This is one of the most popular participation sports in the world. Created by the British about 100 years ago, it can be played in any season or climate. It was first played as an Olympic sport in 1988. Which sport?

This fast-paced sport began not on an athletic court but as a genteel after-dinner amusement in late 19th-century Britain. Eager to replicate lawn tennis indoors, upper-class Victorians would use a row of books as a net on their dining tables, batting a rounded cork or rubber ball back and forth with improvised paddles like cigar box lids. The onomatopoeic name "Ping-Pong" was actually a trade name coined by a manufacturer, which is why the sport's official, generic name is table tennis.

Its evolution from a parlor game to a global phenomenon is largely due to its accessibility. As an indoor activity, it can be enjoyed in any season or climate, from a community center in Sweden to a school in Brazil. This has helped it become one of the most popular participation sports in the world, with hundreds of millions of recreational players, particularly throughout Europe and Asia.

The sport's competitive legitimacy was cemented when it was introduced as a full medal sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Today, professional table tennis is a breathtaking display of incredible speed, spin, and reflexes, a far cry from its humble origins on a Victorian dining table.