Paralympic Table Tennis: Then and now

Paralympic Table Tennis was originally played by competitors in wheelchairs, and it wasn’t until the introduction of standing players in 1976 and athletes with cerebral palsy in 1980 that sub-committees began to work together to consider combined classification for athletes.

When a single Table Tennis committee was formed, the sport was seen as a pioneer for combining all disability classes.

How to play – and win

Table Tennis is played on a 2.75m (9ft) by 1.525m (5ft) table, divided in half by a net. The object of the game to hit the ball into your opponent’s half of the table, without him or her being able to return it successfully.

A match consists of five sets, each being played to 11 points. The game begins with a service and there is a change in service every two points. For every class of male and female player, there are singles, doubles and team matches.

Table Tennis at the Games

Table Tennis has been part of the Paralympic programme since the first Games at Rome 1960. However, it was not until the Toronto 1976 Games that standing players were included.
Athletes with cerebral palsy took part for the first time in Moscow 1980, while events for athletes with an intellectual disability were introduced in Sydney 2000.

Facts about Table Tennis

• The net which divides the table is 15.25 centimetres high.
• The ball used in competition weighs just 2.7g.
• Poland’s Natalia Partyka made her Paralympic debut at Sydney 2000, aged just 11. She has since competed in both disabled and able-bodied events.

Get involved

Table Tennis is fast, fun, and easy to learn and play. The British Table Tennis Association for People with Disabilities is always on the look-out for new players.

More information – including details of regional associations, leagues and clubs – can be found on the English Table Tennis Association and British Wheelchair Table Tennis Association websites (see 'related websites').