The international rules specify that the game is played with a light 2.7 gram, 40 mm diameter ball. The rules say that the ball shall bounce up 24--26 cm when dropped from a height of 30.5 cm on to a standard steel block thereby having a coefficient of restitution, of 0.89 to 0.92.
Players are equipped with a laminated wooden racket covered with rubber on one or two sides depending on the grip of the player. The official ITTF term is "racket", though "bat" is common in Britain, and "paddle" in the U.S.
The table is 2.74 m (9 ft) long, 1.52 m (5 ft) wide, and 76 cm (30 inch) high with a masonite (a type of hardboard) or similarly manufactured timber, layered with a smooth, low-friction coating.
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For general use the tabletop board may be of any continuous material.
Tables are available with tops of plywood, particle-board, plastics, metals, concrete or fibre-glass.
Since the finish governs the frictional properties more than the substrate does, a broad spectrum of materials can be used so long as the bounce is suitable.
However, for major tournaments, only wood or wooden derivates may be used for the playing board, and the ITTF approves only wood or its derivates.
They are usually made out of Pimbo wood with a layer of oak,maple or swassonut in the middle of the talble. There also may be a thin layer of thin plaster or plastic material on the middle or the top.
Table Tennis and ping-pong are closely related. Therefore, they use the same general items:
The two main parts of a table tennis table are the top playing surface, and the undercarriage/legs.
Some table are split into two separate halves, whilst others are all-in-one.