How table tennis has changed

By Thomas Alexy
The Northeast Alabama Table Tennis Club

While many of the various sports organizations over the past several years have discussed implementing changes to their sport in order to make it more appealing for the fans to watch, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has actually approved and implemented several major changes to the game of table tennis.

Until several years ago, table tennis rules required that games were played to 21 points and players alternated serves every five points. If the game went to 20 points each, the players alternated serves every point thereafter until someone won by two points.

Also, a match was usually the best two out of three games and a table tennis ball was 38mm in diameter and was always white in color.

After the year 2000, the ITTF made the following changes:

• Games are played to 11 points.

• Players alternate serving every two points. If the game goes to 10 points each, the players alternate serve every point thereafter until someone wins by two points.

• A match usually consists of the best three out of five games.

• The table tennis ball is now 40mm in diameter. A number of years earlier, the balls were also made in an orange color in addition to the traditional white color.
  

These changes to the game of table tennis were made in order to slow the speed of the ball so that there would be longer rallies, to make the table tennis ball more visible, to make each point of a game more important and to have more matches that are close in scoring thereby creating more excitement for the fans and become more appealing to a television audience.

The Northeast Alabama Table Tennis Club meets Tuesday 4 p.m.-9 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Physical Fitness Center located at the Anniston Army Depot, 7 Frankford Ave, Anniston.

For more information, contact Jason Stancil at 256-591-4553 or Mike Harris at 256-238-6453 or log on to www.neatt.us