After the 2000 Olympics
in Sydney, the ITTF instituted several
rule changes that were aimed at making table tennis more viable as a televised
spectator sport. First, the older 38 mm (1.50 in) balls were
officially replaced by 40 mm (1.57 in) balls in October 2000. This
increased the ball's air resistance and effectively slowed down the game. By
that time, players had begun increasing the thickness of the fast sponge layer on their paddles, which
made the game excessively fast and difficult to watch on television. A few
months later, the ITTF changed from a 21-point to an 11-point scoring system
(and the serve rotation was reduced from five points to two), effective in
September 2001. This was intended to make games more fast-paced and exciting.
The ITTF also changed the rules on service to prevent a player from hiding the
ball during service, in order to increase the average length of rallies and to
reduce the server's advantage, effective in 2002.In order for the opponent to
have time in order to realize a serve is taking place, the ball must be tossed
a minimum of 16 cm in the air. The ITTF states that all events after July
2014 are played with a new poly material ball.
Equipments’ to play table tennis
Ball
Assortment
of 40 mm table tennis balls
The
international rules specify that the game is played with a sphere having a mass
of 2.7 grams (0.095 oz) and a diameter of 40 millimetres (1.57 in).The
rules say that the ball shall bounce up 24–26 cm (9.4–10.2 in) when
dropped from a height of 30.5 cm (12.0 in) onto a standard steel
block thereby having a coefficient of
restitution of 0.89 to 0.92. The ball
is made of plastic as of
2015, colored white or orange, with a matte
finish. The choice of ball color is made according to the table color and its
surroundings. For example, a white ball is easier to see on a green or blue
table than it is on a grey table. Manufacturers often indicate the quality of
the ball with a star rating system, usually from one to three, three being the
highest grade. As this system is not standard across manufacturers, the only
way a ball may be used in official competition is upon ITTF approval (the ITTF
approval can be seen printed on the ball).
The
40 mm ball was introduced after the 2000 Summer Olympics. However,
this created some controversy at the time as the Chinese National Team argued
that this was merely to give non-Chinese players a better chance of winning
since the new type of ball has a slower speed (a 40 mm table tennis ball
is slower and spins less than the original 38 mm one, and at that time,
most Chinese players were playing with fast attack and smashes). China won all
four Olympic gold medals and three silvers in 2000, and have continued to dominate.
The
table is 2.74 m (9.0 ft) long, 1.525 m (5.0 ft) wide, and
76 cm (2.5 ft) high with any continuous material so long as the table
yields a uniform bounce of about 23 cm (9.1 in) when a standard ball
is dropped onto it from a height of 30 cm (11.8 in), or about 77%.
The table or playing surface is uniformly dark coloured and matte, divided into
two halves by a net at 15.25 cm (6.0 in) in height. The ITTF approves only wooden tables or their
derivates. Concrete tables with a steel net or a solid concrete partition are
sometimes available in outside public spaces, such as parks.
Paddle/racket
Players
are equipped with a laminated wooden racket covered with rubber on one or two
sides depending on the grip of the player. The ITTF uses the term
"racket", though "bat" is common in Britain, and
"paddle" in the U.S.
The
wooden portion of the racket, often referred to as the "blade",
commonly features anywhere between one and seven plies of wood, though cork,
glass fiber, carbon fiber, aluminum fiber, and Kevlar are sometimes used.
According to the ITTF regulations, at least 85% of the blade by thickness shall
be of natural wood. Common wood types include balsa, limba, and cypress or
"hinoki,"
which is popular in Japan. The average size of the blade is about 17
centimetres (6.7 in) long and 15 centimetres (5.9 in) wide. Although
the official restrictions only focus on the flatness and rigidness of the blade
itself, these dimensions are optimal for most play styles.
Table
tennis regulations allow different surfaces on each side of the racket. Various
types of surfaces provide various levels of spin or speed, and in some cases
they nullify spin. For example, a player may have a rubber that provides much
spin on one side of his racket, and one that provides no spin on the other. By
flipping the racket in play, different types of returns are possible. To help a
player distinguish between the rubber used by his opposing player,
international rules specify that one side must be red while the other side must
be black. The player has the right to inspect his opponent's racket before a
match to see the type of rubber used and what colour it is. Despite high speed
play and rapid exchanges, a player can see clearly what side of the racket was
used to hit the ball. Current rules state that, unless damaged in play, the
racket cannot be exchanged for another racket at any time during a match.
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