The Origins of Ping Pong

Jon A Divens has served as owner and president of Rocket Media since founding this Beverly Hills film and television production house in 2010. When he isn’t working, he enjoys sports and games that range from basketball to chess. One of Jon Aubrey Divens’ favorite pastimes is playing ping pong.

Although serious players often prefer the term “table tennis,” the original name of the game that they love is actually “ping pong.” This is because the game and its contingent equipment was marketed and sold by the English firm J. Jaques and Son under the brand name “Ping-Pong” at the end of the 1800s.

Conceived as a way for traditional tennis players to bring their court indoors for year-round play, ping pong grew in popularity quite rapidly among the general English public. By turn of the century, competitive ping pong tournaments were attracting hundreds of participants.

With the birth of the Ping-Pong Association in 1902, the game was well on its way to widespread acceptance as a competitive sport. The Ping-Pong Association ultimately changed its name to the Table Tennis Association in 1922.