Table tennis is a game for two players (singles) or four (doubles) and is normally played indoors. Rackets, sometimes called “bats” or “paddles,” are used to hit a small, light ball back and forth across a table divided by a low net. The object is to win points by making shots that an opponent is unable to return.

The table may be of any material but is normally of wood. It must give a bounce of about 23cm to a standard ball, when the ball is dropped from a height of 30cm.
The playing surface should be dark-coloured, preferably green, and matt, with white marking lines.
A white line, 2cm wide, marks the edges of the table. The sides of the table-top are not considered part of the playing surface.
For doubles, the playing surface is divided into halves by a 3mm white line.

The net, 1.83m long, is suspended across the centre of the table by a cord attached to a post at either end.

The playing area is only defined for international competition, where the minimum area required is about 2.75m at each side and 5.5m at ends.
The minimum height is 3.5m.

The racket may be of any size, weight or shape. The blade should be of wood, continuous, of even thickness, flat and rigid. Each side of the blade must be of a uniform dark colour, but the two sides need not be of the same colour.
In international competitions one side of the racket blade must be red and the other black.
The covering material shall extend up to but not beyond the limits of the blade, except that the part nearest the handle and gripped by the fingers may be left uncovered or covered with any material.
The blade may be covered with:
a) plain, pimpled rubber, with pimples outward, of a total thickness not exceeding 2mm;
b) a sandwich of cellular rubber surfaced with plain, pimpled rubber, with pimples inward or outward, of a total thickness not exceeding 4mm.
(A side not used for hitting is exempted from covering rules.)

The ball should be made of celluloid or a similar plastic, white or yellow, with a matt surface. Its weight must be 2.5g.                                                         

http://www.tabletennis.org.nz