What is the history of table tennis?
The origin of table tennis has never been exactly pinpointed, even though it’s a relatively young sport, younger than lawn tennis and not much older than basketball. The earliest known form of the sport, called indoor tennis, was played in the early 1880s by British army officers in India and South Africa, using lids from cigar boxes as paddles and rounded corks from wine bottles as balls, with a row of books set up across the middle of a table to form the net. Other versions developed in England during the 1890s, known variously as “whiff whaff” and “gossima,” and Parker Brothers began manufacturing an indoor tennis kit that included a portable net that could be set up on a table, a small ball covered with netting, and miniature paddles. History of Table Tennis Table Tennis likely began as a social hobby in England toward the end of the 1800’s. Dining-room tables and balls of cork made up some of the early equipment that was used. These early pioneers may have referred to their sport
