Ping Pong Table Tennis

Early Ping Pong Set
Picture courtesy ITTF

So what is the difference between Ping Pong and Table Tennis? The answer is nothing.

The name Ping Pong is used widely in countries like the U.S. while others frown upon its use. The reality is that there is no difference at all. They are both exactly the same game. Sometimes I have heard it said that Ping Pong is a game where you always hit the ball back down onto your own side first.

So for all of you ‘Table Tennis’ enthusiasts don’t get too hung up on terms. We all know that the game we love is great, call it whatever you want. Not true…

So where did the term Ping Pong come from? Some have offered that is comes from the Chinese name for Table Tennis of ‘Ping Pang Qiu’. Rather, the Chinese have used the English term and converted it phonetically. The term Ping Pong came from the sound that the ball made when hit with the drum like bats that were once used in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The game wasn’t introduced into China until the early 1900s.

There were several names for Table Tennis in the early 1900s. Some of them were Ping Pong, Gossima, Whiff Waff, Parlour Tennis, Indoor Tennis, Pom-Pom, Pim-Pam, Netto, Royal Game, Tennis de Salon as well as others.

So enjoy the game at whatever level you would like to. At PingSkills we love it whatever you want to call it.