Table tennis is a
popular sport that has been around for decades. It is a game of skill and
strategy, and it is played by two or four players. Participants are grouped
according to their USATT league rankings. A new player will receive an estimated
rating.
Players play against all other members of their
group, with the goal of winning the group and improving their league
standings.The recommended format for table tennis leagues is the best 5 to
11, depending on the number of players and the time available. According to
the official rules of table tennis, the game is played on
a rectangular wooden table measuring 2.74 x 153 meters and is divided into
two halves. The player stands on the square of the table, holds the paddle
with an open face, and returns the ball using the side of the paddle that
faces the table.Under the rules of table tennis, a player
can win a game by scoring 11 points, with one point awarded for each
violation. The number of games per match must be an odd number (usually 1, 3,
5, or 7 games).
If one team has an unbeatable advantage,
the match can end early. Table tennis was first included in the 1988 Summer
Olympics in Seoul and has been a fixture of the Games ever since.If the
number of players in a league is not divisible by four, some groups will have
an adjusted number of players. Table tennis competitions initially had
singles and doubles categories when it was introduced at the 1988 Olympic
Games in Seoul. The server must hold the ball with an open palm, throw it
upwards, and hit it so that it first bounces off their side of the table
before bouncing over the net to the other side.The goal in table tennis is to
hit the ball in such a way that your opponent doesn’t make contact with it,
which gives you a point.
If the ball hits the net and
doesn’t bounce off your opponent’s half, or hits it above the net and out of
bounds without coming into contact with the table, your opponent gets a
point. The receiver can return it by hitting it above the net and in the
middle of your opponent’s table.The winner has the option of serving first,
receiving first, or choosing which side of the table they want to play on.
The league director starts each league with a list of potential players in
order of their scoring. Table tennis became very popular in Asia after
arriving on the continent in the 1950s, which has since been a breeding
ground for some of the best players in the world.