Oct 16, 2025 - Things to Do

How table tennis became my elusive "third place"

Kale Williams

Close-up of a wooden paddle and white ping pong ball on a blue table tennis table in an indoor sports room with blue walls and a net in the background. — You can find me in the (table tennis) club. Photo: Kale Williams/Axios

After roughly two decades away from the sport, I rediscovered table tennis about a year ago, and it's quickly become my favorite hobby.

Why it matters: Finding a "third place" — a space that's not work or home — is increasingly rare. I got lucky, but you can, too.

The big picture: I had a garage pingpong table in my 20s, and after years of thinking about returning to the game, I finally signed up for a class at the Portland Table Tennis Club last November.

These days, I'm at the club several times a week.

State of play: Table tennis is good for you, physically and mentally, and the club is about as welcoming as can be.

It's diverse, too, with several languages echoing through the room at any given time.
Plus: A lot of the strokes have fun names like the "banana flick" and the "super strawberry."

Zoom in: The sport also offers nearly constant lessons in humility.

I'm 44 years old and I've had my ass handed to me by players a quarter of and twice my age.

The bottom line: For as much as I love it, pingpong isn't for everyone, but I'm willing to bet we all have an abandoned hobby we've thought about giving another try.

Consider this my gentle encouragement to sign up for that class, get involved with that community group, or dust off that forgotten pastime from a few years back.
If you're anything like me, you'll probably wish you did it sooner.

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How table tennis became my elusive "third place"

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