
But they must be made of wood and rubber and competition paddles must have two colors (red and black). Small paddles are hard to use successfully and bigger paddles weigh too much and are cumbersome. Ping pong paddles don't have a regulation size, actually.
You want to play or practice with celluloid or plastic balls that are orange or white and 40 mm in size. It's best on a table against the wall, for the record. If your hand-eye coordination is more on par with a three-legged, blind dog, you might want to start practicing against a wall and getting familiar with how the ball and paddle work together. And you want someone who has regulation ping pong balls, paddles, and a table if you don't have access to any! You can play one-on-one, or you can play with two teams of two, which is known as doubles.
This way, you can have fun learning how to play. You probably want to begin by playing someone who is at about your skill level or a little better, and preferably someone who isn't aggressively competitive.