How to Play Table Tennis

Presence of Mind: A Basic on How to Play Table Tennis

The origin of table tennis comes from England, which was a popular after dinner form entertainment enjoyed by the 1880s Victorians. The whole concept of table tennis then was to emulate a tennis game indoors. Since it still wasn’t a defined sport at that time, players would utilize items like books and bookends as the “nets” for their “table tennis game”. Items like a knot of string or the cork of champagne bottle would be utilized as balls, while the covers of cigar boxes would be used as paddles. Eventually, “scaled down” equipment was manufactured, triggered by the popularity of the indoor version of tennis.

Because of the equipment used then, sounds generated by a table tennis game ranged from “Whiff-whaff” to “Ping-Pong”. In 1901, celluloid balls were eventually utilized as table tennis balls. Come 1988, Table Tennis was introduced into the Olympic games. By then, it was a popular sport, with many people joining into the ranks, desiring to learn how to play table tennis.

Today, table tennis stands to be one of the most popular of sports in the world, particularly in East Asia. Basically, table tennis is a sport, with the similar premise of tennis, only that it is played in a smaller scale. Like standard tennis, table tennis could be played by two to four players, volleying a ball over one side of a court, or table in table tennis, using a racket. In table tennis, since it is a scaled down version of tennis, a table is being utilized as a court, and is also divided into two sections, no different from the standard tennis court. A net divides a table tennis playing area, again, no different from that of a standard tennis game.

The difference therein between standard tennis and table tennis is the value of ball control. On how to play table tennis, ball control is very important, be one be talking about strong strikes, or soft gentle swipes. Generally, speed is one important factor in how to play table tennis, as a table tennis game’s gameplay is fast and demands quick reactions. Being “slow” would also greatly be a factor in how to play table tennis. Basically, the presence of mind to shift between being fast and slow would greatly enhance one’s success in how to play table tennis, and stands to be a valuable asset to have in how to play table tennis.

Bottom line, the presence of mind to know when to shift from fast and slow is one of the most basic of skills when talking about how to play table tennis, considering that it is a scaled down version of tennis.