History of Table Tennis
Table tennis was originally intended to simulate tennis in an indoor environment by using makeshift items to act in place of the conventional racket, ball and net. As indoor tennis became popular entertainment, manufacturers began to develop bats suited to indoor play. The early bats were made from parchment stretched over a wooden frame, which made a ‘whiff whaff’ sound when moved through the air, giving table tennis its early name.
In 1901, after a trip to America where he discovered novelty celluloid balls, James Gibb introduced the ping pong ball to table tennis. Following the introduction of the ping pong ball, rubber bats were invented in 1903 by E.C Goode who identified rubber as the ideal material for the celluloid balls to bounce off. Further developments were made to the bat in the 1950s when a layer of sponge underneath the rubber further increased the amount of speed and spin that could be given to a ball.
Table tennis became a popular sport in central Europe between 1905 and 1910 and it was around this time that the game was also introduced to Japan, later spreading to China and Korea. The official English Table Tennis Association was founded in 1921 and in 1926 the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) was formed, which has added new standards and rules to the game as table tennis has increased in popularity. The first World Championship took place in London in 1927 and the profile of the game was raised further in 1988, when table tennis became an official Olympic event in Seoul in South Korea.