Table Tennis

Written by: Ahana Goel

You’ve probably played basketball, football, and maybe even lacrosse. But, have you ever played table tennis? Let me tell you a little bit about it! Table tennis is a great sport! I bet you will enjoy it as much as I do!

    Table tennis is where players stand on one end of a very long “table” which can be folded for easy storage. Players are given a table tennis racket, or a paddle, to hit a small ball. A paddle is a small racket, but instead of the net as the middle where you hit the ball, it is made out of rubber. You can have one player on each side of the table (singles) or you can have two players on each side (doubles). You can even play by yourself by folding up one side of the table. It’s better when other people are playing with you. 

But where did this amazing sport even come from? Well, in the 20th century, a man named David Foster had the idea to bring tennis onto a table. However, the game was not called table tennis. Rather, it was called Ping-Pong and many still use the name today. Did you know that table-tennis is the third largest participation sport in the world? That’s amazing! 

The objective, or goal, of the game is to hit the ball so that the opponent cannot hit it back, while the ball hitting the other side of the table. The game is only won when the player reaches 11 points. A match is played best 3 of 5 games. There are two types of games in table tennis. There can be singles or doubles. Unlike singles, where the ball can bounce anywhere on the table, the ball can only hit the right side of the table for both the server and receiver.

The top 5 countries in table tennis are China, Japan, Germany, Korea, and Sweden. But, why are they the best in this sport? These countries are dynasties in this sport not only for their coaches, but also for their players. The coaches not only have great table tennis techniques, but they also have great tactics, strength, playing style, and team managers. The players have a great sense of determination and have many people who play this sport. However, the best player of them all is Fan Zhendong from China with over 12,000 points! Currently, he is ranked number 1 in men’s singles. 

Overall, table tennis is an amazing sport!