Pöytätennistä

Pöytätennistä, commonly known as table tennis or ping pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball back and forth across a table using small solid paddles. The game is played on a hard table divided by a net. Players score points when their opponent fails to return the ball legally. The game is played in a best-of-five or best-of-seven games format.

The game originated in Victorian England in the late 19th century as an after-dinner parlor game for the upper class. It was developed as an indoor version of lawn tennis. Originally, it was played with a row of books as the net, cigars as the ball, and anything from a stack of books to a cigar box lid as a paddle. The game quickly evolved, with manufacturers producing specialized equipment.

International table tennis is governed by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), founded in 1926. The ITTF organizes World Championships and other international competitions. Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988. The sport is played globally, with a strong presence in Asia, particularly China, which has dominated international competitions for decades.

The basic rules involve serving the ball diagonally over the net into the opponent's half of the table. A legal return requires the ball to bounce once on the opponent's side before being hit. Points are scored if the opponent misses the ball, hits it into the net, or hits it off the table. Professional players utilize a wide range of spin techniques, including topspin, backspin, and sidespin, making the game incredibly fast-paced and strategic. Equipment includes a table of specific dimensions, a net, a ball that is typically 40mm in diameter and made of celluloid or plastic, and paddles made of wood covered with rubber.