The Official International Table Tennis Federation Handbook uses several terms to describe the sport of table tennis and its equipment. "Pimpled rubber" is the bumpy rubber layer you find on the outside of a table tennis racket. The player's dominant hand is known as the racket hand. Hitting the ball with the paddle is called striking, and an umpire presides over an official game.
Fundamentals
Play a game of table tennis up to 11 points. However, the game must be won by a margin of two or more points. The amount of games in a match of table tennis vary according to tournament rules, but must be an odd number, such as the best two out of three. Each time the server puts the ball in play, both players have an opportunity to score a point,
Basic Rules
Serve the ball by tossing it up slightly and hitting it as it descends toward the table. The ball must bounce on your court before crossing over the net. The receiver must return the ball by striking it with her racket. On the return, and all subsequent returns, strike the ball so it travels to your opponent's side without bouncing on your side of the court. The serve alternates between the servers every two points.
Ping-Pong
Are ping-pong and table tennis the same game? The answer is yes. Despite the popularity of the name ping-pong, international associations for the sport had to use a different name. AllAboutTableTennis.com explains the term ping-pong was originally owned by the English company John Jaques & Son, who had sold the right to use the name ping-pong in the United States to Parker Brothers. These companies already promoted ping-pong tournaments and threatened to take legal action against anyone calling their game ping-pong.
ITTF
The International Table Tennis Federation published the first official Rules of Table Tennis in 1926. The first member countries, according to AllAboutTableTennis.com, were Austria, Czechoslovakia, England, Germany, Hungary, India, Sweden and Wales.
The ITTF provides ranking statistics, descriptions of regulation equipment and official rules for officially sanctioned tournaments around the world including the Olympics and world championship games.
History
People in England played forms of table tennis as early as 1884. Table tennis is also known by various names patented or trademarked through the years including Gossima, Whiff-Whaff and Ping Pong, According to information provided by AllAboutTableTennis.com, early versions of the paddle resembled small strung rackets, bats and drums.
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