The History of Table Tennis

The sport we now recognise as Table Tennis (or Ping Pong) has been called many names in its history, including Whiff-Whaff, Parlour Tennis, Indoor Tennis and Gossima (source: ITTF).

When exploring the Table Tennis vs Ping Pong divide, it’s the name Gossima that we need to be interested in. Gossima was the name given by a parlour game manufacturer, Jacques. They had been trying to popularise Gossima for over 15 years before the celluloid ball was introduced to the game in 1901. 

With the sounds “ping” and “pong” clearly heard from the rudimentary rackets used back then, they quickly bought the trademark to call their game “Ping Pong”. Not long after, they sold this trademark to the American company Parker Brothers.

So, when does Table Tennis come into the picture? Well, that was a decision made in 1926 by the newly founded International Table Tennis federation. They didn’t want to name their sport something already owned by a large corporation, who they would have to pay money! So, they opted for the more generic “Table Tennis”.

So, the sport is conclusively called Table Tennis.