We think of people taking smack cocaine on dirty mattresses first getting into drugs smoking marijuana tablets; or accidentally sniffing Pritt Stick in Arts and Crafts lessons; or through preparing to compete in the men’s 100 metres. Similarly, table tennis is a gateway sport encouraging people to become addicted to the full-fledged ‘furniture-less’ tennis.
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But there’s more to ping pong. It’s a sport available as an indoors alternative, ideal for tennis-mad agoraphobics. And the table aspect of table tennis can influence and civilise the macro game. At the table we learn to say Grace, not to put our elbows on it etc, all things that John McEnroe could have learnt from. Wouldn’t it have been refreshing to hear at the end of a courteously played game, him asking the umpire: ‘Can I leave the court, please?’
Edward Jenner is a name that automatically springs to mind when you think tennis. But it was he who came up with injecting people with a little bit of an illness that the body could fight and guard against the full-fledged thing… plus he had a weak back-hand. Jenner would have sought to combat tennis elbow by encouraging tennis players to get their elbows a little bit achy in table tennis so they might be immunised against tennis elbow.
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A tennis pusher grooming through table tennis.
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But there’s more to ping pong. It’s a sport available as an indoors alternative, ideal for tennis-mad agoraphobics. And the table aspect of table tennis can influence and civilise the macro game. At the table we learn to say Grace, not to put our elbows on it etc, all things that John McEnroe could have learnt from. Wouldn’t it have been refreshing to hear at the end of a courteously played game, him asking the umpire: ‘Can I leave the court, please?’
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