April 23rd is World Table Tennis Day, a day during which people are encouraged to enjoy this game. Okay, perhaps they aren’t “expected” to enjoy table tennis, but it is strongly encouraged. So grab your paddles, your ping-pong ball, and some friends, and make a day out of it.

This sport has been around since the 19th century and took its inspiration from lawn tennis. It’s also known as ping-pong, but that’s a trademark, so many people simply use the term table tennis. It has become a game that people all around the world play, both as a pastime and as a sport.

The History of World Table Tennis Day

During the 19th century, table tennis originated as a mini-version of lawn tennis. Some of the first games played would use books for the net, cigar boxes as paddles, and champagne corks as the ball.

The game quickly evolved during this time, and by 1901, J. Jaques & Son Ltd had used the term “ping-pong” for their version of the product. In 1926, the International Table Tennis Federation was founded by Ivor Montagu and it had representatives from nine different countries.

The organization continued to grow through the 20th and 21st centuries, and now there are 226 member associations located all across the globe. In 2015, the International Table Tennis Federation created this holiday to encourage more people to play.

Observing World Table Tennis Day

This holiday is for people to have fun playing table tennis. Of course, we understand that not everyone may have the suitable equipment to play this game; they may want to find out whether this game is one they would enjoy.

If it is, then they’re going to want to make an investment in equipment so they can play it with their friends. No matter how a person celebrates this holiday, however, they should take the time to spread the word about this holiday using the hashtag #WorldTableTennisDay on social media.