Ping Pong: A New Spin on an Old Sport

I loved playing ping pong or table tennis as a child and young adult. With a lot of practice, I felt like Venus Williams with a small paddle. Competition in those games could get ugly. Whew! Though it’s been some years, my interest in ping pong is being revitalized by the onslaught of table tennis leagues/clubs (for entertainment as well as professional tournaments) cropping up. And some of the clubs are as swanky and hip as a metropolitan nightclub.

One of the latest table tennis clubs to open is NYC’s (on Park Avenue no less) SPiN New York, which is owned by actress Susan Sarandon, a major table tennis enthusiast. SpiN is a state-of-the-art club that has four types of table reservations: standard, professional, stadium and dinner. Yes, you can eat and have drinks at the club as well as play backgammon or attend any one of their special events from film screenings to lectures. There is private and group instruction available to members and a locker room complete with showers (see AMENITIES). And SPiN has general public and member rates available.

New York must be the trendsetter in the ping pong movement because there is one other hotspot to take note of, Naked Ping Pong, tucked away on Greenwich Street in Tribeca. Clothing is not optional, you have to wear it to play on one of their professional-sized tables. Rapper Fifty Cent has hosted events there and other celeb types and beautiful ones have frequented Naked Ping Pong. Operating since 2007, Naked Ping Pong has received a lot of press for its plush environment and alternative fun.