Who invented ping pong ball

Plastic balls as they are today are an advantage for players playing a fast attack game without much spin. These players are hitting the ball as soon as possible after the bounce, before the ball reaches the highest point of its trajectory.

The new European champion from Budapest Lebesson France is one player who profited from these characteristics of plastic balls. He won a gold medal with his fast attack style, the plastic ball enabling him to dominate using hard and fast strokes without much spin. Another example of a player who has used this new material to their advantage is the new Japanese star Harimoto Tomokazu, who in the World Championships marched into the quarterfinals at only 14 years of age!

He profited massively from the plastic ball using his fast strokes devoid of spin, hitting the ball immediately after the bounce on the table. It is possible that this type of gameplay will bring pimpled rubbers back into the scene. But not everyone benefits from the new plastic balls and the changes they bring to gameplay. Defensive players playing backspin defense are even in more trouble than they've already been, and topspin players playing attack from half-distance have difficulties with the new ball as well.

The ball comes at them faster, they have less time to react, and they cannot produce as much spin as before. Overall, the changes brought to the game have been significant, and have caused players to alter their strategies and techniques to keep up. Table tennis has become faster, and rallies shorter. And with shorter stroke movements comes the need for adequate physical preparation to avoid injuries. So what are your thoughts on the evolution of the table tennis ball from traditional celluloid to plastic?

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from until his death in In , he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. Roger Ebert September 22, Christopher Walken plays that game in "Balls of Fury.

Latest blog posts. Latest reviews. Belfast Christy Lemire. Passing Odie Henderson. The Drummer Robert Daniels. At the time, The ETTA had a membership of 19 leagues but now has over , with around 75, registered players. The first world championships were held in and were won by a Hungarian, Dr. Apart from the famous Fred Perry redressing the balance for England in , this was to be the start of an unprecedented run of success for the Hungarians, who completely dominated the game throughout the thirties.

Their team was led by the legendary Victor Barna, whose inspiration and skill did so much to elevate the game to sports status. The s saw the game turned upside down by the invention of the sponge or sandwich rubber, this new material for bats, which, up until now, had been a relatively simple affair with a universal thin covering of pimpled rubber. Until this time, spin had played only a minor part in a game that had been dominated by the defensive style of play.

But these new bats or paddles, introduced by the Japanese, had the capacity to move the ball around in an almost magical way. The thickness of the sponge and rubber sandwich was controlled and remains so to this day. Skip to main content. Ping-Pong Ball. Usage conditions apply. International Media Interoperability Framework. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more. View manifest View in Mirador.

Description At the end of the 19th century, when ping-pong was coming into its own, the ball was generally made of string, rubber, or sometimes even a used champagne cork.