fbpx
Table Tennis Room Size - Featured Image

Room Size Required For Table Tennis – Home Space Guide

If you’re looking to add a Table Tennis table to your house, you’ll need a space that is at least 22′ x 11′. These dimensions will allow you to comfortably play a variety of shots around the table. If you’re only playing casually and don’t mind some obstacles, you could play in a room size smaller than 22′ x 11′.

This is what 22′ x 11′ looks like in different measurements:

  • 670 x 335 centimetres
  • 6.7 x 3.4 metres
  • 264″ x 132″ inches

If you’re looking at playing competition standard Table Tennis, or if you’re looking at a 3/4 size table, read on for our recommended room sizes.

A full-size Table Tennis table size is 9 feet long and 5 feet wide. When considering whether you can fit a Table Tennis table in your house, you need to think about how much space you’ll be able to play in around the table. Especially without breaking anything!

When playing, you naturally move around the table a lot and swing your arms around. It’s natural to stand 2-3 feet away from the table and swing your racket in an arc, going back another 3 – 4 feet. That means you should have around 6.5 feet clear on either end of the table.

The Room Size Needed for a Table Tennis Table

If you don’t move around much and play close to the table, then you can get away with having 4ft on either end of the table. That means your room must be at least 17 feet (5.2 metres) long.

The recommended width is determined by the angle players can hit the ball. Especially when serving, it’s easy to place the ball off the side of the table, which is why you need at least 3 feet on either side of the table and we don’t recommend playing in a room much narrower than 11 feet.

One factor that many people don’t think about when buying a Table Tennis table is the ceiling height. If you have a low ceiling, this can make it very difficult to play lob shots or any returns away from the table.

We recommend a ceiling height of at least 9 feet (2.75 metres). The general rule of thumb is that the higher the ceiling, the better. One of the most fun parts of Table Tennis is playing smashes and lobs so it’s best to play in a room where these shots are possible.

If you’re trying to work out whether your ceiling is high enough, it’s important to remember that the table itself is already 2.5 feet high. Find a table that’s a similar height and try and play bootleg Ping Pong to see if you’re ceiling is high enough.

Watch out for any hanging lights / ornaments that can get in the way above the table as well.

Professional Playing Area

Fancy yourself as a bit of a Table Tennis pro? Well, you’re going to need a very big room as well! Here’s what the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) say about a competition-standard playing area.

The playing space shall be rectangular and not less than 14m long, 7m wide and 5m high.

ITTF Handbook

That’s a massive 45′ x 23′ feet, around double our recommended room size length and width.

Struggling With Your Game?

Our free eBook contains 15 of our best tips/tricks to quickly improve your table tennis game.

 

Including 15 training exercises you can start doing today to become a better player.

eBook Cover v3

Playing Table Tennis In A Small Room

Maybe you don’t have a room in your house that’s big enough to play on a full-sized Table Tennis table. Most of us (myself included) don’t live in mansions or have large outdoor spaces big enough for a table.

There is a potential solution – the 3/4 size Table Tennis table! These tables are only 6.75′ x 3.75′ feet. With the smaller size, you also need less space around you as you can’t play quite as expansively.

That means that a 3/4 size Table Tennis table will fit perfectly in rooms as small as 12 feet by 8 feet. Check out our top recommended mini and mid-sized ping pong tables.

Anything Else To Consider?

If you’re playing Table Tennis competitively, tournament organisers need to worry about different factors such as temperature, lighting, barriers and wall colours.

At home, these definitely aren’t as relevant. Whilst you will see the ball slightly better against a dark wall, it won’t make a difference for a vast majority of casual players. If you’re struggling to see the ball, try switching between Orange/White balls and see if that helps you.

Ping Pong balls are quite harmless most of the time, although you should avoid hitting them hard into breakable objects (e.g glasses, your TV). If you’re a competitive person, some exuberant shots can see the paddle fly out of your hand. This is quite rare but something to think about if you have any important/expensive items in your room.

Featured Image – freepik

Enjoyed This Page?

We serve the best table tennis content into your inbox every fortnight. No spam.

 

With our advice, you'll be winning more matches in no time.

The Controller

David's been playing Table Tennis since he was 12, earning his first coaching license in 2012. He's played in national team & individual competitions, although he prefers the more relaxed nature of a local league match! After earning his umpiring qualification in England, David moved to Australia and started Racket Insight to share information about the sport he loves.

Blade: Stiga WRB Offensive Classic | Forehand: Calibra LT | Backhand: Xiom Musa
Playstyle: The All-Rounder

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *