Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net.

Although it
may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player
per side) and "doubles" (with two players per side). Badminton is often played as a casual outdoor
activity in a yard or on a beach; formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court. Points are
scored by striking the shuttlecock with the racquet and landing it within the opposing side's half of
the court.

Each side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes over the net. Play ends once the
shuttlecock has struck the floor or if a fault has been called by the umpire, service judge, or (in their
absence) the opposing side.[1]

The shuttlecock is a feathered or (in informal matches) plastic projectile which flies differently from
the balls used in many other sports. In particular, the feathers create much higher drag, causing the
shuttlecock to decelerate more rapidly. Shuttlecocks also have a high top speed compared to the
balls in other racquet sports.

The game developed in British India from the earlier game of battledore and shuttlecock. European
play came to be dominated byDenmark but the game has become very popular in Asia, with recent
competition dominated by China. Since 1992, badminton has been a Summer Olympic
sport with five events: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed
doubles. At high levels of play, the sport demands excellent fitness: players require aerobic
stamina, agility, strength, speed, and precision. It is also a technical sport, requiring good motor
coordination and the development of sophisticated racquet movements.[2]

History

An 1804 depiction ofbattledore and shuttlecock

An 1854 depiction ofbattledore and shuttlecock byJohn Leech

Games employing shuttlecocks have been played for centuries across Eurasia[n 1] but the modern
game of badminton developed in the mid-19th century among the British as a variant of the earlier
game of battledore and shuttlecock. ("Battledore" was an older term for "racquet".)[3] Its exact origin
remains obscure. The name derives from the Duke of Beaufort's Badminton
House in Gloucestershire,[4] but why or when remains unclear. As early as 1860, a London toy dealer
named Isaac Spratt published a booklet titled Badminton BattledoreA New Game but unfortunately
no copy has survived.[5] An 1863 article in The Cornhill Magazine describes badminton as "battledore
and shuttlecock played with sides, across a string suspended some five feet from the ground". [6]

The game may have originally developed among expatriate officers in British India,[7] where it was
very popular by the 1870s.[5] Ball badminton, a form of the game played with a wool ball instead of a
shuttlecock, was being played in Thanjavur as early as the 1850s[8] and was at first played
interchangeably with badminton by the British, the woollen ball being preferred in windy or wet
weather.

Early on, the game was also known as Poona or Poonah after the garrison town of Pune,[7][9] where it
was particularly popular and where the first rules for the game were drawn up in 1873. [5][6][n 2] By 1875,
returning officers had started a badminton club in Folkestone. Initially, the sport was played with
sides ranging from 14 players but it was quickly established that games between two or four
competitors worked the best.[3] The shuttlecocks were coated with India rubber and, in outdoor play,
sometimes weighted with lead.[3] Although the depth of the net was of no consequence, it was
preferred that it should reach the ground.[3]

The sport was played under the Pune rules until 1887, when the J.H.E. Hart of the Bath Badminton
Club drew up revised regulations.[4] In 1890, Hart and Bagnel Wild again revised the rules.[5] The
Badminton Association of England published these rules in 1893 and officially launched the sport at
a house called "Dunbar"[n 3] in Portsmouth on 13 September.[11] The BAE started the first badminton
competition, the All England Open Badminton Championships for gentlemen's doubles, ladies'
doubles, and mixed doubles, in 1899.[4] Singles competitions were added in 1900 and an England
Ireland championship match appeared in 1904.[4]

England, Scotland, Wales, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New
Zealand were the founding members of the International Badminton Federation in 1934, now known
as the Badminton World Federation. India joined as an affiliate in 1936. The BWF now governs
international badminton. Although initiated in England, competitive men's badminton has traditionally
been dominated in Europe by Denmark. Worldwide, Asian nations have become dominant in
international competition. China, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea are the
nations which have consistently produced world-class players in the past few decades, with China
being the greatest force in men's and women's competition recently.

Rules
The following information is a simplified summary of badminton rules based on the BWF Statutes
publication, Laws of Badminton.[12]

Court

Badminton court, isometricview

The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts are usually marked for both singles
and doubles play, although badminton rules permit a court to be marked for singles only.[12] The
doubles court is wider than the singles court, but both are of same length. The exception, which
often causes confusion to newer players, is that the doubles court has a shorter serve-length
dimension.

The full width of the court is 6.1 metres (20 ft), and in singles this width is reduced to 5.18 metres
(17 ft). The full length of the court is 13.4 metres (44 ft). The service courts are marked by a centre
line dividing the width of the court, by a short service line at a distance of 1.98 metres (6 ft 6 inch)
from the net, and by the outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also
marked by a long service line, which is 0.76 metres (2 ft 6 inch) from the back boundary.

The net is 1.55 metres (5 ft 1 inch) high at the edges and 1.524 metres (5 ft) high in the centre. The
net posts are placed over the doubles sidelines, even when singles is played.

The minimum height for the ceiling above the court is not mentioned in the Laws of Badminton.
Nonetheless, a badminton court will not be suitable if the ceiling is likely to be hit on a high serve.

Serving
The legal bounds of a badminton court during various stages of a rally for singles and doubles games

When the server serves, the shuttlecock must pass over the short service line on the opponents'
court or it will count as a fault.

At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts (see court
dimensions). The server hits the shuttlecock so that it would land in the receiver's service court. This
is similar to tennis, except that a badminton serve must be hit below waist height and with the
racquet shaft pointing downwards, the shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce and in badminton, the
players stand inside their service courts unlike tennis.

When the serving side loses a rally, the serve immediately passes to their opponent(s) (this differs
from the old system where sometimes the serve passes to the doubles partner for what is known as
a "second serve").

In singles, the server stands in their right service court when their score is even, and in her/his left
service court when her/his score is odd.

In doubles, if the serving side wins a rally, the same player continues to serve, but he/she changes
service courts so that she/he serves to a different opponent each time. If the opponents win the rally
and their new score is even, the player in the right service court serves; if odd, the player in the left
service court serves. The players' service courts are determined by their positions at the start of the
previous rally, not by where they were standing at the end of the rally. A consequence of this system
is that, each time a side regains the service, the server will be the player who did not serve last time.

Scoring
Main article: Scoring system development of badminton
Each game is played to 21 points, with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally regardless
of whether they served[12] (this differs from the old system where players could only win a point on
their serve and each game was played to 15 points). A match is the best of three games.

If the score reaches 20-all, then the game continues until one side gains a two-point lead (such as
2422), except when there is a tie at 29-all, in which the game goes to a golden point. Whoever
scores this point will win.

At the start of a match, the shuttlecock is cast and the side towards which the shuttlecock is pointing
serves first. Alternatively, a coin may be tossed, with the winners choosing whether to serve or
receive first, or choosing which end of the court to occupy first, and their opponents making the
leftover the remaining choice.

In subsequent games, the winners of the previous game serve first. Matches are best out of three: a
player or pair must win two games (of 21 points each) to win the match. For the first rally of any
doubles game, the serving pair may decide who serves and the receiving pair may decide who
receives. The players change ends at the start of the second game; if the match reaches a third
game, they change ends both at the start of the game and when the leading player's or pair's score
reaches 11 points.

The server and receiver must remain within their service courts, without touching the boundary lines,
until the server strikes the shuttlecock. The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so long
as they do not block the vision of the server or receiver.

Lets
If a let is called, the rally is stopped and replayed with no change to the score. Lets may occur
because of some unexpected disturbance such as a shuttlecock landing on court (having been hit
there by players playing in adjacent court) or in small halls the shuttle may touch an overhead rail
which can be classed as a let.

If the receiver is not ready when the service is delivered, a let shall be called; yet, if the receiver
attempts to return the shuttlecock, the receiver shall be judged to have been ready.

Equipment

Badminton racquets
Badminton rules restrict the design and size of racquets and shuttlecocks.

Racquets
Badminton racquets are lightweight, with top quality racquets weighing between 70 and 95 grams
(2.5 and 3.4 ounces) not including grip or strings.[13][14] They are composed of many different materials
ranging from carbon fibre composite (graphite reinforced plastic) to solid steel, which may be
augmented by a variety of materials. Carbon fibre has an excellent strength to weight ratio, is stiff,
and gives excellent kinetic energy transfer. Before the adoption of carbon fibre composite, racquets
were made of light metals such as aluminum. Earlier still, racquets were made of wood. Cheap
racquets are still often made of metals such as steel, but wooden racquets are no longer
manufactured for the ordinary market, because of their excessive mass and cost. Nowadays,
nanomaterials such as fullerene and carbon nanotubes are added to racquets giving them greater
durability.[citation needed]

There is a wide variety of racquet designs, although the laws limit the racquet size and shape.
Different racquets have playing characteristics that appeal to different players. The traditional oval
head shape is still available, but an isometric head shape is increasingly common in new racquets.

Strings
Badminton strings are thin, high performing strings with thicknesses ranging from about 0.62 to
0.73 mm. Thicker strings are more durable, but many players prefer the feel of thinner strings. String
tension is normally in the range of 80 to 160 N (18 to 36 lbf). Recreational players generally string at
lower tensions than professionals, typically between 80 and 110 N (18 and 25 lbf). Professionals
string between about 110 and 160 N (25 and 36 lbf). Some string manufacturers measure the
thickness of their strings under tension so they are actually thicker than specified when slack.
Ashaway Micropower is actually 0.7mm but Yonex BG-66 is about 0.72mm.

It is often argued that high string tensions improve control, whereas low string tensions increase
power.[15] The arguments for this generally rely on crude mechanical reasoning, such as claiming that
a lower tension string bed is more bouncy and therefore provides more power. This is in fact
incorrect, for a higher string tension can cause the shuttle to slide off the racquet and hence make it
harder to hit a shot accurately. An alternative view suggests that the optimum tension for power
depends on the player:[13] the faster and more accurately a player can swing their racquet, the higher
the tension for maximum power. Neither view has been subjected to a rigorous mechanical analysis,
nor is there clear evidence in favour of one or the other. The most effective way for a player to find a
good string tension is to experiment.

Grip
The choice of grip allows a player to increase the thickness of their racquet handle and choose a
comfortable surface to hold. A player may build up the handle with one or several grips before
applying the final layer.

Players may choose between a variety of grip materials. The most common choices
are PU synthetic grips or towelling grips. Grip choice is a matter of personal preference. Players
often find that sweat becomes a problem; in this case, a drying agent may be applied to the grip or
hands, sweatbands may be used, the player may choose another grip material or change his/her
grip more frequently.

There are two main types of grip: replacement grips and overgrips. Replacement grips are thicker,
and are often used to increase the size of the handle. Overgrips are thinner (less than 1 mm), and
are often used as the final layer. Many players, however, prefer to use replacement grips as the final
layer. Towelling grips are always replacement grips. Replacement grips have an adhesive backing,
whereas overgrips have only a small patch of adhesive at the start of the tape and must be applied
under tension; overgrips are more convenient for players who change grips frequently, because they
may be removed more rapidly without damaging the underlying material.

Shuttlecock

A shuttlecock with a plastic skirt

Shuttlecocks with feathers

Main article: Shuttlecock

A shuttlecock (often abbreviated to shuttle; also called a birdie) is a high-drag projectile, with an
open conical shape: the cone is formed from sixteen overlapping feathers embedded into a rounded
cork base. The cork is covered with thin leather or synthetic material. Synthetic shuttles are often
used by recreational players to reduce their costs as feathered shuttles break easily. These nylon
shuttles may be constructed with either natural cork or synthetic foam base, and a plastic skirt.

Badminton rules also provide for testing a shuttlecock for the correct speed:

3.1: To test a shuttlecock, hit a full underhand stroke which makes contact with the shuttlecock over
the back boundary line. The shuttlecock shall be hit at an upward angle and in a direction parallel to
the side lines.

3.2: A shuttlecock of the correct speed will land not less than 530 mm and not more than 990 mm
short of the other back boundary line.

Biomechanics
Badminton biomechanics have not been the subject of extensive scientific study, but some studies
confirm the minor role of the wrist in power generation and indicate that the major contributions to
power come from internal and external rotations of the upper and lower arm. [17] Recent guides to the
sport thus emphasize forearm rotation rather than wrist movements.[18]

The feathers impart substantial drag, causing the shuttlecock to decelerate greatly over distance.
The shuttlecock is also extremely aerodynamically stable: regardless of initial orientation, it will turn
to fly cork-first, and remain in the cork-first orientation.

One consequence of the shuttlecock's drag is that it requires considerable power to hit it the full
length of the court, which is not the case for most racquet sports. The drag also influences the flight
path of a lifted (lobbed) shuttlecock: the parabola of its flight is heavily skewed so that it falls at a
steeper angle than it rises. With very high serves, the shuttlecock may even fall vertically.

Other factors
When defending against a smash, players have three basic options: lift, block, or drive. In singles,
a block to the net is the most common reply. In doubles, a lift is the safest option but it usually allows
the opponents to continue smashing; blocks and drives are counter-attacking strokes, but may be
intercepted by the smasher's partner. Many players use a backhand hitting action for returning
smashes on both the forehand and backhand sides, because backhands are more effective than
forehands at covering smashes directed to the body. Hard shots directed towards the body are
difficult to defend.

The service is restricted by the Laws and presents its own array of stroke choices. Unlike in tennis,
the server's racquet must be pointing in a downward direction to deliver the serve so normally the
shuttle must be hit upwards to pass over the net. The server can choose a low serve into the
forecourt (like a push), or a lift to the back of the service court, or a flat drive serve. Lifted serves
may be either high serves, where the shuttlecock is lifted so high that it falls almost vertically at the
back of the court, or flick serves, where the shuttlecock is lifted to a lesser height but falls sooner.

Deception
Once players have mastered these basic strokes, they can hit the shuttlecock from and to any part
of the court, powerfully and softly as required. Beyond the basics, however, badminton offers rich
potential for advanced stroke skills that provide a competitive advantage. Because badminton
players have to cover a short distance as quickly as possible, the purpose of many advanced
strokes is to deceive the opponent, so that either he is tricked into believing that a different stroke is
being played, or he is forced to delay his movement until he actually sees the shuttle's direction.
"Deception" in badminton is often used in both of these senses. When a player is genuinely
deceived, he will often lose the point immediately because he cannot change his direction quickly
enough to reach the shuttlecock. Experienced players will be aware of the trick and cautious not to
move too early, but the attempted deception is still useful because it forces the opponent to delay his
movement slightly. Against weaker players whose intended strokes are obvious, an experienced
player may move before the shuttlecock has been hit, anticipating the stroke to gain an advantage.

Slicing and using a shortened hitting action are the two main technical devices that facilitate
deception. Slicing involves hitting the shuttlecock with an angled racquet face, causing it to travel in
a different direction than suggested by the body or arm movement. Slicing also causes the
shuttlecock to travel more slowly than the arm movement suggests. For example, a good
crosscourt sliced dropshot will use a hitting action that suggests a straight clear or smash, deceiving
the opponent about both the power and direction of the shuttlecock. A more sophisticated slicing
action involves brushing the strings around the shuttlecock during the hit, in order to make the
shuttlecock spin. This can be used to improve the shuttle's trajectory, by making it dip more rapidly
as it passes the net; for example, a sliced low serve can travel slightly faster than a normal low
serve, yet land on the same spot. Spinning the shuttlecock is also used to create spinning
netshots (also called tumbling netshots), in which the shuttlecock turns over itself several times
(tumbles) before stabilizing; sometimes the shuttlecock remains inverted instead of tumbling. The
main advantage of a spinning netshot is that the opponent will be unwilling to address the
shuttlecock until it has stopped tumbling, since hitting the feathers will result in an unpredictable
stroke. Spinning netshots are especially important for high level singles players.

The lightness of modern racquets allows players to use a very short hitting action for many strokes,
thereby maintaining the option to hit a powerful or a soft stroke until the last possible moment. For
example, a singles player may hold his racquet ready for a netshot, but then flick the shuttlecock to
the back instead with a shallow lift when she or he notices the opponent has moved before the
actual shot was played. A shallow lift takes less time to reach the ground and as mentioned above a
rally is over when the shuttlecock touches the ground. This makes the opponent's task of covering
the whole court much more difficult than if the lift was hit higher and with a bigger, obvious swing. A
short hitting action is not only useful for deception: it also allows the player to hit powerful strokes
when he has no time for a big arm swing. A big arm swing is also usually not advised in badminton
because bigger swings make it more difficult to recover for the next shot in fast exchanges. The use
of grip tightening is crucial to these techniques, and is often described as finger power. Elite players
develop finger power to the extent that they can hit some power strokes, such as net kills, with less
than a 10 centimetres (4 inches) racquet swing.

It is also possible to reverse this style of deception, by suggesting a powerful stroke before slowing
down the hitting action to play a soft stroke. In general, this latter style of deception is more common
in the rearcourt (for example, dropshots disguised as smashes), whereas the former style is more
common in the forecourt and midcourt (for example, lifts disguised as netshots).

Deception is not limited to slicing and short hitting actions. Players may also use double motion,
where they make an initial racquet movement in one direction before withdrawing the racquet to hit
in another direction. Players will often do this to send opponents in the wrong direction. The racquet
movement is typically used to suggest a straight angle but then play the stroke cross court, or vice
versa. Triple motion is also possible, but this is very rare in actual play. An alternative to double
motion is to use a racquet head fake, where the initial motion is continued but the racquet is turned
during the hit. This produces a smaller change in direction, but does not require as much time.

Strategy
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding
citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged
and removed. (September 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

To win in badminton, players need to employ a wide variety of strokes in the right situations. These
range from powerful jumping smashes to delicate tumbling net returns. Often rallies finish with a
smash, but setting up the smash requires subtler strokes. For example, a netshot can force the
opponent to lift the shuttlecock, which gives an opportunity to smash. If the netshot is tight and
tumbling, then the opponent's lift will not reach the back of the court, which makes the subsequent
smash much harder to return.

Deception is also important. Expert players prepare for many different strokes that look identical, and
use slicing to deceive their opponents about the speed or direction of the stroke. If an opponent tries
to anticipate the stroke, he may move in the wrong direction and may be unable to change his body
momentum in time to reach the shuttlecock.

Singles
Since one person needs to cover the entire court, singles tactics are based on forcing the opponent
to move as much as possible; this means that singles strokes are normally directed to the corners of
the court. Players exploit the length of the court by combining lifts and clears with drop shots and net
shots. Smashing tends to be less prominent in singles than in doubles because the smasher has no
partner to follow up his effort and is thus vulnerable to a skillfully placed return. Moreover, frequent
smashing can be exhausting in singles where the conservation of a player's energy is at a premium.
However, players with strong smashes will sometimes use the shot to create openings, and players
commonly smash weak returns to try to end rallies.

In singles, players will often start the rally with a forehand high serve or with a flick serve. Low
serves are also used frequently, either forehand or backhand. Drive serves are rare.

At high levels of play, singles demands extraordinary fitness. Singles is a game of patient positional
manoeuvring, unlike the all-out aggression of doubles.

Doubles
Both pairs will try to gain and maintain the attack, smashing downwards when the opportunity arises.
Whenever possible, a pair will adopt an ideal attacking formation with one player hitting down from
the rearcourt, and his partner in the midcourt intercepting all smash returns except the lift. If the
rearcourt attacker plays a dropshot, his partner will move into the forecourt to threaten the net reply.
If a pair cannot hit downwards, they will use flat strokes in an attempt to gain the attack. If a pair is
forced to lift or clear the shuttlecock, then they must defend: they will adopt a side-by-side position in
the rear midcourt, to cover the full width of their court against the opponents' smashes. In doubles,
players generally smash to the middle ground between two players in order to take advantage of
confusion and clashes.

At high levels of play, the backhand serve has become popular to the extent that forehand serves
have become fairly rare at a high level of play. The straight low serve is used most frequently, in an
attempt to prevent the opponents gaining the attack immediately. Flick serves are used to prevent
the opponent from anticipating the low serve and attacking it decisively.

At high levels of play, doubles rallies are extremely fast. Men's doubles is the most aggressive form
of badminton, with a high proportion of powerful jump smashes and very quick reflex exchanges.
Because of this, spectator interest is sometimes greater for men's doubles than for singles.

Mixed Doubles
A mixed doubles game Scottish Schools under 12s tournament, Tranent, May 2002

In mixed doubles, both pairs typically try to maintain an attacking formation with the woman at the
front and the man at the back. This is because the male players are usually substantially stronger,
and can therefore produce smashes that are more powerful. As a result, mixed doubles require
greater tactical awareness and subtler positional play. Clever opponents will try to reverse the ideal
position, by forcing the woman towards the back or the man towards the front. In order to protect
against this danger, mixed players must be careful and systematic in their shot selection. [19]

At high levels of play, the formations will generally be more flexible: the top women players are
capable of playing powerfully from the back-court, and will happily do so if required. When the
opportunity arises, however, the pair will switch back to the standard mixed attacking position, with
the woman in front and men in the back.

Organization
Governing bodies
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the internationally recognized governing body of the sport
responsible for conduction of tournaments and approaching fair play. Five regional confederations
are associated with the BWF:

Asia: Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC)

Africa: Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA)

Americas: Badminton Pan Am (North America and South America belong to the same
confederation; BPA)

Europe: Badminton Europe (BE)

Oceania: Badminton Oceania (BO)

Competitions

A men's doubles match. The blue lines are those for the badminton court. The other coloured lines denote uses
for other sports such complexity being common in multi-use sports halls.
The BWF organizes several international competitions, including the Thomas Cup, the premier
men's international team event first held in 19481949, and the Uber Cup, the women's equivalent
first held in 19561957. The competitions now take place once every two years. More than 50
national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within continental confederations for a place in the
finals. The final tournament involves 12 teams, following an increase from eight teams in 2004.

The Sudirman Cup, a gender-mixed international team event held once every two years, began in
1989. Teams are divided into seven levels based on the performance of each country. To win the
tournament, a country must perform well across all five disciplines (men's doubles and singles,
women's doubles and singles, and mixed doubles). Like association football (soccer), it features a
promotion and relegation system in every level.

Badminton was a demonstration event in the 1972 and 1988 Summer Olympics. It became an
official Summer Olympic sport at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and its gold medals now generally
rate as the sport's most coveted prizes for individual players.

In the BWF World Championships, first held in 1977, currently only the highest ranked 64 players in
the world, and a maximum of four from each country, can participate in any category. In both the
Olympic and BWF World competitions restrictions on the number of participants from any one
country have caused some controversy because they sometimes result in excluding elite world level
players from the strongest badminton nations. The Thomas, Uber, and Sudirman Cups, the
Olympics, and the BWF World (and World Junior Championships), are all categorized as level one
tournaments.

At the start of 2007, the BWF introduced a new tournament structure for the highest level
tournaments aside from those in level one: the BWF Super Series. This level two tournament series,
a tour for the world's elite players, stages twelve open tournaments around the world with 32 players
(half the previous limit). The players collect points that determine whether they can play in Super
Series Finals held at the year end. Among the tournaments in this series is the venerable All-
England Championships, first held in 1900, which was once considered the unofficial world
championships of the sport.[20]

Level three tournaments consist of Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix event. Top players can collect
the world ranking points and enable them to play in the BWF Super Series open tournaments. These
include the regional competitions in Asia (Badminton Asia Championships) and Europe (European
Badminton Championships), which produce the world's best players as well as the Pan America
Badminton Championships.

The level four tournaments, known as International Challenge, International Series, and Future
Series, encourage participation by junior players.
 Table Tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball
back and forth across a table using a small paddle. The game takes place on a hard table divided by
a net. Except for the initial serve, the rules are generally as follows: players must allow a ball played
toward them to bounce one time on their side of the table, and must return it so that it bounces on
the opposite side at least once. A point is scored when a player fails to return the ball within the
rules. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. Spinning the ball alters its trajectory and limits an
opponent's options, giving the hitter a great advantage.

Table tennis is governed by the worldwide organization International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF),
founded in 1926. ITTF currently includes 220 member associations.[1] The table tennis official rules
are specified in the ITTF handbook.[2] Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988,[3] with
several event categories. From 1988 until 2004, these were men's singles, women's singles, men's
doubles and women's doubles. Since 2008, a team event has been played instead of the doubles.

The sport originated in Victorian England, where it was played among the upper-class as an after-
dinner parlour game.[4][5] It has been suggested that makeshift versions of the game were developed
by British military officers in India in around 1860s or 1870s, who brought it back with them. [6] A row
of books stood up along the center of the table as a net, two more books served as rackets and were
used to continuously hit a golf-ball.[7][8]

It had several different names, including 'whiff-whaff'. The name "ping-pong" was in wide use before
British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. The name "ping-pong" then came
to describe the game played using the rather expensive Jaques's equipment, with other
manufacturers calling it table tennis. A similar situation arose in the United States,
where Jaques sold the rights to the "ping-pong" name to Parker Brothers. Parker Brothers then
enforced their trademark for the term in the 1920s making the various associations change their
names to "table tennis" instead of the more common, but trademarked, term. [9]

The next major innovation was by James W. Gibb, a British enthusiast of table tennis, who
discovered novelty celluloid balls on a trip to the US in 1901 and found them to be ideal for the
game. This was followed by E.C. Goode who, in 1901, invented the modern version of the racket by
fixing a sheet of pimpled, or stippled, rubber to the wooden blade. Table tennis was growing in
popularity by 1901 to the extent that tournaments were being organized, books being written on the
subject,[7]and an unofficial world championship was held in 1902.
In 1921, the Table Tennis Association was founded in Britain, and the International Table Tennis
Federation (ITTF) followed in 1926.[4][10] London hosted the first official World Championships in 1926.
In 1933, the United States Table Tennis Association, now called USA Table Tennis, was formed.[4][11]

In the 1930s, Edgar Snow commented in Red Star Over China that the Communist forces in
the Chinese Civil War had a "passion for the English game of table tennis" which he found "bizarre".
[12]
On the other hand, popularity of the sport waned in 1930s Soviet Union, partly because of
promotion of team and military sports, and partly because of a theory that the game had adverse
health effects.[13]

In the 1950s, paddles that used a rubber sheet combined with an underlying sponge layer changed
the game dramatically,[4] introducing greater spin and speed.[14] These were introduced to Britain by
sports goods manufacturer S.W. Hancock Ltd. The use of speed glue increased the spin and speed
even further, resulting in changes to the equipment to "slow the game down". Table tennis was
introduced as an Olympic sport at the Olympics in 1988.[15]

Rule changes[edit]
After the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, the ITTF instituted several rule changes that were aimed at
making table tennis more viable as a televised spectator sport. [16][17] First, the older 38 mm (1.50 in)
balls were officially replaced by 40 mm (1.57 in) balls in October 2000.[7][18] This increased the ball's
air resistance and effectively slowed down the game. By that time, players had begun increasing the
thickness of the fast sponge layer on their paddles, which made the game excessively fast and
difficult to watch on television. A few months later, the ITTF changed from a 21-point to an 11-point
scoring system (and the serve rotation was reduced from five points to two), effective in September
2001.[7]This was intended to make games more fast-paced and exciting. The ITTF also changed the
rules on service to prevent a player from hiding the ball during service, in order to increase the
average length of rallies and to reduce the server's advantage, effective in 2002. [19] For the opponent
to have time to realize a serve is taking place, the ball must be tossed a minimum of 16 cm in the air.
The ITTF states that all events after July 2014 are played with a new poly material ball. [20] [21]

Equipment[edit]
Ball[edit]

Assortment of 40 mm table tennis balls

The international rules specify that the game is played with a sphere having a mass of 2.7 grams
(0.095 oz) and a diameter of 40 millimetres (1.57 in).[22] The rules say that the ball shall bounce up
2426 cm (9.410.2 in) when dropped from a height of 30.5 cm (12.0 in) onto a standard steel block
thereby having a coefficient of restitution of 0.89 to 0.92. The ball is made of celluloid plastic as of
2015, colored white or orange, with a matte finish. The choice of ball color is made according to the
table color and its surroundings. For example, a white ball is easier to see on a green or blue table
than it is on a grey table. Manufacturers often indicate the quality of the ball with a star rating
system, usually from one to three, three being the highest grade. As this system is not standard
across manufacturers, the only way a ball may be used in official competition is upon ITTF
approval[22] (the ITTF approval can be seen printed on the ball).

The 40 mm ball was introduced after the 2000 Summer Olympics.[18] However, this created some
controversy at the time as the Chinese National Team argued that this was merely to give non-
Chinese players a better chance of winning since the new type of ball has a slower speed (a 40 mm
table tennis ball is slower and spins less than the original 38 mm one, and at that time, most Chinese
players were playing with fast attack and smashes). China won all four Olympic gold medals and
three silvers in 2000, and have continued to dominate.[citation needed]

Table[edit]

Diagram of a table tennis table showing the official dimensions

The table is 2.74 m (9.0 ft) long, 1.525 m (5.0 ft) wide, and 76 cm (2.5 ft) high with any continuous
material so long as the table yields a uniform bounce of about 23 cm (9.1 in) when a standard ball is
dropped onto it from a height of 30 cm (11.8 in), or about 77%.[23][24] The table or playing surface is
uniformly dark coloured and matte, divided into two halves by a net at 15.25 cm (6.0 in) in height.
TheITTF approves only wooden tables or their derivates. Concrete tables with a steel net or a solid
concrete partition are sometimes available in outside public spaces, such as parks. [25]

Paddle/racket[edit]
Main article: Table tennis racket

Players are equipped with a laminated wooden racket covered with rubber on one or two sides
depending on the grip of the player. The ITTF uses the term "racket",[26] though "bat" is common in
Britain, and "paddle" in the U.S. and Canada.

The wooden portion of the racket, often referred to as the "blade", commonly features anywhere
between one and seven plies of wood, though cork, glass fiber, carbon fiber, aluminum fiber, and
Kevlar are sometimes used. According to the ITTF regulations, at least 85% of the blade by
thickness shall be of natural wood.[27] Common wood types include balsa, limba, and cypress or
"hinoki", which is popular in Japan. The average size of the blade is about 17 centimetres (6.7 in)
long and 15 centimetres (5.9 in) wide. Although the official restrictions only focus on the flatness and
rigidness of the blade itself, these dimensions are optimal for most play styles.

Table tennis regulations allow different surfaces on each side of the racket. [28] Various types of
surfaces provide various levels of spin or speed, and in some cases they nullify spin. For example, a
player may have a rubber that provides much spin on one side of their racket, and one that provides
no spin on the other. By flipping the racket in play, different types of returns are possible. To help a
player distinguish between the rubber used by his opposing player, international rules specify that
one side must be red while the other side must be black. [27] The player has the right to inspect his
opponent's racket before a match to see the type of rubber used and what colour it is. Despite high
speed play and rapid exchanges, a player can see clearly what side of the racket was used to hit the
ball. Current rules state that, unless damaged in play, the racket cannot be exchanged for another
racket at any time during a match.[29]

Gameplay[edit]
Starting a game[edit]
According to ITTF rule 2.13.1, the first service is decided by lot,[30] normally a coin toss.[31] It is also
common for one player (or the umpire/scorer) to hide the ball in one or the other hand, usually
hidden under the table, allowing the other player to guess which hand the ball is in. The correct or
incorrect guess gives the "winner" the option to choose to serve, receive, or to choose which side of
the table to use. (A common but non-sanctioned method is for the players to play the ball back and
forth three times and then play out the point. This is commonly referred to as "serve to play", "rally to
serve", "play for serve", or "volley for serve".)

Service and return[edit]

In game play, the player serving the ball commences a play.[32] The server first stands with the ball
held on the open palm of the hand not carrying the paddle, called the freehand, and tosses the ball
directly upward without spin, at least 16 cm (6.3 in) high.[33] The server strikes the ball with the racket
on the ball's descent so that it touches first his court and then touches directly the receiver's court
without touching the net assembly. In casual games, many players do not toss the ball upward;
however, this is technically illegal and can give the serving player an unfair advantage.

The ball must remain behind the endline and above the upper surface of the table, known as the
playing surface, at all times during the service. The server cannot use his/her body or clothing to
obstruct sight of the ball; the opponent and the umpire must have a clear view of the ball at all times.
If the umpire is doubtful of the legality of a service they may first interrupt play and give a warning to
the server. If the serve is a clear failure or is doubted again by the umpire after the warning, the
receiver scores a point.

If the service is "good", then the receiver must make a "good" return by hitting the ball back before it
bounces a second time on receiver's side of the table so that the ball passes the net and touches the
opponent's court, either directly or after touching the net assembly.[34] Thereafter, the server and
receiver must alternately make a return until the rally is over. Returning the serve is one of the most
difficult parts of the game, as the server's first move is often the least predictable and thus most
advantageous shot due to the numerous spin and speed choices at his or her disposal.

Let[edit]
A Let is a rally of which the result is not scored, and is called in the following circumstances: [35]

The ball touches the net in service (service), provided the service is otherwise correct or the
ball is obstructed by the player on the receiving side. Obstruction means a player touches the
ball when it is above or traveling towards the playing surface, not having touched the player's
court since last being struck by the player.

When the player on the receiving side is not ready and the service is delivered.

Player's failure to make a service or a return or to comply with the Laws is due to a
disturbance outside the control of the player.

Play is interrupted by the umpire or assistant umpire.

A let is also called if the ball hits the server's side of the table if the ball does not pass further than
the edge. If the ball hits the table edge and hits the net, it is called a foul serve.

Scoring[edit]
A point is scored by the player for any of several results of the rally: [36]

The opponent fails to make a correct service or return.

After making a service or a return, the ball touches anything other than the net assembly
before being struck by the opponent.
 The ball passes over the player's court or beyond his end line without touching his court,
after being struck by the opponent.

The opponent obstructs the ball.

The opponent strikes the ball twice successively. Note that the hand that is holding the racket
counts as part of the racket and that making a good return off one's hand or fingers is allowed. It
is not a fault if the ball accidentally hits one's hand or fingers and then subsequently hits the
racket.

The opponent strikes the ball with a side of the racket blade whose surface is not covered
with rubber.

The opponent moves the playing surface or touches the net assembly.

The opponent's free hand touches the playing surface.

As a receiver under the expedite system, completing 13 returns in a rally.[37]

The opponent that has been warned by the umpire commits a second offense in the same
individual match or team match. If the third offence happens, 2 points will be given to the player.
[38]
If the individual match or the team match has not ended, any unused penalty points can be
transferred to the next game of that match.[31]

A game shall be won by the player first scoring 11 points unless both players score 10 points, when
the game shall be won by the first player subsequently gaining a lead of 2 points. A match shall
consist of the best of any odd number of games.[39] In competition play, matches are typically best of
five or seven games.

Alternation of services and ends[edit]

Service alternates between opponents every two points (regardless of winner of the rally) until the
end of the game, unless both players score ten points or the expedite system is operated, when the
sequences of serving and receiving stay the same but each player serves for only one point in turn
(Deuce).[40] The player serving first in a game receives first in the next game of the match.

After each game, players switch sides of the table. In the last possible game of a match, for example
the seventh game in a best of seven matches, players change ends when the first player scores five
points, regardless of whose turn it is to serve. Service is subject to change on game point of the
match. Upon the possible last point of the match, the player with the lesser score serves. If the
sequence of serving and receiving is out of turn or the ends are not changed, points scored in the
wrong situation are still calculated and the game shall be resumed with the order at the score that
has been reached.

Doubles game[edit]

Service zone in doubles game

In addition to games between individual players, pairs may also play table tennis. Singles and
doubles are both played in international competition, including the Olympic Games since 1988 and
the Commonwealth Games since 2002.[41] In 2005, the ITTF announced that doubles table tennis
only was featured as a part of team events in the 2008 Olympics.

In doubles, all the rules of single play are applied except for the following.

Service

A line painted along the long axis of the table to create doubles courts bisects the table. This
line's only purpose is to facilitate the doubles service rule, which is that service must
originate from the right hand "box" in such a way that the first bounce of the serve bounces
once in said right hand box and then must bounce at least once in the opponent side's right
hand box (far left box for server), or the receiving pair score a point. [33]

Order of play, serving and receiving

1. Players must hit the ball in turn. For example, if A is paired with B, X is paired with Y, A is
the server and X is the receiver. The order of play shall be AXBY. The rally
proceeds this way until one side fails to make a legal return and the other side scores. [42]

2. At each change of service, the previous receiver shall become the server and the
partner of the previous server shall become the receiver. For example, if the previous
order of play is AXBY, the order becomes XBYA after the change of
service.[40]

3. In the second or the latter games of a match, the game begins in reverse order of play.
For example, if the order of play is AXBY at beginning of the first game, the order
begins with XAYB or YBXA in the second game depending on either X or
Y being chosen as the first server of the game. That means the first receiver of the
 game is the player who served to the first server of the game in the preceding game. In
each game of a doubles match, the pair having the right to serve first shall choose
which of them will do so. The receiving pair, however, can only choose in the first game
of the match.

4. When a pair reaches 5 points in the final game, the pairs must switch ends of the table
and change the receiver to reverse the order of play. For example, when the last order
of play before a pair score 5 points in the final game is AXBY, the order after
change shall be AYBX if A still has the second serve. Otherwise, X is the next
server and the order becomes XAYB.
Expedite system[edit]
If a game is unfinished after 10 minutes' play and fewer than 18 points have been scored, the
expedite system is initiated.[37] The umpire interrupts the game, and the game resumes with
players serving for one point in turn. If the expedite system is introduced while the ball is not in
play, the previous receiver shall serve first. Under the expedite system, the server must win the
point before the opponent makes 13 consecutive returns or the point goes to the opponent. The
system can also be initiated at any time at the request of both players or pairs. Once introduced,
the expedite system remains in force until the end of the match. A rule to shorten the time of a
match, it is mainly seen in defensive players' games.

Grips[edit]
Though table tennis players grip their rackets in various ways, their grips can be classified into
two major families of styles, penhold and shakehand.[43] The rules of table tennis do not prescribe
the manner in which one must grip the racket, and numerous grips are employed.

Penhold[edit]
The penhold grip is so-named because one grips the racket similarly to the way one holds
a writing instrument.[44] The style of play among penhold players can vary greatly from player to
player. The most popular style, usually referred to as the Chinese penhold style, involves curling
the middle, ring, and fourth finger on the back of the blade with the three fingers always touching
one another.[44] Chinese penholders favour a round racket head, for a more over-the-table style
of play. In contrast, another style, sometimes referred to as the Japanese/Korean penhold grip,
involves splaying those three fingers out across the back of the racket, usually with all three
fingers touching the back of the racket, rather than stacked upon one another.[44] Sometimes a
combination of the two styles occurs, wherein the middle, ring and fourth fingers are straight, but
still stacked, or where all fingers may be touching the back of the racket, but are also in contact
with one another. Japanese/Korean penholders will often use a square-headed racket for an
away-from-the-table style of play. Traditionally these square-headed rackets feature a block of
cork on top of the handle, as well as a thin layer of cork on the back of the racket, for increased
grip and comfort. Penhold styles are popular among players originating from East Asian regions
such as China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.

Traditionally, penhold players use only one side of the racket to hit the ball during normal play,
and the side which is in contact with the last three fingers is generally not used. This
configuration is sometimes referred to as "traditional penhold" and is more commonly found in
square-headed racket styles. However, the Chinese developed a technique in the 1990s in
which a penholder uses both sides of the racket to hit the ball, where the player produces a
backhand stroke (most often topspin) known as a reverse penhold backhand by turning the
traditional side of the racket to face one's self, and striking the ball with the opposite side of the
racket. This stroke has greatly improved and strengthened the penhold style both physically and
psychologically, as it eliminates the strategic weakness of the traditional penhold backhand.

Shakehand grip

Forehand

Backhand

Shakehand[edit]
The shakehand grip is so-named because the racket is grasped as if one is performing a
handshake.[45] Though it is sometimes referred to as the "tennis" or "Western" grip, it bears no
relation to the Western tennis grip, which was popularized on the West Coast of the United
States in which the racket is rotated 90, and played with the wrist turned so that on impact the
knuckles face the target. In table tennis, "Western" refers to Western nations, for this is the grip
that players native to Europe and the Americas have almost exclusively employed.

The shakehand grips simplicity and versatility, coupled with the acceptance among top-level
Chinese trainers that the European style of play should be emulated and trained against, has
established it as a common grip even in China.[46] Many world class European and Asian players
currently use the shakehand grip, and it is generally accepted that shakehands is easier to learn
than penholder, allowing a broader range of playing styles both offensive and defensive. [47]

Seemiller[edit]
The Seemiller grip is named after the American table tennis champion Danny Seemiller, who
used it. It is achieved by placing your thumb and index finger on either side of the bottom of the
racquet head and holding the handle with the rest of your fingers. Since only one side of the
racquet is used to hit the ball, two contrasting rubber types can be applied to the blade, offering
the advantage of "twiddling" the racket to fool the opponent. Seemiller paired inverted rubber
with anti-spin rubber; many players today combine inverted and long-pipped rubber. The grip is
considered exceptional for blocking, especially on the backhand side, and for forehand loops of
backspin balls.[48] The Seemiller grip's popularity reached its apex in 1985 when four (Danny
Seemiller, Ricky Seemiller, Eric Boggan and Brian Masters) of the United States' five participants
in the World Championships used it.[48]

Shakehand grip (Vladimir Samsonov)



Chinese penhold (Ma Lin)

Traditional penhold (Ryu Seung-min)

Notable players[edit]

For a more comprehensive list, see List of table tennis players.

An official hall of fame exists at the ITTF Museum.[57] A Grand Slam is earned by a player who wins
singles crowns at Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cup.[58]Jan-Ove Waldner of

Times won

Gende Nationalit
Name
r y
World
Olympics World Cup
Championships

Zhang Jike Male China 1 (2012) 2 (2011, 2013) 2 (2011, 2014) [59]

Jan-Ove
Male SWE 1 (1992) 2 (1989, 1997) 1 (1990) [60]

Waldner

2 (1992, 1996
Deng Yaping Female China 3 (1991, 1995, 1997) 1 (1996) [61]

Liu Guoliang Male China 1 (1996) 1 (1999) 1 (1996) [62]

Kong Linghui Male China 1 (2000) 1 (1995) 1 (1995) [63]

4 (1997, 1998,
Wang Nan Female China 1 (2000) 3 (1999, 2001, 2003) [64]

2003, 2007)

2 (2004, 2008 4 (2001, 2002,

Zhang Yining Female China 2 (2005, 2009) [65]

) 2004, 2005)

Li Xiaoxia Female China 1 (2012) 1 (2013) 1 (2008) [66]

Ding Ning Female China 1 (2016) 2 (2011, 2015) 2 (2011, 2014) [67]
Ma Long Male China 1 (2016) 1 (2015) 2 (2012, 2015)

Jean-Philippe Gatien (France) and Wang Hao (China) won both the World Championships and the
World Cup, but lost in the gold medal matches at the Olympics. Jrgen Persson (Sweden) also won
the titles except the Olympic Games. Persson is one of the three table tennis players to
have competed at seven Olympic Games. Ma Lin (China) won both the Olympic gold and the World
Cup, but lost (three times, in 1999, 2005, and 2007) in the finals of the World Championships.

Governance[edit]

Main category: Table tennis organizations

Founded in 1926, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the worldwide governing body
for table tennis, which maintains an international ranking system in addition to organizing events like
the World Table Tennis Championships.[11] In 2007, the governance for table tennis for persons with a
disability was transferred from the International Paralympic Committee to the ITTF.[68]

On many continents, there is a governing body responsible for table tennis on that continent. For
example, the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) is the governing body responsible for table
tennis in Europe.[69] There are also national bodies and other local authorities responsible for the
sport, such as USA Table Tennis (USATT), which is the national governing body for table tennis in
the United States.[11]