Table tennis was first included in the Paralympic Games in 1960.
The sport appeared at the inaugural Paralympic Games in Rome, Italy. Those Games followed the Stoke Mandeville competitions that had helped develop organised international sport for athletes with disabilities. Table tennis has remained part of the Paralympic programme ever since, making it one of the event’s long-standing sports.
Paralympic table tennis includes athletes with physical impairments across standing and wheelchair classes. Matches follow the core laws of table tennis, but some rules and equipment provisions account for an athlete’s classification or wheelchair use. For example, wheelchair events have specific requirements for service and movement around the table.
The 1960 debut is sometimes confused with the sport’s Olympic debut, which occurred in 1988 at Seoul. The Paralympic competition therefore predates Olympic table tennis by 28 years. Over time, the programme has expanded to include men’s and women’s singles, doubles, and team events across multiple classes.