Table Tennis Names Around the World

Table Tennis is a sport played across all continents and the sport is called with different names around the world. Most of the countries use either Table Tennis or Ping Pong. Some countries also have the sport named based on National or Regional languages such Tisch Tennis, Bord Tennis or tênis de mesa etc. In this article, we will share the most famous names used around the world for the sport.

Popular Table Tennis Names around Different Countries

Popular Table Tennis names used around various countries are below -

Country	Name	Written Name
China	Ping Pong	Pīngpāng qiú (Chinese: 乒乓球)
Japan	Takkyu	Takkyū (卓球)
Germany	Tischtennis	Tischtennis
India	Table Tennis	टेबल टेनिस
Sweden	Bordtennis	Bordtennis
Korea	taggu	탁구
Hungry	Asztali tenisz	Asztali tenisz
Russia	nastol’nyy tennis	настольный теннис
Albania	pingpongu	pingpongu
South Africa	tafeltennis	tafeltennis
Spain	Tenis de mesa	Tenis de mesa
Italy	tennis da tavolo	tennis da tavolo
France	tennis de table	tennis de table
Zimbabwe	tafeltennis	tafeltennis
Arabic	tans tawila	تنس طاولة
Romanian	tenis de masa	tenis de masa
Turkey	stol tennisi	stol tennisi
Namibia	tafeltennis	tafeltennis
Vietnam	bóng bàn	bóng bàn
Mongolia	shireenii tyennis	ширээний теннис
Greece	pin’nk pon’nk	πινγκ πονγκ
Thailand	Pingpxng	ปิงปอง
Indonesia	tenis meja	tenis meja
Netherlands	tafeltennis	tafeltennis

Some countries have similar languages and they have similar names for Table Tennis in the languages.

History of Table Tennis names

History of Table Tennis names is very interesting with so many names in past such as

Gossima
Ping Pong
Table Tennis
Whiff Waff
Parlour Tennis
Indoor Tennis
Pom-Pom
Pim-Pam
Netto
Clip-Clap
Royal Game
Tennis de Salon

Out of the above names in history, only Ping Pong and Table Tennis prevailed in modern era.

Why two different names i.e. Ping Pong or Table Tennis?

Here is an excerpt from ITTF website

Gradually the two most popular names prevailed: Ping Pong, and Table Tennis. However, these competing names caused some problems, as two associations were formed, and with different rules for the game some confusion resulted. Ping Pong was trademarked in 1900 by Hamley Brothers in England, and soon afterwards Hamleys became “jointly concerned” with Jaques. They rigorously enforced the Ping Pong trademark, requiring use of their Ping Pong equipment in Ping Pong tournaments and clubs. Parker Brothers, who acquired the American rights to the name Ping Pong, similarly enforced the trademark. Eventually it became clear that for the sport to move forward, the commercial ties had to be severed.

Source - ITTF- History of table tennis

Isn’t knowing about the names of the sport you love interesting? 🙌

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