More than 140 years after its humble beginnings, table tennis is now played by millions of players in many countries throughout the world. It was once essentially a pastime only the upper classes could afford at the start, but now millions participate in the sport in over 100 countries throughout the world.
We’ll look at the history of table tennis in this post and cover some of the significant dates and changes over the last century.
Who invented the game of table tennis?
Table tennis (also referred to as Pong in the United States) was invented in 1880s Victorian England as an adaptation of the popular game lawn tennis. It allowed players to continue playing indoors in the harsh winter months while it was too cold to go outside.
The game caught on quickly, being much more accessible and available to play at home since you did not necessarily need a big outdoor space.
Several game firms began selling sets of equipment that included nets, bats, and balls. During that period the game had a lot of different names depending on what company was marketing it. Back then the game was known by such names as:
Ping-Pong or Gossima
Table Tennis
Whiff Waff
Pom-Pom
Pim-Pam
Lots of others
A decade later, Ping Pong and Table Tennis became popular, and in 1901 The Ping Pong Association and The Table Tennis Association were formed.
The trademark issue
A British manufacturer, J. Jaques & Son Ltd, trademarked the name Ping-Pong worldwide. This meant that other manufacturers had to refer to the game like Table Tennis (or a different name) on any products they produced to avoid infringing on the trademark.
A similar thing happened in the United States where Jaques sold the trademark rights to Parker Brothers who made sure that it was not called Ping-Pong by other associations or companies.
Equipment of the time
The equipment used has evolved greatly over the last 140 years since it was first invented, looking very different from the bats and tables we see today. The technology and materials used at that time were not nearly as advanced as the ones available now.
The earliest table tennis tables
Played originally on dining room tables, table tennis started with players setting up nets across the table and sometimes even nets at the sides to catch the ball. In India, the British army believed to make their own tables using rows of books for the net and more books as makeshift paddles.
Earlier table tennis bats
Ping pong used different bats because they came in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles. The most common ones were made of wood and covered in vellum canvas stretched across a wooden frame. This is how putting the ball on a different pitch made the sounds made.
There were many different sets available at the time, as shown in the video below.
Only a few years later, E.C Goode invented a paddle that is more easily recognized as recognizable today. He was the first to put a sheet of rubber on the wooden blade, but it was not until much later that a sponge would be used between the blade and rubber.
Earlier table tennis balls
Various sizes and materials were used to make balls throughout history. Before 1900 they were often made of cork or rubber, but neither of these is ideal due to the unpredictable bounce that the rubber ball makes and the cork ball that is not sufficient.
Then in 1901 James W. Gibb found celluloid balls whilst visiting the United States that were perfect for the game. A 38mm ball made from celluloid quickly became the standard and was used until very recently when in 2000 the ball size was increased to 40mm.
If you're interested in the history of the table tennis ball, we recommend you check out this article from Table Tennis 11 that's a lot more detailed.
The 1920’s to 1950s: Europe dominates the hard bat era.
In the 1920s table tennis experienced a revival. Standardized rules were introduced, which helped it gain widespread popularity. In 1926 the ITTF (The International Federation of Table Tennis) was formed in Berlin, and the first-ever world championships were held in England.
Due to the lack of sponges on rackets during the 1920s and 1950s, the Classic Hard Bat era was characterized by European players generally dominating competition wins during this period.
The International Table Tennis Federation introduced some rule changes in 1936, such as the heightening of the nets to 6 and 33 inches, and painting the tables. This created a low-speed game, and it became difficult for attacking players to win the game. Amazingly, there was a rally that lasted over two hours during the World Championships in Prague that year, the longest rally on a world championship match ever.
From the 1950s to the 1970s: The east dominates in the sponge bat era.
In the 1950s, the technology used in table tennis bats changed greatly. Japanese player Hiroji Satoh used a rubber that was coated with foam sponge that made him be able to impart a great deal of speed and spin, and he won the 1952 World Championships.
The popularity of the sport had increased tremendously in Asia as players from nations such as China, Japan, and Korea began dominating the podium during world championships.
Playing Ping Pong With Diplomacy
Table tennis became political in the 1970s, leading to friendly exchanges between Chinese and American players, as well as a visit to China by President Nixon in a phenomenon known as Ping Pong Diplomacy. This led to the lifting of the embargo on China during the cold war and it was the catalyst for a renaissance between the two countries.
1970’s and 2000’s: Speed glue and the rise of Sweeden
There were some experiments in the 1970s with bicycle tire repair glue to apply the rubber to the bat which led to players being able to generate a lot more speed and spin and their rackets became much more responsive. These became known as speed glue and were developed by Yugoslavian Dragutin Surbek and Hungarian Tibor Kampar. But even so, the first 20 years of the period started like the last, with China dominating the world championships in both men’s and women’s divisions. In 1989, however, the Chinese dominance ended with Swedish players winning the team events of 1989, 1991, and 1993 as well as securing the two Men’s World Championship titles in 1989 and 1991.
Olympic table tennis becomes a sport
In the 20th century, table tennis had been appreciating in popularity and was added to the Olympic program in Seoul in 1988, when it made its first appearance as a part of the Korean Olympics. Now the sport is enjoyed by more than 875 million people across the globe.
Summing up
We hope this has helped explain some of the origins of table tennis to you. For all the important dates in the history of the game, we’d recommend checking out this timeline on table tennis or spending some time looking at some of the great photos from the ITTF website.
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