When did people start playing table tennis?

All About Table Tennis. Like most other sports, table tennis had humble beginnings as a “parlor game,” open to anyone with access to a table, paddle, and ball. The game began in the 1880s, when lawn tennis players adapted their game to play indoors during the winter. read more

Although our table tennis history can be traced back to the late 1800s, the game we know today started in the 1920s when Englishman Ivor Montagu, together with some other Europeans, formed the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) in 1926. read more

In 1926, promoter C.C. Pyle created the first professional tennis tour with a group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. The most notable of these early professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen. read more

The sport got its start in England towards the end of the 19th century when, after dinner, some upper-middle class Victorians decided to turn their dining room tables into miniature versions of the traditional lawn tennis playing field. read more