TABLE TENNIS

Brief History
The sport got its start in England
towards the end of the 19th century
when, after dinner, some upper-middle
class Victorians decided to turn their
dining room tables into miniature
versions of the traditional lawn tennis
playing field.

Several different every-day objects

were employed in constructing the
sport. They used a line of books as the
net. Rackets were lids from empty
cigar boxes, and a little later,
parchment paper stretched around a
frame. The ball would be either a ball
of string, or perhaps more commonly,
a champagne cork or rubber ball.

Before Table Tennis

When the game first started it was called by a
number of different names. Whif whaf,
gossamer, and flim flam were commonly
used to describe it. In 1901 though, English
manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd registered
one of the more popular names, Ping-Pong, as
a copyright. He later sold the trademark to the
Parker Brothers in the United States. Then in the
1920's the name and the sport were revived in
Europe as table tennis.

SOURCE :
http://www.ittf.com/ittf_handbook/hb.asp?s_Chapter=&s_Description
=&s_last_update=&s_number=2&Formhb2004_Page=2#hb2004

The playing surface

shall be rectangular, 2.74m long and

1.525m wide, and shall lie in a horizontal
plane 76cm above the floor

shall not include the vertical sides of the

tabletop.
shall be uniformly dark colored and matt,
but with a white side line, 2cm wide,
along each 2.74m edge and a white end
line, 2cm wide, along each 1.525m edge.

shall be divided into 2 equal courts

by a vertical net running parallel with
the end lines, and shall be continuous
over the whole area of each court.
For doubles, each court shall be
divided into 2 equal half-courts by a
white centre line.

THE NET ASSEMBLY

The net assembly
shall consist of the net, its
suspension and the supporting
posts, including the clamps
attaching them to the table.
shall be suspended by a cord
attached at each end to an
upright post 15.25cm high, the
outside limits of the post being
15.25cm outside the side line.

 The top of the net, along its whole length, shall

be 15.25cm above the playing surface.
The bottom of the net, along its whole length,
shall be as close as possible to the playing
surface and the ends of the net shall be
attached to the supporting posts from top to
bottom.

The ball
shall be spherical
with a diameter of 40mm.

shall weigh 2.7g.

shall be made of celluloid or similar
plastics material
shall be white or orange, and matt.

The racket
may be of any size, shape or weight but the
blade shall be flat and rigid.
At least 85% of the blade by thickness shall
be of natural wood

Ordinary pimpled rubber is a single layer of

non-cellular rubber, natural or synthetic
Sandwich rubber is a single layer of cellular
rubber covered with a single outer layer of
ordinary pimpled rubber

 Service shall start with the ball

resting freely on the open palm
of the server's stationary free
hand.
The server shall then project the
ball near vertically upwards,
without imparting spin
As the ball is falling the server
shall strike it so that it touches
first his or her court and then,
touches directly the receiver's
court; in doubles, the ball shall
touch successively the right half
court of server and receiver.

The ball, having been

served or returned,
shall be struck so that
it
touches
the
opponent's
court,
either
directly
or
after touching the net
assembly.

 Unless the rally is a let, a player shall

score a point
if an opponent fails to make a correct
service

if an opponent fails to make a correct

return
if, after he or she has made a service
or a return, the ball touches anything
other than the net assembly before
being struck by an opponent
if the ball passes over his or her court or
beyond his or her end line without
touching his or her court, after being
struck by an opponent

Basic Skills

1. Hand grips
Shakehand- The shakehand grip is sonamed because the racket is grasped
as if one is performing a handshake.
Though it is sometimes referred to as the
"tennis" or "Western" grip, it bears no
relation to the Western tennis grip,
which was popularized on the West
Coast of the United States in which the
racket is rotated 90, and played with
the wrist turned so that on impact the
knuckles face the target. In table tennis,
Western refers to Western nations, for
this is the grip that players native to
Europe and the Americas have almost
exclusively employed.

Seemiller- It is achieved by placing

your thumb and index finger on either
side of the bottom of the racquet
head and holding the handle with
the rest of your fingers. It is an
interesting grip because only one side
of the racquet is used to hit the ball
(the side without your fingers). It is one
of the most unpopular grips in table
tennis.

2. 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, at
least 16 cm (6.3 in) high. 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. In casual games, many
players do not toss the ball upward;
however, this is technically illegal and
can give the serving player an unfair
advantage.

3. Body Position
Feet: You need quite a wide base when playing table tennis. From my
experience beginners are far more likely to have their feet too close
together than too far apart. Some coaches say feet should be
shoulder-width apart but I would go further than that and say that
feet should be somewhere between 1.5 and 2 shoulder-widths.
Having your feet wider apart will give you a more stable base, help
you to move and enable you to transfer your weight from foot-to-foot
to develop power. Also, its a good idea to have your non-playing
foot slightly further forward than your playing foot. For example, a
right-hander would have their left foot slightly in front of their right.

 Knees: If your legs are completely straight you will find yourself off
balance frequently and unable to move to wide balls. Therefore,
your knees should always be slightly bent. Dont bend your knees
too much and make sure you dont have then bent in a squat
position either. A slight bend is all you need.

Body: When playing table tennis your body should be square to

the table and crouched. This means that your head and
shoulders are forwards and slightly down. This, in turn, will stop
you from entering into a squat position and will shift your weight
onto your toes (the front of the feet) which will make it much
easier to move. This crouched position will also stop you from
drifting away from the table as you play your shots. This is a
common problem for players that have their weight on their
heels.

 Arms: Your arms should be out

in front of your body, and
forearms parallel with the
ground. This both helps with
the crouched/leaning
forwards stance and makes it
much easier to play a stroke.
One thing that Im always
banging on about is keeping
your elbow in front on your
body. I see many beginners
put their forearms out in front
of them but their elbows stay
tucked in against their sides.

 Bat: The bat/hand/wrist is final component of a correct

ready position. We assume that we do not know where
the ball is going and therefore we must keep the bat in
a neutral position, pointing the top edge of the racket
towards our opponent. That way it is possible for us to
play either a backhand or a forehand, on demand.
Keep your wrist straight as well. Having a bent wrist isnt
a good idea and will lead to a lack of control, a hooky
forehand, and again, a lack of power.