Table tennis or ping pong, is one of the world’s most popular sports. It’s a great way to socialize with friends or family, improve hand-eye coordination and dexterity, and stay physically active. It’s also an exciting sport that fosters a spirit of competition and camaraderie. It’s also a fun way to relax after work or school and relieve stress.
It was invented in Victorian England as a parlour game, replacing lawn tennis as the winter-time pastime for society’s upper class. It’s evolved to be a very fast-paced and technical sport that requires strategic thinking and mental agility. It’s regulated by international and national governing bodies, and it’s even included in Olympic events.
There are many different stances and grips that a player can take, and the best players use paddles designed specifically for them to get the most out of their natural abilities. It’s important to practice your volleys over and over again until they become second nature, and to perfect your technique. It’s also a good idea to wear protective eyewear while playing, to minimize the risk of injury.
To serve a ball in ping pong, you must hold the ball in your open palm behind your end of the table and toss it at least six inches straight up. When the ball comes back down, you must hit it with your paddle so that it bounces on your side of the table, over the net, and onto the other side before it hits the ground.