There are several conflicting answers to the question regarding the origin of table tennis.

Some see certain similarities between table tennis and a game played in medieval times named Royal Tennis.

Some suggest the origin of the game lies in British soldiers in India and South Africa using cigar boxes as paddles to entertain themselves in the long hours between battles.

Finally, there are those who think that table tennis was played first by British aristocracy as an indoor variation to tennis played when it was too hot to play outside.