Get Inspired: TABLE TENNIS

George Clooney, Wayne Rooney and Bill Gates are all devotees of table tennis, a sport enjoying such a boom that Oscar-winner Susan Sarandon has even opened a ping-pong New York nightclub.

The sport's appeal is obvious: it's fast, fun and cheap.

At elite level, it's really fast. The ball travels at speeds of 100mph and is struck more than 180 times in a minute - about three shots a second.

The Chinese dominate the global game and a proliferation of China-born players representing other countries has raised the standard.

Why is it good for you?

As table tennis is incredibly fast, an hour's play can burn approximately 272 calories. Due to its intensity, table tennis improves cardiovascular fitness, endurance levels and the health of an athlete's heart.

Team GB's Paul Drinkhall and Joanna Parker

Table tennis at the Olympics explained (Part one)





Get involved


There are currently more than 750 clubs in gyms, leisure centres, schools, colleges and universities throughout the UK. To find your nearest club, visit the English Table Tennis Association,   Irish Table Tennis,   Table Tennis Association of Wales  or Table Tennis Scotland  websites.



In England, Ping!  is an innovative three-year street ping-pong project which provides people with opportunities to play social and competitive table tennis, free of charge.

Permanent outdoor free-to-use tables  have been installed in parks in places such as London, Birmingham, Bristol and Hull.


In the late 19th Century table tennis was a sedate after-dinner pastime among the high society in England and British army officers abroad, with cigar-box lids used as rackets and a carved champagne cork for a ball.

Early names for the sport included gossima, whiff-whaff and ping pong.



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