Table tennis, a recreational activity and an Olympic sport since 1988, is also known by the term ‘ping-pong’. Though it is excluded from official terminology, this name is very popular today. It notably originates from the onomatopoeic sound of the ball that appeared in the Far East in 1884: ‘ping’ is imitative of the sound of a bat striking a ball and ‘pong’ equates to the sound of the bounce on the table. Does the history of table tennis intrigue you? Settle in comfortably then and let yourself be guided through the beginning of time. The origins of table tableIt was in England, in the late 19th century, that table tennis made its appearance. Taking inspiration from lawn tennis, the first players belonged to middle-class Victorian society. The first game would have been played using a champagne cork as a ball, cigar boxes as bats and books for the net. At that point, table tennis was seen as a mere distraction for the wealthy classes. In 1890, Englishman David Foster, attracted by it...
