The standardisation of equipment and a common set of rules: There were various attempts at standardising table tennis' rules and equipment prior to the inception of the ITTF in 1926. However, it was not until the formation of the ITTF that the game appears to have inherited many of the characteristics that are still recognisable today.

 The standardisation of the working week in Britain (c1920) and subsequently throughout much of the globe: Once people had gained a greater amount of recreation time they sought ways of passing this time. Sports were, and in many cases still are, a part of working life, with many employees competing for their own company's team in different sporting disciplines.

 The increasing commercialisation of sports: During the late nineteenth/early twentieth century various people attempted to produce and market table tennis equipment. Whilst it would appear that personal financial advancement may have been a central aspect of these attempts at commercialisation, it might also be suggested that some of the unforeseen consequences of this process have contributed to the dissemination of the game.

 The movement of people in an increasingly interdependent world: The development of a more integrated transport system in Britain and abroad at the beginning of the twentieth century, gave more and more people the opportunity to travel quicker than was previously possible. This decreasing of time and spatial boundaries contributed to the movement of their ideas and, it might be suggested, their pastimes.