For the opponent to have time to realize a serve is taking place, the ball must be tossed a minimum of 16 centimetres (6.3 in) in the air. The white line in the middle of the table has no meaning for single playing. Though Table Tennis evolved, along with Badminton and Lawn Tennis, from the ancient game of Tennis (also known as Jeu de Paume, Real tennis, Court Tennis […] [84], On many continents, there is a governing body responsible for table tennis on that continent. A lob can have nearly any kind of spin. The main objective of smash is high speed and bounce, so that the opponent is unable to hit the ball. Due to the power involved in offensive strokes, often an opponent simply cannot recover quickly enough to return the blocked shot, especially if the block is aimed at an unexpected side of the table. This stroke can have a topspin and can make the opponent defenseless. [48] Sometimes a combination of the two styles occurs, wherein the middle, ring and fourth fingers are straight, but still stacked, or where all fingers may be touching the back of the racket, but are also in contact with one another. [1][12] London hosted the first official World Championships in 1926. The racket is parallel to the direction of the stroke ("closed") and the racket thus grazes the ball, resulting in a large amount of topspin. Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small rackets. Deng Yaping of China is the first female recorded at the inaugural Women's World Cup in 1996. The rally proceeds this way until one side fails to make a legal return and the other side scores. There are also some important international club teams competitions such as the European Champions League and its former competitor,[vague] the European Club Cup, where the top club teams from European countries compete. A speed drive is used mostly for keeping the ball in play, applying pressure on the opponent, and potentially opening up an opportunity for a more powerful attack. However, the Chinese developed a technique in the 1990s in which a penholder uses both sides of the racket to hit the ball, where the player produces a backhand stroke (most often topspin) known as a reverse penhold backhand by turning the traditional side of the racket to face one's self, and striking the ball with the opposite side of the racket. [17], After the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, the ITTF instituted several rule changes that were aimed at making table tennis more viable as a televised spectator sport. Note that the hand that is holding the racket counts as part of the racket and that making a good return off one's hand or fingers is allowed. Stance 3. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. Backhand Drive 6. [6] A row of books stood up along the center of the table as a net, two more books served as rackets and were used to continuously hit a golf-ball. [10], Although both a "Table Tennis Association" and a "Ping Pong Association" existed by 1910,[10] a new Table Tennis Association was founded in 1921, and in 1926 renamed the English Table Tennis Association. They cant wait to finish school and then maybe they get the chance to play full time and live by the sport that they love. What are the fundamentals of table tennis? One doesn’t hit the ball, but simply puts the racquet so close to the ball, that it hits the racquet right after its bounce. A table tennis table is made of fibrewood that is split into two halves. This kind of stroke results in topspin and jumps a bit forward after hitting the opponent’s side of the table. This configuration is sometimes referred to as "traditional penhold" and is more commonly found in square-headed racket styles. [52] For example, when the last order of play before a pair score 5 points in the final game is A→X→B→Y, the order after change shall be A→Y→B→X if A still has the second serve. Smashing use rapid acceleration to impart as much speed on the ball as possible so that the opponent cannot react in time. Experienced players tend to return this serve with a loop or a smash. Table tennis, also called (trademark) Ping-Pong, ball game similar in principle to lawn tennis and played on a flat table divided into two equal courts by a net fixed across its width at the middle. The rate was twice as high as the next sport, basketball, which featured 15% of naturalized players. If the player hits the ball with wooden part of racquet, not the rubber part, then the opponent gets a point. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Kenta Matsudaira is known for primarily using counter-hit for offense. [23]. Manufacturers often indicate the quality of the ball with a star rating system, usually from one to three, three being the highest grade. Table tennis regulations allow different rubber surfaces on each side of the racket. As a receiver under the expedite system, completing 13 returns in a rally. [71], The rate of naturalization accelerated after the ITTF's 2009 decision (one year after China won every possible Olympic medal in the sport) to reduce the number of entries per association in both the Olympics and the World Table Tennis Championships. A point is won by a player when the opponent cannot hit the ball with a racket over the net and onto the other side of the table. 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