Ping Pong: History, Rules, and Tricks

Almost everyone knows what Ping Pong is, but how did it start? Is it different from table tennis? What moves can I do at the next pool party that shows my absolute dominion over the game? You'll learn all that and more, just try to stay calm as you learn more than you've ever wanted to learn about Ping Pong.

Like The Office, being overly polite, or English muffins, Ping Pong began in Britain. One supposes that regular tennis was too manly and raw, so they decided to tone it back a bit. In the 1880s, it was an upper-class, post dinner parlour game called “wiff-waff.” Presumably the name comes from the sound of unathletic British men unsuccessfully swiping at the ball.

When popularity of the sport grew, equipment began being manufactured commercially instead of being made out of whatever one could find around the house. A British manufacturer bought the trademark “ping-pong” in 1901 and sold it to the Parker Brother later because apparently the Parker Brothers weren’t making enough games already. To get around the trademark of “ping-pong,” other manufacturers called it “table tennis,” which is an infinitely better name, but not as colloquial.

In 1921, the Table Tennis Association was founded in Britain, followed by the International Table Tennis Federation in 1926. In 1933, the United States Table Tennis Association was formed, but is now called USA Table Tennis. So if you’ve ever wondered if your game was regulation style, now you know where to look.

The first server is decided by a coin toss, or rally to serve, which is when the ball is played back and forth four times. Whoever gets a “point” after that serves, but does not actually receive a point.

The ball is thrown upward, then struck down by the paddle. The ball must first bounce once on the server’s side, then once on the opposite side without hitting the net. The ball must stay on top of the table (I’m looking at you, astronaughts!). The receiver hits the ball pack in a likewise fashion until a score or a let.

A let is a rally of which is not scored, and is due to the following:

• The ball hits the net in service, but the play was otherwise good or the ball is obstructed by the receiving player, which means they hit it before they should. (Easy McEnroe, stay on your side!)
• When the player on the receiving side is not ready and the service is delivered. (“I’m sorry, can you serve that again. I was thinking about different types of maple syrup.”)
• A player's failure is due to a disturbance outside the control of the player. (Like an alien invasion)
• Play is interrupted by the umpire or assistant umpire. (“Hey man, does this look infected?”)

A score is caused by the following:

• Opponent fails to make a correct service or return.
• After making a service or a return, the ball touches anything other than the net before being hit by the opponent.
• The ball passes over a players court without hitting it after being hit by the opponent.
• The opponent obstructs the ball.
• The opponent strikes the ball twice successively.
• The opponent moves the playing surface or touches the net.
• The opponent's free hand touches the playing surface.

Games are played to 11. If the score is at 10-10, then the first player to gain a two point lead wins. Doubles games are nearly the same, but each player on each team takes turns serving and returning. Players on opposite corners hit the ball to each other.

According to international standards, ping-pong balls are 2.7 grams and have a 40 mm diameter. When bounced, they should recoil 24-26 cm when being dropped 30.5 cm from a standard steel block. It sounds like ping-pong balls are more heavily regulated than the FDA and the FFA combined.

Before the 2000 Olympics, the balls were 38 mm in diameter. Yes, it actually does make a difference. The motivation behind increasing the size was to slow down the game to make it more of a spectator sport. If they really wanted to make it more of a spectator sport, they should restrict the sport to loud-mouth reality TV show wash-ups, because apparently they get huge ratings.

The balls are made of celluloid or other similar plastics. They can be white or orange, depending on what color best contrasts the table.

Balls are given a rating on a three star scale. Competition grade balls are rated with three starts, while one-star balls can probably be found at a very specific sort of gentlemen’s club.

Ping Pong tables are typically nine feet long, five feet wide, and 30 inches high. The surface is hardboard with a slick, low-friction coating. The table is divided into two halves by a 6 inch high net. Unlike other game tables, these tables are almost always built to be sturdy enough for outdoor play. The ITTF specifies that nets must be green or blue. Personally, I think they’re paid off by the green and blue net lobbies. When will we see fuchsia nets in competitive play?!

The racket is made from laminated wood covered with rubber on one or two sides. In the US it’s called a “paddle,” in the UK it’s called a “bat,” and the ITTF calls it a “racket.” Way to go, ITTF. Never mind the fact that ping-pong was created and developed in those two countries, you’re going to call it another name altogether.

Different surfaces are allow on each side of the racket. The different types of surfaces provide various levels of spin or speed, or nullify spin altogether. To change between different types of returns, players flip the racket in play.

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. It’s like how the Romans shook hands at the wrist for trustworthiness, only not as cool. Some types of rubbers are also not approved. Approved rubbers have the ITTF emblem on the base of the rubber. Flubber is not an approved ITTF surface.

Learning and mastering different spins can create a greater variety in gameplay. It will make you more formidable than a casual player, who is lucky if they even hit the ball.

Backspin is where the bottom half of the ball is rotating away from the player, and is caused by striking the base of the ball with a downward movement. Backspin is usually used defensively in order to keep the ball low. It is harder to produce an offensive return, especially on a short serve. Although this limits speed, it can be harder for the opponent to also return with a lot of speed unless they are precise.

Topspin is the opposite, although the kinematics are similar. The bottom half is now rotating towards the player. The axis of rotation is still perpendicular to the trajectory, allowing the Magnus effect to control trajectory. The bounce accelerates the ball, forcing the opponent to adjust their racket in order to return it successfully. This is commonly known as "closing the racket". Topspin is regarded as an offensive technique due to increased ball speed and the pressure that it puts on the opponent by reducing reaction time. Before the bounce, there is a reduction in speed however, but it is less than the reduction from backspin.

Sidespin causes the ball to spin on an axis which is vertical, rather than horizontal. In this circumstance, the Magnus effect will still dictate the curvature of the ball to some degree. Sidespin will have relatively very little effect on the bounce of the ball, and the ball "loses" less spin on the bounce. Sidespin can also be employed in offensive rally strokes, often from a greater distance, as an adjunct to topspin or backspin. This stroke is sometimes referred to as a "hook". The hook can even be used in some extreme cases to circumvent the net when away from the table.

Corkspin requires the axis of rotation to be parallel with the trajectory. The result is that it ignores the Magnus effect and bounces either left or right. This can make it an obnoxious spin for the opponent, but it can easily be countered with a topspin or backspin. It also tends to travel at lower speeds. This spin is accomplished by hitting the ball perpendicular to the trajectory, which causes the lack of momentum.