In professional matches, table tennis balls can reach speeds of over ____.
Despite the small playing area, table tennis is one of the fastest sports in the world regarding reaction time.
Incredible Velocity:
🚀 High Speed: Professional players can smash the ball at speeds exceeding 110 kilometers per hour. Because the table is only 2.74 meters long, the opponent has less than 0.1 seconds to react.
🌀 Extreme Spin: A ball can spin at up to 9,000 revolutions per minute, making it curve mid-air and bounce unpredictably.
Olympic Evolution:
🥇 Ball Size Change: After the 2000 Olympics, the ball size was increased from 38mm to 40mm to slow it down and make the game more viewable for television audiences.