Leisure Kicks - The essencial sport and leisure guide

You may know it better as a game you played when you were a kid in your mate’s parents’ basements, but table tennis is a sport with a lot more to offer than a passing bit of fun. In fact, table tennis is a major Olympic sport and has a thriving worldwide competition scene. The game focuses more on keen and quick reflexes than on strength, which means it doesn’t matter your age or gender, everyone has an equal chance to succeed. 

Table tennis is a high-speed, tabletop game resembling tennis using lightweight bats and balls where players alternately strike the ball over the net in order to beat, or force their opponent into a mistake, to score a point. The first to 11 points wins a set. Much of its popularity is down to its accessibility to the masses – anyone can play! – with a prevalence of tables in homes, leisure centres and even in cafes and bars worldwide. As a competitive sport, table tennis is most popular in Asia. In fact, China leads the all-time Olympic medal table in gold medals with a whopping 24 – the next closest country being South Korea with only three. However, table tennis is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK, with more and more opportunities for people to play all the time. It’s easier than ever to find yourself a bat, ball, table and an opponent to challenge your skills.

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Table Tennis England on what it takes to play