Ping-Pong Pro

The first time Wally Green picked up a Ping-Pong paddle, he was in his late teens. He’d been having a bad day and was looking to blow off steam. He came across a few other teenagers playing the game and decided to join in. Green took a wild swing at the hollow plastic ball. Mostly by sheer luck, it sailed over the net and caught the far edge of the table before dropping to the floor. He’d scored a point! “You play?” asked his impressed opponent. “Never in my life,” replied Green. “There’s a club you should check out,” said the kid.

The club was in Manhattan, just a short trip from Brooklyn, New York, where Green lived. It was for people interested in competitive Ping-Pong—a sport also known as table tennis (see Key Moments: Table Tennis). Green visited the club. He didn’t know it at the time, but that decision would lead to him becoming a professional Ping-Pong player.

Today, more than 20 years later, Green travels the world to compete, coach younger players, and share his love of the sport. He’s witnessed firsthand the skill and enthusiasm that people of all races, genders, cultures, and ages bring to Ping-Pong—and he’s mastered the physics of the game to perfect his signature smash shot.   

Wally Green was in his late teens the first time he picked up a Ping-Pong paddle. He was having a bad day and wanted to blow off steam. He saw a few other teenagers playing the game. So he joined in. Green swung hard at the hollow plastic ball. It sailed over the net and caught the far edge of the table. Then it dropped to the floor. It was mostly luck, but he’d scored a point! “You play?” asked his impressed opponent. “Never in my life,” replied Green. “There’s a club you should check out,” said the kid.

Green lived in Brooklyn, New York. The club was in Manhattan, not far away. It was for people interested in competitive Ping-Pong. This sport is also known as table tennis (see Key Moments: Table Tennis). Green visited the club. He didn’t know it then, but that decision would change his life. It would lead him to become a professional Ping-Pong player.

That was more than 20 years ago. Today, Green travels the world to compete. He also coaches younger players and shares his love of the sport. People of all races, genders, cultures, and ages bring their skill and enthusiasm to Ping-Pong. Green has seen that firsthand. And he’s mastered the physics of the game. That has allowed him to perfect his famous smash shot.

Green faced many challenges growing up. There was violence at home. Like most of his friends, he became involved with a gang. Sports provided an outlet from his troubles. Green excelled at football, basketball, volleyball, and tennis. He’d never had any interest in table tennis. But he’d noticed that the sport seemed popular with some of the students at his high school.

On Green’s first visit to the table tennis club, he noticed something: “All the players were Black,” says Green. “I didn’t realize Black kids played Ping-Pong.” And they were “standing way back from the table, making these crazy shots,” he adds. The rapid-fire exchanges sparked his interest.

Green had many challenges growing up. He faced violence at home. Like most of his friends, he became involved with a gang. Sports took him away from his troubles. Green was good at football, basketball, volleyball, and tennis. He wasn’t interested in table tennis. But he noticed that some students at his high school enjoyed the sport.

Green made his first visit to the table tennis club. And he noticed something. “All the players were Black,” says Green. “I didn’t realize Black kids played Ping-Pong.” And they were “standing way back from the table, making these crazy shots,” he adds. The fast exchanges sparked his interest.

Green played some of his first matches against an older gentleman. “I thought: ‘No way some guy in his 70s can beat me!’” he recalls. But his opponent defeated him every time.

When a paddle makes contact with the ball, energy is transferred to the ball, sending it flying over the net. Harder hits transfer more energy, so the ball sails back toward an opponent faster. But Green quickly realized that power alone doesn’t translate to winning. Speed, smarts, positioning, and precision are just as important. Under the right circumstances, says Green, “an 8-year-old kid can beat an adult in competition, or a smaller person can win against a much bigger opponent. There aren’t many sports like that.” Green wasn’t discouraged when he lost. He took his defeats as motivation to improve.

Green played some of his first matches against an older gentleman. “I thought: ‘No way some guy in his 70s can beat me!’” he says. But his opponent beat him every time.

When a paddle hits the ball, it transfers energy to the ball. That sends it flying over the net. Harder hits transfer more energy. Then the ball sails back toward an opponent faster. But power alone doesn’t lead to winning. Green quickly realized that. Speed, smarts, positioning, and aim are just as important. Under the right circumstances, “an 8-year-old kid can beat an adult in competition, or a smaller person can win against a much bigger opponent,” says Green. “There aren’t many sports like that.” Green wasn’t discouraged when he lost. His defeats motivated him to improve.

One of the most important things Green learned was how to put spin on the ball. Ping-Pong players brush the paddle against the ball when they hit it. Friction created as the two surfaces rub together sets the ball spinning. “As the ball spins, the flow of air around it changes and deflects the ball away from its usual path,” says Rod Cross, a physicist in Australia who has studied the motion of spinning balls (see Spin Effect). This alters the ball’s trajectory, or path of a flying object, making it bounce in hard-to-predict ways when it strikes the table. This principle helped Green hone a signature smash shot that relies on underspin. That means the top of the ball rotates toward him as it flies away. Underspin causes the ball to sail upward relative to its trajectory without spin.

In Green’s late teens, an experienced Israeli player at the club invited him to play a weekly match. Green’s sparring partner soon became his mentor. He offered to send Green to a specialized sports school in Germany, hoping to improve both Green’s game and his path in life. Green leaped at the opportunity.

Green learned how to put spin on the ball. That’s one of the most important skills in Ping-Pong. Players brush the paddle against the ball when they hit it. The two surfaces rub together and create friction. This makes the ball spin. Rod Cross, a physicist in Australia, has studied the motion of spinning balls (see Spin Effect). He says, “As the ball spins, the flow of air around it changes and deflects the ball away from its usual path.” This changes the ball’s trajectory, or path of a flying object. That makes it bounce in hard-to-predict ways when it strikes the table. This idea helped Green perfect his famous smash shot. It relies on underspin. That means the top of the ball spins toward him as it flies away. Underspin causes the ball to sail higher than it would without spin.

In Green’s late teens, he met an experienced Israeli player at the club. The player invited Green to play a weekly match. Soon, he became Green’s mentor. He offered to send Green to a specialized sports school in Germany. He hoped to improve Green’s game and his path in life. Green leaped at the opportunity.

After graduating, Green returned to the United States. His big break came during a 2001 tournament in New York City. Scouts from the video game company Rockstar Games saw him play and loved his energy. The company invited him to collaborate on a table tennis video game and sponsored him to tour professionally.

Going pro brought Green plenty of new opportunities. It also brought new challenges. One was fitting in. Ping-Pong is wildly popular in Asia. Players from that part of the world dominate international competitions. Even in the U.S., Asian-American athletes often land the top rankings. “As a Black kid, I looked different, carried myself differently, and spoke differently,” says Green. On top of that, Green was still adjusting to playing against professional opponents. “I was getting destroyed in competition,” he says.

After he graduated, Green returned to the United States. He played in a 2001 tournament in New York City. That’s when his big break came. Scouts from the video game company Rockstar Games were there. They saw him play and loved his energy. The company invited him to work on a table tennis video game. They also sponsored him to tour professionally.

Going pro brought Green many new opportunities. It also brought new challenges. One was fitting in. Ping-Pong is wildly popular in Asia. Players from Asia win many international competitions. Even in the U.S., Asian American athletes often land the top rankings. “As a Black kid, I looked different, carried myself differently, and spoke differently,” says Green. Plus Green was still learning to play against professional opponents. “I was getting destroyed in competition,” he says.

To improve as a pro, Green realized he needed to set achievable goals. Instead of trying to win an impossible match against a higher-ranked player, he celebrated exuberantly whenever he won a game—or even a single point. Fans adored him. He gave up on fitting in. His greatest successes came from being himself.

There are two things Green particularly loves about Ping-Pong: One is the mental gymnastics required. “It’s like chess,” he says. “You always have to think several moves ahead: I’m gonna serve over here, they’ll probably return over there, but I have to be ready to go this way in case they don’t. And you’re doing everything so fast and on the fly.” The other is the sport’s accessibility and global reach. “I’ve met people from all over the world,” says Green. When he spoke with Science World, he’d just returned from coaching junior players through a tournament in Israel.

Green wanted to improve as a pro. He knew he needed to set reachable goals. So his goal wasn’t to win an impossible match against a higher-ranked player. Instead, he celebrated joyfully whenever he won a game, or even a single point. Fans loved him. He gave up on fitting in. His greatest successes came from being himself.

Green loves two things about Ping-Pong the most. One is the mental gymnastics needed. “It’s like chess,” he says. “You always have to think several moves ahead: I’m gonna serve over here, they’ll probably return over there, but I have to be ready to go this way in case they don’t. And you’re doing everything so fast and on the fly.” The other is that almost anyone can get involved. The sport reaches people around the globe. “I’ve met people from all over the world,” says Green. When he spoke with Science World, he’d just returned from Israel. He coached junior players in a tournament there.

Several years ago, Green made a memorable trip to compete in North Korea—a country with which the U.S. has a tense relationship—as a gesture of peace through Ping-Pong. At first, the crowd scowled and murmured disapprovingly whenever Green scored a point. But he won them over with big smiles and a bear hug for his victorious opponent at the end of the match. “I hope that planted a seed,” says Green. “If anyone says anything bad about Americans to the people who saw me play that day, maybe they’ll remember that I came and showed nothing but love.”

Several years ago, Green traveled to North Korea to compete. That country and the U.S. have a tense relationship. The trip was a gesture of peace through Ping-Pong. At first, the crowd was unhappy whenever Green scored a point. But he won them over with big smiles. He lost the match, but he gave his opponent a bear hug at the end. “I hope that planted a seed,” says Green. “If anyone says anything bad about Americans to the people who saw me play that day, maybe they’ll remember that I came and showed nothing but love.”