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Table tennis - factfile Table tennis players and playing areas

Table tennis can be played in either a singles or doubles format and involves using a small round bat to hit a lightweight ball back and forth across a table divided by a net. Read through this short OCR Physical Education revision guide to learn the rules of table tennis, the history of table tennis, and how to score a table tennis game.

Part of Physical EducationTable Tennis

Table tennis players and playing areas

Playing area

  • A competitive table tennis table should measure 2.74 m (9 ft) long, 1.525 m (5 ft) wide and be 76 cm (2 ft 6 in) high.
  • The surface of a table tennis table must be the same dark colour across the court and be of a matt appearance.
  • The net is 15.25 cm (6 in) high and extends 15.25 cm (6 in) past the end of the table.
  • A competitive table tennis ball should bounce 23 cm high when dropped from a height of 30 cm.
  • In all competitions, the playing area for a full size table should be 8 m long by 4 m wide. This is essential to safely allow the players to chase around the table after well-placed shots.
The table is 2.74 m long, 1.52 m wide and 76 cm high. The net is 15.25 cm high and extends 15.25 cm past the end of the table. The ball is 3.8 cm wide.
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Table tennis scoring, rules and officials
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Overview and history of table tennis

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