I will always disagree with this. I think it's best we move forward and admit it's the same sport but table tennis players tend to separate the two as one being more casual than the other. I would like to hear how, aside from skill level, they are two different sports.
Not agreeing or disagreeing with either of you. I think there is a different way of looking at this.
Ping Pong is actually a brand name. The brand is not so popular any more. But people have used that brand name as the name of the sport or game (I would also say Table Tennis/ Ping Pong are both a sport and a game). Even though the brand "Ping Pong" is not so popular any more, it was once big enough that people used it as synonymous with the name of the game/sport. This is similar to how people say BandAide to mean bandage, Q-Tip to mean cotton swab, Kleenex to mean tissue paper, or RollerBlade to mean Inline-Skate. BandAide, Q-Tip, Kleenex and RollerBlade are all brand names. But people often think of them as the name of the product they produce even though there are other brands that produce bandages, cotton swabs, tissues, or inline-skates.
Also, it is worth understanding that, in some countries, they will use the term Table Tennis and Ping Pong interchangeably even when you are talking about elite players.
So, in some circles, Ping Pong refers to garage type table tennis. But in other circles, this is what they call the elite sport depending on where you are.
Anyone want to say what they call Table Tennis in different parts of China?
I think Ping Pong is used so much by so many people in so many different countries that it is hard to try and erase it. And I also think that Table Tennis is also used in many many places. They both have their validity.
One more fun fact: at some point Ping Pong/Table Tennis was called Wiff Waff. 
It's those Upper Echelon British ( Victorian era??? ) whom, after indulging in port wine and heavy meals decided it is too early to retire back into their stately manor who then decided to hang around the dining hall a little longer to continue their merry-making affairs. Some who are more of the creative nature then decided to arrange some books across the snooker or billiard table and then proceed to crumble a piece of paper into a ball shaped object. Thereafter using some books as makeshift paddles, then proceeded to hit the crumbled piece of paper to and fro amongst each other and laughing their arse off looking pretty silly and all. Little do they know their silly antics will one day generate into a multi-billion pounds sports and an Olympic event at that too. You have those eccentric British people to thank for this.
Where did you get the "multi-billion pounds" idea? I don't really know. But, somehow, I feel like TT is not one of those big sports where there is lots of cash floating around.
Stewart, this is a recent (historically speaking) marketing scheme by hardbat/sandpaper players wanting to have a hardbat/sandpaper championship.
The term Ping Pong predates that "World Championship of Ping Pong" tournament by well over 100 years. And the term Ping-Pong is still a registered wordmark held by Parker Bros which means the group that made the "World Championship of Ping Pong" probably had to pay for the rights to use that term.
But in many countries in the world, the term Ping Pong is still used as synonymous with the term Table Tennis.
Here are some quotes from a Wikipedia page:
- "The World Championship of Ping Pong, also known as WCPP, is an annual ping pong tournament that has been held since 2011."
- "The tournament is promoted by the English sports impresario Barry Hearn, and is distinguished by its use of old-fashioned wooden paddles covered with sandpaper, which are intended to encourage slower ball movement and longer rallies for the entertainment of the live audience."
Now some people may use the term in UK to mean that tournament and the kind of play they have in that tournament, but that is extremely recent phenomenon. In USA the term Ping Pong is used by the vast majority of recreational players to mean Table Tennis and in USA it is also used by most club players to mean Garage players playing Table Tennis (as a sort of denigration of people who don't play well).
But I think in China, where they play a lot of Table Tennis, (perhaps more so than in any other country) I think it is often used interchangeably with the term Table Tennis to mean the same sport/game.
Exactly what I was going to say. If you ask Ma Long what sport he plays I guarantee you he will say Ping Pong and not table tennis.
People like to make up shit like saying "Table Tennis" is an elite sport. Well it's the same thing just one is branded like Carl said. It's an urban myth that people like to believe.
If you go to Google translate type in "table tennis" the translation in Chinese will show up as 乒乓 (ping pong).
It seems like you love table tennis and you hate that people perceive it as a garage game. Great! So do I.
That's why I'm combating the stigma by looking to own the word ping pong and showing people what happens when you bring proper strokes to thr sport.
We can't just bundle all north-Americans together and say they are all trying to belittle and demean the sport. People just don't know how amazing ping pong can be because most likely they don't have a club or elite players to practice with, so it becomes a casual game.
I went out to dinner with a few local college table tennis players and we were making a video where we say "I love ping pong" (which is my IG handle @iluvpingpong one guy stayed quiet and I asked why he didn't join in and he said "we play table tennis."
Okay, I get it, a few bully assholes in his younger days didn't understand how awesome of a player he was and probably made fun of his sport. I get it, that sucks, but assholes will be assholes, but they are not the majority. Most people just need to be educated, so we, as great table tennis/ping pong players need to own the word 'ping pong' and show them how awesome table tennis/ping pong can be.
Let's not try to segregate two groups of people who enjoy the sport just because of elitism. Almost everyone enjoys playing ping pong whether its in a garage, a basement, or a club.
This is why I love Adam bobrow so much. His style really shows how amazing the sport can be and brings the sport to a much wider audience.
Sorry for not paying attention and spelling your name incorrectly. I have a few friends with each spelling of the name and just was not thinking when I was typing.
Definitely not in this case.
This is an interesting juxtaposition. Bad form
When did Ma Long turn into a cunning linguist ?
I fail to see how whole countries calling a sport by the name it is called is creating a bad image for the sport. That's like saying Europeans are creating a bad image for football because they refuse to call it soccer.
