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A Comprehensive Beginner’s Guide to Understand the Game of Table Tennis

Table Tennis, also known as Ping Pongoriginated in the Victorian Era in England. It is among the popular game especially played to overcome stress and anxiety.Depending upon the number of players, you can play Table Tennis in three variants like singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) oversees the rules and regulations for all the international Table Tennis competitions.

Which equipment do you require to play Table Tennis?

Generally, you need three main pieces of equipment – a table with a net, a paddle, and a ball, to play the game of Table Tennis.

1. Table Tennis paddles

It is also known as a bat or racket (or racquet). A standard Table Tennis paddle is 17 centimeters long and 15 centimeters wide. It has four basic parts – handle, blade, sponge, and rubber. The handle, attached to the blade,provides a grip to hold the bat. The blade is the innermost part made up of international wood quality. It has layers of sponge and rubber on both sides.

Table Tennis Top has online product reviews that can help you to decide on the best ping pong paddles you should try. It also shares online knowledge and experiences, gained over the year, to develop your Table Tennis playing skills. You can access their reports, comparisons, and modern trends in the Table Tennis game.

The rubber is the outermost layer of the paddle and has two different shades of color on both sides of the paddle. The blade, sponge, and rubber are available in different thicknesses and materials to suit either offensive or defensive styles of play. Different paddles havea different level of control, spin, and speed of the ball.

2. Table Tennis ball

It is a spherical-shaped ball of diameter 40 millimeters and weighing 2.7 grams. Legally, they come in two different shades – white and yellow. They have 1, 2, or 3-star ratings. You can buy one-star balls for recreational play and two-star balls for practice matches. A three-star table tennis ball is used for official tournaments or championships.

3. Table Tennis table

The standard table used to play Table Tennis is a 2.74 x 1.53-meter rectangular table. A net of height 15.25 centimeters stands in the middle of the table to equally divide it into two halves. The tables are available in various textures, finishes, and features like waterproof, foldable, and non-foldable.

Some basic rules – How to play Table Tennis?

Usually, the service begins with the ball in an open palm and thrown into the air at a height of at least 6 inches from behind the end line of the table. Your tournament rackets must not touch the table. The ball must bounce on your side of the table and then bounce on the opponent’s side over the net. A set of games iscalleda match.

The first player to reach 11 points, with a margin of two points, will win the game. You need to win three out of five games to win the match. The server can be decided by flipping a coin and the chance to serve is reversed after two consecutive serves. The server’s free arm must not block the opponent’s view.

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