Since the 1930s table tennis started to enjoy huge popularity in the USSR. People began playing this sport practically everywhere: in health resorts, camps, university competitions. After the 2nd World War city competitions became a common thing, and in 1948 laws of table tennis were adopted in the USSR as part of plans to meet international standards.

Having joined the International Federation of Table Tennis in 1953, our tennis players began to take part in all international championships.

Since 1951, national individual competitions were held annually. First there were the USSR championships (1951-1991), then the CIS championships (1992) and national championships (from 1993 until present).

The state paid much attention to improvement of health of the population, increase of grassroots sports. In 1951 the All-Union Committee on Physical Culture and Sport signed a decree on mass development of table tennis which has served as an impetus for popularisation of table tennis in our country.

Now the Russian team championship became one of the most prestigious not only in Europe, but all over the world. The world's top table tennis players play for the Russian clubs, among them multiple European champion Vladimir Samsonov (BEL), leader of the German national team Dmitry Ovcharov, ex-champion of Europe Michael Maze (DEN), highly experienced Zoran Primorac (CRO). In recent years, representatives of leading Asian table tennis schools from China, South Korea, North Korea, Japan and Taipei played for our clubs. Our top players and young trainees, mid-range athletes – masters of sports, candidates for the master of sports and even first-rank athletes – compete and play alongside them. As a result, our players become more confident. In fact they not only look at them with admiration and learn from them, but also struggle with representatives of the world table tennis elite and even beat them. And if you look at the ITTF world ranking list, you will find Russian names in the top 100: Alexander Shibaev, Kirill Skachkov, Alexey Smirnov, Fedor Kuzmin, Igor Rubtsov, etc.

Pride of the country in this sport is Zoya Rudnova (born in August 19th, 1946 in Moscow, the USSR). Rudnova is a Soviet athlete, double world champion (1969) – in the team competitions and in the doubles (with Svetlana Fedorova-Grinberg), 10-time European champion. Merited Master of Sports of the USSR. She has finished her sports career in 1964.

During the 1975 World Championship Tatyana Ferdman, a table tennis player from Sverdlovsk won a gold medal in the mixed doubles competitions (with Stanislav Gomozkov) and a bronze medal in the singles and doubles.

Zoya Rudnova's athletic accomplishment (absolute champion of all categories) was repeated only once by Soviet athlete Valentina Popova druing the 1984 European Championship in Moscow.

Top male table tennis players of the USSR and Russia are: Gennady Averin, Anatoly Amelin, Stanislav Gomozkov, Nikolay Novikov, Anatoly Strokatov, Sarkis Sarkhoyan, Bagrat Burnazyan, Igor Podnosov, Andrey Mazunov, Dmitry Mazunov. Top female table tennis players of the USSR and Russia are: Zoya Rudnova, Svetlana Grinberg, Lima Balayshite, Rita Pogosova, Elmira Antonyan, Narine Antonyan, Valentina Popova, Flyura Bulatova, Elena Kovtun, Galina Melnik, Irina Palina, Elena Timina, Oksana Kushch, etc.

For the first time the republic has loudly declared itself with staging the 2007 European SuperCup in the Sports Palace, Kazan. In 2008 the Аk Bure Sports Complex hosted table tennis competitions as part of the 1st Russian Summer Universide. First-year students of Kazan State University placed 5th among 11 teams of the Volga Federal District at those games.  

The 4th European University Table Tennis Championship took place in Kazan's Sports Palace in 2010; student athletes of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University achieved good results there: the men's national team placed second, all in all Team Tatarstan collected 3 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze medals which propelled the team to the 1st place in overall team standings. That way, Tatarstan athletes brought table tennis into fashion in the Republic Tatarstan.

During the 5th edition of the European University Table Tennis Championship that took place in Madiera (Portugal), Tatarstan's student athletes were even more successful, the women's team of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University topped the podium; all in all our table tennis players won 3 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals.

In 2011 Kazan hosted the European Youth Championships, the highest-profile youth competition in the Old World, where Saadi Ismailov, a table tennis player of Tajik origin, demonstrated  brilliant performance and claimed silver and bronze in the doubles and singles respectively. From now on Saadi represents the township of Bogatye Saby, Republic of Tatarstan, during the competitions.