin, speed and specific playing characteristics.
Normally, a sheet of rubber was glued to a blade using rubber cement and not removed until the rubber wore out or became damaged. In the 1980's, a new technique was developed where the player would use a special glue called speed glue to apply the rubber every time he played. The glue would help provide more spin and speed by providing a "
catapult" effect. This technique is known as "regluing" and has become a standard technique for top players.
Table tennis is the only racket sport that allows different surfaces on each side of the racket. The different types of surfaces provide various levels of spin or speed, or in some cases, nullifies 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 were possible. To help a player distinguish between different types of rubber used by his opposing player, international rules declared 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. During high speed play and rapid exchanges, a player can see clearly what side of the racket was used to hit the ball.
Different types of rubber sheets
- Inverted : This is the most widely used rubber type. The surface is smooth, with the pimpled side facing inwards toward the blade. This enables the player to generate high levels of spin and speed. Spin is mainly generated not by the action of the topsheet alone, but also by the ball sinking into the sponge and allowing greater surface area to contact the ball.
- Inverted : Chinese rubbers typically have stickier topsheets. Spin is generated mainly by the topsheet, as opposed to the sponge. The result is usually a far better short game and potential power capabilities than normal inverted.
- Short pimples : Short, pimples out rubbers are usually used by close to the table hitters . They do not generate as much spin as inverted rubbers, but also make the user less susceptible to the opponent's spin. Depending on the thickness of the sponge it is also possible to play a chopping game with short pimples by varying the spin of the return. Whilst blocking and attacking a "dead ball" effect is often noticed.
- Long pimples : Long pimple out rubbers do not have the ability to generate any real spin of their own, but feed off the opponent's spin, to allow the user to confuse the opponent and upset their rhythm. They are usually used by close-to-the-table blockers, or choppers. They are usually only used on the backhand side, as they offer very limited attacking capabilities. Depending on the grippyness of the sides of the pimples and the thickness of the sponge it is also possible to play an aggressive game with long pips, though with not much spin capability.
- Anti-spin: Anti-spin, like long pimples, cannot generate any real spin, but just allows the user to produce a no-spin ball. Anti-spin is also not very susceptible to the opponents incoming spin, due to the low coefficient of friction of the rubber's surface. This is also used to confuse the opponent, and is not widely used at international level.
Sandpaper paddles are 100% illegal!
Gameplay
Starting a game
In top flight competition, service is decided by a coin toss. At lower levels it is common for one player to hide the ball in one or the other hand allowing the other player to guess which hand the ball is in, the correct or incorrect guess gives the "winner" the option to choose to serve, or to choose which side of the table to use. In recreational games the players may have a rally for a minimum set number of hits, after which the rally is played out, with the winner either choosing to serve or the table side.
With the introduction of the 11 point game, the serve has become more critical, and the choice to serve first is the most popular decision. Depending on playing conditions, glare, background distractions, etc. it may be to a player's advantage to choose side over serve. If player wins the toss and chooses side, the other player decides to serve or can give the first player the serve.
Service
In game play, a point is commenced by the player serving the ball. Standing behind the end of the table, with the ball in the palm of one hand and the racket in the other, the server tosses the ball without spin, upward, at least six
inches .
He or she then must hit the ball such that it bounces once on his or her half of the table, then bounces at least one time on the opponent’s half. If ball strikes the net but does not strike the opponent's half of the table, then a point is awarded to the opponent. However, if the ball hits the net, but nevertheless goes over and bounces on the other side, it is called a
let. Play stops, and the ball must be served again with no penalty. A player may commit any number of lets without penalty.
If the service is "good," then the opponent must then make a "good" return — by returning the ball before it bounces a second time. Returning the serve is one of the most difficult parts of the game, as the server's first move is often the least predictable.
Scoring
Points are awarded to the opponent for these errors in play:
During play
- allowing the ball to bounce on one’s own side twice
- not hitting the ball after it has bounced on one’s own side
- having the ball bounce on one’s own side after hitting it
- double hitting the ball. Note that the hand below the wrist is considered part of the bat and making a good return off one’s hand or fingers is allowed, but hitting one’s hand or fingers and subsequently hitting the racket is a double strike and an error.
- allowing the ball to strike anything other than the racket
- causing the ball not to bounce on the opponent’s half
- placing one’s free hand on the playing surface or moving the playing surface
Service errors
On the serve,
- offering and failing to make a good serve. That is, making a service toss and failing to strike the ball fairly into play.
- making an illegal serve: one deemed outside the rules — e.g., hiding the ball, a toss lower than 6 inches , etc.
Alternation of service
Essentially a player must make a "good" return as described above. Failure to do so results in the other player being awarded the point. Serves alternate every two points until a player wins with a two-point lead or until a "deuce" game is required, then serve alternates after each point. Typically, games are played to
11 points and a player must win by at least a two point difference. Should each player reach 10 points a "deuce" game comes into effect, players serve alternates after each point as mentioned above and the game is won by the player who gains a lead of 2 points.
In doubles, service alternates every two points between sides, but also rotates between players on the same team. For example, 'player A' serves the ball twice then service alternates to the opposing team and 'player B' takes position to receive service. After two points served by the opposing team and received by 'player B', 'player B' becomes the server. Service continues rotating between team members in this manner until the end of the game. In addition to rotating service between players of the same team
during a game, service also alternates between server-receiver with each new game. If 'player A' on 'team 1' serves the first game to 'player A' on 'team 2' , the next game 'player A' on 'team 1' serves to 'player B' on 'team 2' . Thus, doubles play is evenly matched between teams and neither team has the advantage by order of play.
In the old 21 point game, service alternated every 5 points. If both players reached a score of 20, then service would alternate every point until one player had a 2 point advantage.
Series of games
After each game, players switch sides of the table and in the 5th or 7th, game "for the match", players switch sides when the first player scores 5 points, regardless of whose turn it is to serve. In competition play, matches are typically best of five or seven games. Before 2001, players alternated serves every
5 points and games would be played to 21 points and had to be won by at least 2 points. Now, table tennis is played to 11 points, with service change every 2 points.
Recreational Variations
Some recreational players may choose to use a volleyball style system of scoring and play. Such variations include, but are not limited to, allowing the let serve, not requiring the server to hit the ball on their half of the table first , allow volleying a return if desired, and relaxing other small rules in doubles to make the game easier to play. Common recreational scoring styles include Best of 3 Side Out Scoring to 15, 21, 25, 30 points per game with a third game being played rally point style to 15, Best of 5 Rally Score to 30, with 5th game to 15, and so forth. Even Tennis Style Scoring can be used if desired.
Smasher Crasher is also a variation of the traditional table tennis game. This game takes place on a normal table tennis table and with two teams, however each team has 3/4 team members. The objective of this game is similar to that of table tennis.
Doubles game
In addition to games between individual players, table tennis may also be played by pairs. In doubles all the rules of single play apply except for the following. The table is bisected by a line painted along the long axis of the table to create doubles courts. This line’s only purpose is to facilitate the doubles service rule 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 alternate hitting the ball. For example, after a player serves the receiving player make his or her return, the server’s partner returns the ball and then the service receiver’s partner would play the ball. In wheelchair doubles table tennis, a player hits when the ball reaches their side. The point proceeds this way until one side fails to make a legal return and the point is then awarded to the other team. Singles and doubles are both played in international competition, including the Olympic Games since 1988 and the
Commonwealth Games since 2002. In 2005, the
ITTF has announced that doubles table tennis will only be featured as a part of teams events in the 2008 Olympics.
Styles of play
Grip
Competitive table tennis players grip their rackets in a variety of ways. The manner in which competitive players grip their rackets can be classified into two major families of styles. One is described as
shakehand, and the other
penhold. The Laws of Table Tennis do not prescribe the manner in which one must grip the racket, and numerous variations on gripping styles exist.
Penhold :The penhold grip is so-named because one grips the racket similarly to the way one holds a writing instrument. The style of play among penhold players can vary greatly from player to player. The style, usually referred to as the
Chinese penhold style, involves curling the middle, ring, and fourth finger back. In contrast, another style, sometimes referred to as the
Japanese penhold, involves splaying those three fingers out across the back of the racket. Penhold styles are popular among players originating from
Asian nations such as the
People's Republic of China,
Hong Kong,
Japan,
Chinese Taipei and
Korea.
Traditionally, penhold players use only one side of the racket to hit the ball during normal play. The side which is in contact with the last three fingers is generally not used. However, the Chinese have developed a new technique in which a penholder utilizes both sides of the racket. This is referred to as the
reverse penhold backhand .
Shakehand :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." The shakehand grip is popular among players originating in
Western nations.
V-grip: An experimental style being developed in China, its held by forming a "V for victory" sign and gripping the blade between the forefinger and middle finger, whilst having the other fingers rest under and on top of the handle; it requires a modified blade to grip successfully. A noticable spin benefit is noticed due to the longer lever and mechanics utilitised in the forehand and backhand .
Other styles :
United States player Danny Seemiller for the first time successfully used a modified style of play which has become known as the
Seemiller grip. This is similar to the Shakehand grip, except the thumb and forefinger form a "V" shape on the backhand side of the paddle.
Types of shots
In table tennis, the strokes break down into generally offensive and defensive . Spin exceptions are the smash, block, and lob. The types of strokes include backhand and forehand.
Offensive strokes
Speed Drive : In table tennis it is similar to strokes from other racket sports like tennis. 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 often the bread-and-butter stroke of a player’s arsenal, 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 Drive : It is essentially the reverse of the speed drive. The racket is much more
parallel to the direction of the stroke 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, much like a kick serve in tennis. A loop drive is dangerous because of its topspin — while not as difficult to return as a speed drive, it is more likely to rebound off the opponent’s racket at a very high angle, setting up an easy smash on the follow up. As the loop drive requires a lot of topspin, players generally use their entire body to generate the movement required. Variations in spin and speed adds to effectiveness of this shot.
Counter Drive : It is usually a counter attack against drives . You have to close the racket and stay close to the ball . You have to hit the ball
off the bounce , with a pretty short movement in a way that the ball goes faster to the other side. A well-timed, accurate counterdrive can be as effective as a smash.
Flip or Flick : When a player tries to attack a ball that has not bounced beyond the edge of the table, he/she does not have the room to wind up in a
backswing. The ball
may still be attacked, however, and the resulting shot is called flip because the backswing is compressed into a quick wrist action. A flip is not a single stroke and can resemble either a drive or a loop in its characteristics. What identifies the stroke is instead whether the backswing is compressed into a short wrist flick. As known as
?? "harai" in Japanese.
Smash : The offensive trump card in table tennis. A player will typically execute a smash when his or her opponent has returned a ball that bounces too high and/or too close to the net.
Smashing is essentially self-explanatory — large backswing and rapid acceleration imparting as much speed on the ball as possible. The goal of a smash is to get the ball to move so quickly that the opponent simply can not return it. Because the ball speed is the main aim of this shot, often the spin on the ball is something other than topspin. Sidespin or even backspin can be used effectively with a smash to alter the ball’s trajectory significantly. An offensive table-tennis player will think of a rally as a build-up to a winning smash; only a calculated series of smashes can guarantee a point against a good opponent. Provided that the opponent is not too close to the table or too far away from the ball, a smash can be lobbed, chopped, blocked or even counter-looped, albeit with some difficulty. A player who smashes generally works out a series of smashes to rush the opponent out of position, put him off balance, or both. Smashers who fail to do this find it difficult to win a point against an excellent defence.
The way a point develops obviously varies widely, just as in any racket sport, but a very basic tactic for an offensive player can be:
speed drive until an opportunity for a
loop drive opens up,
loop drive and then
smash the high-bouncing return of the loop.
Defensive strokes
Slice : The
slice is analogous to the
speed drive in some respects — it is very simple, usually used for keeping the point alive and creating offensive opportunities. A
slice 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. While not immediately obvious, a slice 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
slice, a player must
lift the ball back over the net. Often, the best option is to simply
slice the ball back again, which repeats and results in
slicing rallies. Otherwise, another option is to
flip or
drive the ball, only when it is far enough from the net. Also known as a
push.
Chop : A
chop or
cut is the defensive, backspin counterpart to the offensive
loop drive. A
chop is essentially a bigger, heavier
slice, 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 your own racket speed. A good
chop will float nearly horizontally back to the table, in some cases having so much backspin that the ball actually
rises. A
chop such as this can be
extremely difficult to return due to the enormous amount of backspin. Sometimes a defensive player can impart no spin on the ball during a
chop, or frequently add right- or left-hand spin to the ball. This may further confuse his/her opponent.
Chops are difficult to execute, but are devastating when completed properly because it takes a tremendous amount of
topspin on a
loop drive to return the ball back over the net.
Block : The
block or
short is a simple shot, barely worthy of being called a "stroke," but nonetheless can be
devastating against an attacking opponent. A
block is executed by simply putting the racket in front of the ball — the ball rebounds back toward the opponent with nearly as much energy as it came in with. This is not as easy as it sounds, because the ball's spin, speed, and location all influence the correct angle of a
block. Disregarding the difficulty of a block, it is very possible for an opponent to execute a perfect
loop,
drive, or
smash, only to have the
blocked shot come back at him just as fast. Due to the power involved in offensive strokes, often an opponent simply cannot recover quickly enough, and will be unable to return his own shot
blocked back to him/her.
Blocks almost always produce the same spin as was received, which is nearly always topspin. High level players may use what is called
active block, adding speed to the ball . When playing in the
Penhold Grip, many players use
active blocks when being pressured on the
backhand.
Lob : The defensive
lob is possibly the most visually-impressive shot in the sport of table tennis, and it is deceptive in its simplicity. To execute a
lob, a defensive player first backs off the table 8-10 feet ; then, the stroke itself consists of simply lifting the ball to an enormous height before it falls back to the opponent's side of the table. A
lob is inherently a creative shot, and can have nearly any kind of spin you can imagine. Talented players use this fact to their advantage in order to control the point. For instance, though the opponent may
smash the ball hard and fast, a good defensive
lob could quite possibly be even
harder to return due to the unpredictability of the spin on the ball. Thus, though backed off the table by tens of feet and apparently running and leaping just to
reach the ball, a good defensive player can still
win the point using good
lobs.
;Stop :
Stop is a high level stroke, used as another variation for close-to-table strokes . You have to position the body close to the ball and just let the ball touch the racket in a way that the ball stays close to the net with almost no speed and spin and touches the other side of the table more than twice if the opponent doesn’t reach it. This stroke should be used when opponents are far from the table and not prepared to get close to the table. This technique is most usually done by pen-holders and players who use long or short pimples. A very deceiving technique, this could result in the opponent failing to reach the ball after misjudging the
distance of the ball. A perfectly executed stroke after a
topspin sequence can win a point.
Competition
Competitive table tennis is popular in
Asia and
Europe and has been gaining attention in the
United States. While
China continues to dominate recent world titles,
Hong Kong,
Taiwan,
Japan,
Korea,
Sweden,
Germany, and
France have also produced many world-class players.
Skilled players exhibit extraordinarily swift reaction times, footwork and body control. Also, bat construction and new rubber technology contribute significantly to the amount of deviation from the expected ball flight path. The fairly recent development of speed glue speeds up the departure of the ball from the rubber considerably, though at the cost of some ball control. There are also competitions in table tennis variants: "Hardbat", in which all competitors use a paddle with small pips-out rubber ; and "Large ball", where a 44 mm ball is used to decrease the speed.
Notable players
An international hall of fame exists at the ITTF Museum site ; see also External Links below.
. See also the
List of World Table Tennis Champions- A.K. Vint
- Angelica Rozeanu won the World Championship 6 times consecutively from 1950-1955
- Anna Sipos
- Bettine Vriesekoop , 1982 and 1992 European champion
- Bohumil Vana
- Cao Yanhua
- Chuan Chi Yuan
- Deng Yaping Twice Olympic singles and doubles champion , 3 times World champion, 3 times World champion in doubles.
- Desmond Douglas Attacking player famous for his scissor jump smash
- Ding Song The first chopper in the world to consistantly and successfully counterattack
- Ella Zeller
- Ferenc Sido
- Frantisek Tokar
- Fujie Eguchi
- Ge Xinai
- Gizi Farkas
- Guo Yuehua Noted for his extremely powerful forehand even without the use of speedglue. World Championship finalist on two occasions and winning the title the latter two, all back-to-back.
- H. Roy Evans
- Ichiro Ogimura
- Ivan Andreadis
- Ivor Montagu
- Jan-Ove Waldner The first grand slam winner in 1992, 1989 and 1997 World champion, 1987 and 1991 World runner-up, 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games singles gold medalist, 2000 Sydney Olympic silver medalist, 2004 Athens Olympic Games 4th place , 1990 World Cup winner. Considered by many to be the best player ever for his creativity, longevity and progressive all-around playing style. Popularised the shakehand service grip and a top ranker in most aspects of the sport.
- Jean-Philippe Gatien 1992 Olympic singles silver medalist, 1993 World champion
- Jean-Michel Saive 1993 World runner-up, 1994 Euro Top-12 Winner, 1994 European champion, 1994 World Cup runner-up
- Johnny Leach Britain's only world champion
- Jörgen Persson 1991 World champion
- Joo Se Hyuk , currently the best defensive player, 2003 World Championship runner-up. Noted for his ability to stay on the offense once begun and the pressure that his backspin exerts.
- Kalinikos Kreanga Spectacular player, famous for his powerful backhand.
- Kong Linghui The third grand slam winner in 2000, 1995 World champion, 2001 World runner-up, 1996 Olympic doubles gold medalist, 2000 Olympic doubles silver medalist, 2000 Olympic singles gold medalist, 1995 World Cup winner, 2002 World Cup runner-up. Kong’s two-winged shakehand looping style combined with excellent footwork and short game make him one of the best players ever. Noteworthy is the opinion of former team-mate and now-coach Liu Guoliang that his serves are far worse than his level would indicate, perhaps a nod to his incredible rallying abilities.
- Jiang Jialiang Said by Jan-Ove Waldner to be the fastest player ever, perhaps rivaled only by Ma Lin. Famous for his service return, killing any loose serves and one of the only players to successfully defend his title as World Champion .
- Jimmy McClure
- Johnny Leach
- Kimiyo Matzusaki
- Ladislav Stipek
- Laszlo Bellak
- Li Furong Multiple World Championships finalist, was forced to dump to Zhuang Zedong each time.
- Liang Geliang
- Lin Huiquing
- Liu Guoliang The second grand slam winner in 1999, 1999 World champion, 1996 Olympic singles and doubles gold medalist. By popular opinion the best player China has ever produced due to the combination of smarts, mental toughness and variation. The best server ever by critical analysis.
- Liu Wei
- Maria Mednyanszky
- Marie Kettnerova
- Marty 'The Needle' Reisman the game's great maverick, a New York hustler.
- Matthew Syed A defence specialist. 3 times Commonwealth Games champion.
- Ma Lin 1999 and 2005 World runner-up, 2004 Olympic doubles gold medalist, 2000, 2003, and 2004 World Cup winner. By popular acclaim the best player in China, even over Wang Liqin. Possesses a deadly combination of smarts and firepower, very much a table tennis McEnroe.
- Michael Maze 2005 World 3rd place, 2004 Olympic doubles bronze medalist, 2004 Euro Top 12 winner
- Miklos Szabados
- Nobuhiko Hasegawa
- Peter Karlsson
- Qiao Hong
- Richard Bergmann
- Stephen Kelen
- Timo Boll 2002 and 2005 World Cup winner, 2002 and 2003 Euro Top 12 winner, 2002 European champion
- Vladimir Samsonov 3 times European champion, Twice World Cup champion, 3 times Euro Top 12 champion
- Toshiaki Tanaka
- Vera Votrubcova
- Victor Barna Early table tennis master. 5-time singles and 7-times doubles world champion in 1930s
- Wang Liqin 2001 and 2005 World champion, 2000 Olympic doubles gold medalist, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, 2001 World Cup Finalist. Thought by many to be the best player in the world due to his extremely high quality of play, having top-notch power, consistancy and high speed.
- Wang Nan 2000 Olympic singles champion, 3 times World champion
- Wang Hao
- Werner Schlager 2003 World champion, 1999 World 3rd place, 1999 World Cup runner-up, 2000 Euro Top-12 winner
- Zhang Xielin
- Zhang Yining ranked #1 in the ITTF rankings, in both women's singles and women's doubles, 2005.
- Zhuang Zedong 3-time world men's singles champion, 1961, 1963 and 1965
- Zoltan Mechlovitz
- Zoran Primorac 1993 and 1997 World Cup winner, 1998 and 2000 European runner-up
Physics of table tennis
A table tennis ball is governed first and foremost by Newton’s laws of motion. However, a significant component of the game is spinning the ball, the effects of which are observed as a result of the
Magnus effect on the ball. Through spinning, the Magnus effect adds a whole new dimension to the game, allowing the successful execution of shots that would not be possible according to Newtonian projectile motion alone.
Governance
The
International Table Tennis Federation : worldwide governing body with national bodies responsible for the sport in each country. There are other local authorities applicable as well.
USA Table Tennis : national governing body for table tennis in the United States.
The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association : official governing body for collegiate table tennis in the United States.
Notes and Trivia
- Multi-talented sportsman Maxwell Woosnam, an Olympic and Wimbledon champion at lawn tennis and one-time captain of the England national football team, once defeated actor and film director Charlie Chaplin at table tennis while playing with a butter knife instead of a bat.
- Table tennis inspired the first commercially successful video game, PONG is a video game [i] by Atari [i], based on the sport of table tennis [i] ...
. - In the early 1970s the People’s Republic of China invited American table tennis players to a tournament in the PRC. This marked a thawing in relations with the United States that was followed up by a visit by U.S. president Richard Nixon. The popular media therefore dubbed this visit "Ping Pong Diplomacy".
- At the 1936 World Championships in Prague, two defensive players took over an hour to contest one point.
- Soviet rule once banned the sport because it was seen as carrying significant risk of eye damage.
- Table tennis inspired the Xbox 360 video game based on this sport, see Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis.
- In the movie "Forrest Gump", Gump participates into Richard Nixon's "Ping Pong Diplomacy" while in the army.
- Certain world-class players can put up to 9000rpm of spin on table tennis balls.
- Table tennis balls aren't really hollow. They are pressurized slightly with a gas.
- More than 30 table tennis companies exist around the world, making a full line of accessories from paddles to warm-up suits.
External links
Governing Bodies
- North America
- Europe
- Australia and New Zealand
- South America
Table tennis sites
Please do not remove legitimate sites
References
Bibliography
- Sizzling Chops & Devilish Spins: Ping-Pong and the Art of Staying Alive by Jerome Charyne, Publisher: Four Walls Eight Windows ISBN 1568582420
- Winning Table Tennis: Skills, Drills, and Strategies by Dan Seemiller, Publisher: Human Kinetics Publishers ISBN 0880115203
- Planet Ping Pong, A Time Shift TV documentary from BBC4 60mins 2006
