What is ping-pong?
A: Ping-pong 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
solid rackets.
The game takes place on what?
A: A hard table divided by a net.
Players must allow a ball played toward them to do
what?
A: Bounce once on their side of the table and must return it so that it
bounces on the opposite side at least once.
When is a point scored?
A: When a player fails to return the ball within the rules.
Play is fast and demands what?
A: Quick reactions.
Spinning the ball does what?
A: It alters its trajectory and limits an opponent's options, giving the
hitter a great advantage.
Table tennis is governed by what?
A: The worldwide organization International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF),
founded in 1926.
The table tennis official rules are specified in what?
A: The ITTF handbook.
Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since what year?
A: 1988.
From 1988 until 2004, these were what?
A: Men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles and women's doubles.
Since 2008, a team event has been played instead of
what?
A: The doubles.
Where did the sport originate?
A: In Victorian England, where it was played among the upper-class as an
after-dinner parlor game.
The name "ping-pong" was in wide use before British
manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd did what
A: Trademarked it in 1901.
What innovation was implemented by James W. Gibb, a
British enthusiast of table tennis?
A: He discovered novelty celluloid balls on a trip to the US in 1901 and
found them to be ideal for the game.
This was followed by E.C. Goode who, in 1901, invented
what?
A: The modern version of the racket by fixing a sheet of pimpled, or
stippled, rubber to the wooden blade.
Table tennis was growing in popularity by 1901 to what
extent?
A: Tournaments were being organized, books being written on the subject, and
an unofficial world championship was held in 1902.
In those early days, the scoring system was the same as
in what?
A: Lawn tennis.
London hosted the first official World Championships in
what year?
A: 1926.
What was formed in 1933?
A: The United States Table Tennis Association, now called USA Table Tennis.
In the 1950s, what changed the game dramatically?
A: Paddles that used a rubber sheet combined with an underlying sponge
layer, introducing greater spin and speed.
These were introduced to Britain by whom?
A: Sports goods manufacturer S.W. Hancock Ltd.
After the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, the ITTF instituted
several rule changes that were aimed at making table tennis what?
A: More viable as a televised spectator sport.
First, the older 38 mm (1.50 in) balls were officially
replaced by what?
A: 40 mm (1.57 in) balls in October 2000.
This increased the ball's air resistance and
effectively did what?
A: Slowed down the game.
By that time, players had begun increasing the
thickness of the fast sponge layer on their paddles, which made the game
what?
A: Excessively fast and difficult to watch on television.
A few months later, the ITTF changed what?
A: From a 21-point to an 11-point scoring system (and the serve rotation was
reduced from five points to two), effective in September 2001.