What is the origin and history of Table Tennis?

Like many other sports, Table Tennis began as a mild social diversion. It was probably played with improvised equipment in England, during the last quarter of the 19th century. 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 or Royal Tennis), the game was developed after Lawn Tennis became popular in the 1880s.

The earliest surviving action game of Tennis on a table is a set made by David Foster, patented in England in 1890 (No.11037): Parlour Table Games, which included table versions of Lawn Tennis, Cricket and Football. The Lawn Tennis game featured strung rackets, a 30mm cloth covered rubber ball, a wooden fence set up around the perimeter of the table, and large side nets extending along both sides.

“This arrangement is adapted for ordinary lawn tennis, and for a modified game to be played indoors, say upon a billiard or dining table. In the latter case the poles are supported in brackets clamped to the table and the ends of the cord may be clamped by the cam arrangement, or fastenend under the table, or weighted.”

Duke correctly concludes that this “quite possibly is now the earliest known reference to a table version of tennis (and, importantly, accurately dated).” However, no evidence has been found that such a game was developed at that time.

James Devonshire (ENG), who John Jaques claimed invented Table Tennis in a 1901 interview published in The Echo. Subsequently Alan Duke found in The Official Journal of the Patent Office that:

 

  • Devonshire applied for a Patent on October 9, 1885 for his “Table Tennis”.
  • The Nov. 24, 1885 issue of the Journal shows Provisional Specifications were accepted
  • In January 1887 the Application is listed as Abandoned. Once again no evidence of Devonshire’s game, nor advertisement has been found; quite likely it was never put into production.

 

One year later famous game makers Jaques of London released their GOSSIMA game. This game borrowed the drum style battledores from the Shuttlecock game, and used a 50mm webbed wrapped cork ball, with an amazing 30cm high net that was secured by a belt-like strap under the table. Only 2 examples are known to have survived.

 

Neither of these action games were successful, due to the ineffective ball: the rubber ball had too wild a bounce, while the cork ball had too poor a bounce. Jaques continued to advertise Gossima throughout the 1890s, but it was not until c.1900, when the celluloid ball was introduced to the game, that the concept of tennis on a table became successful. Steve Grant has traced the name Ping Pong to an 1884 song by Harry Dacre. The distinct sound of the celluloid ball bouncing off the drum rackets quickly led to the use of the same name. This can still be demonstrated today using the antique rackets! As the name Ping Pong caught on, Jaques changed the name of his game to “Gossima or Ping Pong” and soon afterward, to “Ping Pong or Gossima”. Ultimately the name Gossima was dropped.

Gradually the two most popular names prevailed: Ping Pong, and Table Tennis. However, these competing names caused some problems, as two associations were formed, and with different rules 

for the game some confusion resulted. Ping Pong was trademarked in 1900 by Hamley Brothers in England, and soon afterwards Hamleys became “jointly concerned” with Jaques. They rigorously enforced the Ping Pong trademark, requiring use of their Ping Pong equipment in Ping Pong tournaments and clubs. Parker Brothers, who acquired the American rights to the name Ping Pong, similarly enforced the trademark. Eventually it became clear that for the sport to move forward, the commercial ties had to be severed.

From Local To International:

The first world championships were held in London in 1926, and from then until 1939 the game was dominated by players from central Europe, the men’s team event being won nine times by Hungary and twice by Czechoslovakia. In the mid-1950s Asia emerged as a breeding ground of champions, and from that time the individual and team events (for both men and women) have been dominated by athletes from China. 

The popularity of the game in China was notable for giving rise to so-called “Ping-Pong diplomacy,” a period during the 1970s in which Cold War tensions between China and the United States were eased via a series of highly publicized table tennis matches between athletes from the two countries. The first such event—held in Beijing in 1971—is widely credited with paving the way for U.S. Pres. Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China the following year. In 1980 the first World Cup was held, and Guo Yuehua of China won the $12,500 first prize. Table tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988, with singles and doubles competition for men and women.

Timeline of Table Tennis Milestones

 

1880s

Adaptation of lawn tennis to the dining table with improvised equipment

1883

6.26

Slazenger patent, nets for games, mentions tennis on a table

1885

James Devonshire (ENG) granted provisional patent for his “Table Tennis”, abandoned 1887.1

1890s

Several patents registered in England and the USA

Earliest surviving action game of table tennis: David Foster’s Parlour Table Games, England 1890

Sets produced under trade names such as Gossima, and Indoor Tennis, with Lawn Tennis style rules

1900

Introduction of celluloid balls to replace rubber and cork ones. The celluloid ball had the perfect bounce, and the game became a huge success

1901

Table Tennis Association and rival Ping Pong Association formed in England; amalgamated in 1903

First books on the game published in England

The game is introduced in China via western settlements & trade missions

1904

Ping Pong craze fades, some pockets of popularity in eastern Europe continue

1922

Revival of the game in England & Europe, though laws varied.

Establishment of standard laws of the game in England

1926

International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) initiated in Berlin

First World Championships held in London, England. ITTF Constitution adopted, along with first set of standardized Laws.

Ivor Montagu (ENG) elected Chairman

1920s –

1950   

Classic Hard Bat Era (European Dominance)

1926–

1931

Maria Mednyanszky (HUN) wins the World Championships five times consecutively. Mednyanszky wins 18 gold medals over-all

1930–

1935

Victor Barna (HUN) becomes five times world champion. Barna wins a record 22 gold medals at world championships during his career, 40 medals overall

1936

Tenth World Championships held in Prague, Czechoslovakia. The longest rally took place, the first point taking over two hours due to pushing style play.

1937

A lowering of the net to 6 inches (15.24cm) encouraged more attacking style, and time limits imposed on matches.

Both women singles finalists defaulted at the World Championships due to misunderstanding about time limit law. Ruth Aarons (USA) & Trude Pritzi (AUT) declared co-champions in 2001.

1939

First World Championship held outside Europe: Cairo, Egypt

1940-

1946

Due to World War II the ITTF suspended activities, & no World Championships were held

1943

First Continental Federation founded December 12: South American Confederation.

1947

ITTF resumes activity; World Championships held in Paris, but Richard Bergmann (ENG), defending World Singles Champion, not allowed to participate by Montagu due to Bergmann accepting money for exhibition play during War years without official permission.

1950–

1955

Angelica Rozeanu-Adelstein (ROU) wins the World Championships six times in a row and is the last non Asian to win the female singles title until today. 1950: Bergmann wins 4th World Singles title

1950s

Age of Sponge Bat and Technology (Beginning of Asian Dominance)

1952

Nineteenth World Championships held in Bombay, India the first to be staged in Asia. Japan’s entry to the international scene

Hiroji Satoh (JPN) became the first player to win a World Championship when using a racket covered with thick sponge and is the first non-European winner.

Inauguration of the Asian Federation & First Asian Federation Championships

1953

China entered the World Championships for the first time. Thick sponge bat causes major controversies for the next several years.

1954

Ichiro Ogimura (JPN) is the epitome of Japanese dominance with technological development and physical training

1956

Tomie Okada-Okawa (JPN) is the first female player from Asia to win the World Championships and stops the European reign on world’s female table tennis.

1957

World Championship changes to a two-year cycle

1958

First European Championships, Budapest, Hungary. The USSR made their entry to the international scene

1959

Rong Guotuan (CHN) is the first Chinese world champion in any sport.

Racket standardization laws enacted

1960

1st Paralympic Games in Rome, included Table Tennis

1962

First All-Africa Championships, Alexandria, Egypt

1967

Ivor Montagu retired as President of the ITTF after forty years in office. Swaythling Club International founded, Victor Barna President.

1971

First Commonwealth Championships held in Singapore

Ping Pong Diplomacy: table tennis played an important role in international diplomacy when several teams were invited to China for a series of friendship matches after the 1971 World Championships. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai: “Your visit to China has opened the door for people-to-people exchanges between China and the USA.”

1971

Stellan Bengtsson (SWE) wins the men’s singles title and heralds the start of three decades of Swedish influence, with top players such as Kjell Johansson, Mikael Appelgren, Erik Lindh, Jan-Ove Waldner, Jörgen Persson, and Peter Karlsson.

1973

First World University Championships held in Hanover, Germany

1977

ITTF received formal declaration of its recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

1979

First European Championships for Paraplegics (wheelchair players) held in Stoke Mandeville, England

1980

First World Cup held in Hong Kong

1981

World Championships held in Nova Sad, Yugoslavia. Total triumph for China, whose athletes win all of the seven gold medals

Table tennis admitted to the Olympic programme (84th session IOC)

1982

First World Veterans’ Championships held in Gothenburg, Sweden.

First World Championships for the disabled held in Stoke Mandeville, England

1985

European Youth Championships held in The Hague, Holland

Modern Olympics Era (Chinese Reign with few exceptions)

1988

For the very first time, table tennis was featured in the Olympic Games, held in Seoul, South Korea

1991

A United North & South Korea team won the Corbillon Cup at the World Championships in Chiba, Japan

1992

Former World champion, Jan-Ove Waldner (SWE) became Olympic singles champion and reputedly, the first table tennis millionaire

1995

World Championships held in Tianjin, China. Total triumph for China for the second time, winning seven gold medals

1996

Beginning of the ITTF Pro Tour, with events taking place worldwide

2000

After the Olympics in Sydney, the ball size is increased to 40mm for improved television viewing

2001

Game score changed from 21 to 11 points World Championships held in Osaka, Japan. Total triumph for China for the third time, winning all of the seven gold medals

2002

Implementation of the ITTF World Junior Circuit (U18) and World Cadet Challenge (U15 continental team competition)

2003

First ITTF World Junior Championships in Santiago, Chile

Team Championships separated from individual events, held in alternate years

2004

During the Olympic Games in Athens, Table Tennis ranked 5th among all sports for television viewing audience

2005

World Championships held in Shanghai, China. Total triumph again for China, winning all of the five gold medals.

2006

World Championships held in Bremen, Germany. The Chinese athletes complete the collection with two gold medals in the team events

2007

World Championships held in Zagreb, Croatia. Total triumph number five for China, winning all of the five gold medals

First appearance of table tennis as a compulsory sport at the Universiade in Bangkok, Thailand

2008

China sweeps the Team championships in Guangzhou

China wins all the Gold at the Beijing Olympic Games

2010

Table Tennis is part of the first Youth Olympic Games

2012

China wins World Team Golds and all the Gold medals at the London Olympic Games, and 24 of a possible 28 Golds in 7 Olympic Games.

Persson (SWE), Primorac (CRO) and J-M Saive (BEL) participated in all 7 Olympic Games.

2016

Plastic balls used at World Championships & Olympics

The Chinese again win all 4 Olympic Gold medals, and overall 28 of 32 Olympic Golds since 1988