Table tennis guide

Nigeria's Segun Toriola was Commonwealth champion in 2002

Table tennis began in the 19th Century as an after-dinner parlour game for upper-class Victorians.

Back then, a cigar box lid was used to hit a rounded Champagne cork over books on the dining room table, but it has developed into an exciting, fast-paced sport with the ball travelling at speeds of up to 70mph.

HOW COMPETITIONS UNFOLD

Table tennis competitions feature men's and women's singles and doubles, mixed doubles and team events. There are also wheelchair events for elite athletes with a disabilty (EAD).

Matches are played in a best-of-five or seven-game format - games are played to 11 points and a player must hold a two-point margin to win the game.

To serve, a player must hold the ball, behind the edge of the table, in the palm of their hand and then throw it upwards, without spin, a minimum of six inches before hitting it so that it bounces once on their own side of the net and then again in the opponent's court.

As in tennis, if the ball hits the net and goes over and bounces in the opponent's court from a serve, a let is called and the point replayed.

Service alternates every two points regardless of who wins the point, and - in the final game of a match - when one player reaches five points, the players switch ends.

A point is awarded to your opponent if you hit the ball before it has bounced on your side of the net (unless it has already gone past the end of the table), hit the ball twice, hit the ball with anything other than your paddle, allow the ball to bounce twice on your side, return the ball so that it bounces on your side of the net and placing your hand on the table.

In doubles, the rules are the same as for singles play apart from two notable exceptions - the ball must be served diagonally from the server's right-hand court into the receiver's right-hand court and all four players hit the ball in rotation.

EQUIPMENT

At a basic level, all you need is a table, a ball and a paddle.

International rules state that the table must be 2.74m (nine feet) long, 1.525m (five feet) wide and 76cm (30 inches) high and that it should be divided into two halves by a 15.2cm (six inches) high net.

The high-bouncing hollow celluloid ball weighs 2.7g and is 40mm in diameter.

Table tennis is the only racquet sport that allows different surfaces on each side of the racket and most players will customise their paddle to suit their style of play.

Racquets are made out of wood and covered with rubber - there is no limit to the size and weight, so you could conceivably play with a frying pan-sized paddle should you so desire.

Different rubbers help impart spin and speed on the ball, but even if the rubbers on each side of the paddle are the same, one must be red in colour and the other black, so opponents can tell which side of the paddle you are using.

STYLE OF PLAY

There are two main ways to hold a table tennis paddle.

The shakehands grip - generally favoured by Western players and is so named because you hold the paddle as if ready to perform a handshake.

A slight variation on this is the Seemiller grip which was pioneered by America's Danny Seemiller.

The penhold grip - popular among players from Asia, is so named because you hold the paddle as you would a pen.

Traditionally, penhold players use only one side of the paddle, however, the Chinese have developed a new technique where both sides of the paddle are used (the reverse penhold backhand).

There are a wide variety of shots used in table tennis.

Attacking shots, with the exception of the smash, impart topspin on the ball, and defensive shots, apart from the block, put backspin on the ball.

Some players rely on attacking strokes to power past opponents, while others are content to soak up pressure from the back of the court, lobbing the ball back onto the table with heavy amounts of spin.

A match between two proponents of these differing techniques is often exhilarating to watch.

WANT TO GET INVOLVED?

If you want to get into table tennis, the chances are there's a club near you. The organisations listed below will help get you playing.

England - English Table Tennis Association
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

ETTA website

Scotland - Table Tennis Scotland
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Table Tennis Scotland website

Wales - Table Tennis Association of Wales
Tel: [phone]

TTAW website

Northern Ireland - Table Tennis Association of Ireland
E-mail: [e-mail]

TT Ireland website

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