If you live in the United States, you might only think of ping pong as a casual sport that is played in basements and garages, but many people play this sport very seriously. If you’ve never witnessed this sport being played by high level players you are truly missing out.
Whether you think ping pong and table tennis are two different sports or not, we use these two different terms synonymously in this article and here at thepingpongsot.com.
Not only is table tennis a professional sport, but some of the top athletes receive salaries of over $1 million in a single year. Even though many people may call it ping pong and only think of it as a casual garage or basement hobby, it has been an Olympic game since 1988.
Read more to learn all about table tennis as a professional sport, including its basic history and how much money the top players in the world make.
Wondering if you can play? You might like this: Can Anyone Play Ping Pong? Q & A
A Quick History of Competitive Ping Pong
It is mostly agreed that some form of table tennis was invented in the 1800s in the United Kingdom. In 1901 the name “ping pong” was trademarked by a company that began manufacturing equipment.
- 1902: although it was unofficial, the first world championship took place.
- 1926: the ITTF, (International Table Tennis Federation) was formed and the first official world championship was held.
- 1933: the United States Table Tennis Association was formed.
- 1950s: Table tennis was declared the national sport of China.
- 1988: Table tennis was first played in the Olympics.
Learn more about ping pong’s history and popularity in this artilce: Why is Ping Pong so Popular? It’s Not Just Because it’s Fun…
How Much Money Can Professional Ping Pong Players Earn?
At the time of writing this article, here are the current top 5 ranked players in the world with estimations of their annual salaries or net worths.
The order of the players is their current world ranking, they are not in order of most to least wealthy and these people are not necessarily the most wealthy players. All of the amounts are in US dollars.
These are all just the numbers that popped up on google when I searched and I’m sure they are estimates, but you can see that the top players make tons of money. It looks like the most wealthy players can make over $1 million in one year!
Men
- Fan Zhendong – $750,000 annual salary, net worth – 5 million
- Wang Chuqin – $1-5 million total net worth
- Ma Long – $20 million total net worth
- Liang Jingkun – $1-5 million total net worth
- Hugo Calderano – $400,000 annual salary
Women
- Sun Yingsha – $2 million annual salary
- Wang Manyu – $1-5 million total net worth
- Chen Meng – $2.5 million annual salary
- Wang Yidi – $875,000 annual salary
- Hina Hayata – $1-5 million total net worth
Learn more about individual pro players here in our table tennis pro player bio articles.
Obviously these are the top players in the world so they are the exceptions, but there are still many more average level players and coaches that earn good livable wages from TT.
Keep in mind that even though the United States does not pay or invest money into Olympic athletes or potential Olympic athletes, many other countries invest loads of money into trying to produce Olympic athletes and pay these athletes large salaries.
I once dated a girl from Qatar who ran track, and she told me that the government provided her entire family with a nice house or apartment and she was paid enough money to buy a brand new Mini Cooper at the age of 16.
I have no doubt that China is a country that pays potential Olympic athletes and Olympians in a similar manner and invests lots of money into coaching young players with the intention of producing future Olympic medalists.
Is Table Tennis an Official Olympic Game?
Table tennis was first played in the Olympics in 1988 in the summer Olympics in South Korea and is now an official Olympic sport. It is in the summer Olympics only and is played every 4 years.
How Popular is Table Tennis?
If you live in the United States, it is obvious that ping pong is a pretty popular recreational game. You probably at least know someone who has a ping pong table in their garage or basement, or you have probably picked up a paddle and messed around playing for a bit one or two times.
However at least if you live in the US, it is not so obvious how popular this sport actually is.
It is estimated that table tennis is the 6th most popular sport worldwide by the number of fans, and the 3rd most played sport in the world.
You may disagree with these numbers, and you might be right. It is extremely difficult to determine these numbers, especially with how many people play the sport. However, you can’t deny that table tennis is an extremely popular sport.
Keep in mind that table tennis is the official national sport of China, and China has the 2nd highest population of any country in the world. Another undeniable fact is that China absolutely dominates the Olympics in table tennis, and this is going to inspire lots of people to both watch and play ping pong in China.
Table tennis is seen as a more serious sport and is more popular in many Asian and European countries.
Learn more about ping pong’s popularity in this artilce: Why is Ping Pong so Popular? It’s Not Just Because it’s Fun…
Is table tennis a NCAA sport?
Table tennis is not currently included in the NCAA sports. The National Collegiate Athletic Association only governs about 1,100 schools in the US and one in Canada. Since TT is not very popular in the US as a competitive sport, this makes sense.
National Collegiate Table Tennis Association
There is however an organization called the NCTTA that aims to promote competitive table tennis in colleges in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. So far there are 155 universities have competed in the US.
Now Go Appreciate Some Pro Level TT
I encourage you to check out some pro level table tennis matches and really appreciate the nuanced skill of the game. You can watch many old Olympic matches in full on youtube. If you’ve never seen the best players playing this sport you really have no idea what table tennis is.
Whether you play ping ping as a casual hobby or as a serious competitive player I hope that you can now go play and have fun.
Learn more:
Table Tennis Terminology: The Ultimate Glossary for Ping Pong Lingo
What Does a Table Tennis Coach Do? Their Roles & Responsibilities
Official Ping Pong Rules: The Ultimate Guide to Serving, Scoring and More
