Either individually or in teams of two, players take alternating turns returning a light, hollow ball over the table's net onto the opposing half of the court using small rackets until they fail to do so, which results in a point for the opponent.

The name "ping-pong" then came to describe the game played using the rather expensive Jaques's equipment, with other manufacturers calling it table tennis.

A similar situation arose in the United States, where Jaques sold the rights to the "ping-pong" name to Parker Brothers.

[11] The next major innovation was by James W. Gibb, a British table tennis enthusiast, who discovered novelty celluloid balls on a trip to the US in 1901 and found them ideal for the game.

Goode who, in 1901, invented 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 the extent that tournaments were being organized, books were being written on the subject,[7] and an unofficial world championship was held in 1902.

[1][15] In the 1930s, Edgar Snow commented in Red Star Over China that the Communist forces in the Chinese Civil War had a "passion for the English game of table tennis" which he found "bizarre".

[17] In the 1950s, paddles that used a rubber sheet combined with an underlying sponge layer changed the game dramatically,[1] introducing greater spin and speed.

[20] 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.

A few months later, the ITTF changed 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.

[24] 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.

1 table tennis professional at the time, threatened to pull out of the World Cup, which was scheduled to debut the new regulation ball on 12 October 2000.

[29][30] The table or playing surface is uniformly dark colored and matte, divided into two halves by a net at 15.25 cm (6.0 in) in height.

Penhold styles are popular among players originating from East Asian countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Since only one side of the racquet is used to hit the ball, two contrasting rubber types can be applied to the blade, offering the advantage of "twiddling" the racket to fool the opponent.

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.

A good loop drive will arc quite a bit, and once striking the opponent's side of the table will jump forward, much like a kick serve in tennis.

Most professional players nowadays, such as Ding Ning, Timo Boll and Zhang Jike, primarily use loop for offense.

The defensive lob propels the ball about five metres in height, only to land on the opponent's side of the table with great amounts of spin.

[citation needed] Adding spin onto the ball causes major changes in table tennis gameplay.

Alterations are frequently made to regulations regarding equipment in an effort to maintain a balance between defensive and offensive spin choices.

Like the backspin stroke, however, the axis of spin remains roughly perpendicular to the trajectory of the ball thus allowing for the Magnus effect to dictate the subsequent curvature.

In table tennis topspin is regarded as an offensive technique due to increased ball speed, lower bio-mechanical efficiency and the pressure that it puts on the opponent by reducing reaction time.

Topspin is the least common type of spin to be found in service at the professional level, simply because it is much easier to attack a top-spin ball that is not moving at high speed.

Another difference is that, unlike backspin and topspin, sidespin will have relatively very little effect on the bounce of the ball, much in the same way that a spinning top would not travel left or right if its axis of rotation were exactly vertical.

In theory, this type of spin produces the most obnoxious effects, but it is less strategically practical than sidespin or backspin, because of the limitations that it imposes upon the opponent during their return.

Competitive table tennis is popular in East Asia and Europe, and has been[vague] gaining attention in the United States.

[65] Other strong teams come from East Asia and Europe, including Austria, Belarus, Germany, Hong Kong, Portugal, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, and Taiwan.

Virtual reality table tennis competition took place in Olympic Esports Week on June 24, 2023 in Singapore.

[15] Hardbat table tennis uses rackets with short outward "pips" and no sponge, resulting in decreased speeds and reduced spin.