Table tennis, a relatively young sport in the history of sports, has a history spanning just over a century.

Compared to the ancient origins of track and field sports, which date back more than two thousand years, it is a true newcomer.

The origins of table tennis can be traced back to the late 19th century in the United Kingdom.

Tennis was a popular sport in Europe, but the constraints of available space and the weather led some British college students to adapt the game for indoor play.

They improvised by using a dining room table as the playing surface, books as a makeshift net, and parchment paddles to hit the ball back and forth. This novel indoor version of tennis gained popularity.

In 1890, a group of British naval officers stumbled upon the excitement of playing a compact version of tennis on a small table.

They made some pivotal innovations by using solid rubber balls instead of elastic ones, transitioning to hollow plastic balls, and employing wooden boards as paddles. This transformed the game into what we now know as "table tennis."

Table tennis quickly gained popularity in the early 1900s, and its sets started to be manufactured in the United States.

Originally it was referred to as "Indoor tennis." However, an American manufacturer coined the term "ping-pong" after the distinctive sound of the ball hitting the table.

He even registered it as a patented trademark for his newly developed ping-pong balls.

"Ping-pong" later became one of the official names for the sport.

Table tennis is typically played in a format of two out of three or three out of five games, known as "sets." The act of starting a point is called the "serve."

By the early 20th century, table tennis had gained popularity in Europe and Asia.

In 1926, Berlin, Germany hosted the first international table tennis invitational tournament, later recognized as the inaugural World Table Tennis Championships. The same period saw the establishment of the International Table Tennis Federation.

The evolution of table tennis equipment has been significant. Initially, the racket was a simple wooden board. Over time, improvements led to the addition of sheepskin and rubber pellets to the racket's surface.

Modern industry advancements resulted in the development of rackets with thick sponge layers, a breakthrough pioneered by Japanese players in the 1950s.

One of the most prestigious table tennis tournaments is the World Table Tennis Championships. Initially held annually, this event has occurred biennially since 1957, attracting top talent from all around the world.