Guide to Table Tennis Rackets

A table tennis paddle is also called a racket, and there are different models of rackets built for recreation and higher skilled players.

Recreational tennis rackets are usually made of a combination of wood and rubber that is significantly lower in speed and spin-producing capability than higher performance paddles.

The higher skilled tennis rackets are made of specialized, high performance rubber covering the wooden blade. This paddle will allow you to play with more speed and spin than recreational paddles. Custom paddles can be purchased by selecting specific specialized wood (or wood/graphite), along with high performance rubber. Users of this type of tennis paddle hold an advantage against opponents playing with recreational paddles.


A recreational paddle comes with the rubber sheets and wood blade already glued together. This style of paddle is suitable for good to moderately skilled players, but isn't comparable to a high performance tennis paddle. Table tennis is the only racket sport that allows different surfaces on each side of the paddle, with over 300 different types of surfaces to pick from.

The most serious table tennis players order the blade separately from the rubber and change the rubber after about 50 hours of play. High performance tennis racket models allow you to do this. The rubber sheets usually range from 1.0 to 2.5-millemeters in thickness, and are designed for various styles of play (defensive, attack etc.) to allow you to put different types of spin (dead spin, topspin etc.) on the ball.

When the ball hits the rubber coating it causes the underlying sponge to compress to an optimum point. This creates extra grip on the ball and results in greater spin. When the sponge compresses it creates a rebound force which shoots the ball off the racket with optimum speed and spin.

The blades of tennis paddles are made of thin layers (plies) of wood and some of them even incorporate carbon or titanium in them, even though the rules state that 85 per cent of the blade must consist of wood. The type of wood used in the table tennis racket blade determines the overall amount of speed and spin the blade will help to manufacture, along with the rubber and sapping. It will also determine the feel of the paddle.

When choosing a table tennis paddle, you need to make sure you are comfortable with the paddle handle (a very personal choice). The types of handles are: straight, flared, concave or anatomic. Penholders usually choose from Chinese or Japanese styles. Make sure the tennis paddle handle fits comfortably and balanced in your hand.
Tennis table paddles come in various shapes and sizes and usually weigh between 75 and 150-grams.

Top of the line paddles cost approximately $75 to $200, and moderate paddles cost between $30 and $75. There are also children's tennis table paddles, some of which are made of plastic and can be bought for as little as $5.

Interest in Ping Pong History? You can read through the link.

Ping Pong Rules

1. Choose who serves first

When you are deciding who will serve first, you can do it one of two ways.  You can decide it by the winner of a volley, or you can toss a coin.  Either way is acceptable to determine the person who serves.


2. Singles and doubles matches

When you are playing one on one, your serve can hit anywhere on your opponents side of the table to count. If you are playing doubles, you must hit your serve diagonally to your opponent.


3. Paddle rules and regulations

Make certain that your ping pong paddle is the proper size, weight, and shape for ping pong. This way none of the players has an advantage over the other ones.

4. Serving the ball

When a player serves, the serve must touch the server's paddle and the server's court before touching the opponent's court.

5. How a 'net' becomes a let

If a server hits the net on their serve, but the ping pong ball lands on their opponent's side, neither the server nor the opponent score a point.  This is called a let ball and the serve is taken over again.

6. Changing serves

Once a player has served five times, the serve changes to the opponent.

7. Net balls

If the ball hits the net during regular play and falls into an opponent's territory, the shot is a good one.

Points are awarded when: 

1. A server's serve fails to does not make it to their opponent's side.

2. Both players cannot return the ball

3. When a ball is hit before it hits the playing field on your side.

4. If a ball bounces more than once on a player's playing court before they are able to return it.

5. If a player hits the ball more than once before sending it over to their opponent.

6. Touching the net by either player

7. Touching the table with a free hand by either player

8. Moving the playing surface during game play, even if it's by accident, scores a point for opposite side.

Finishing a game

Players play to either eleven or twenty one points, and the players switch sides every game.  Winner can be declared in a three out of five match, or in a four out of seven match.

History of Ping Pong

Ping pong was invented in England back in the 1800's as an amusement for after dinner for the Victorians in the upper-class, The origins of ping pong were lowly, with common everyday objects being used for it's play.  Very often books were set up across the table to act as a net, cigar box lids were used for paddles, and the ball was either a ball of string or a rounded cork from a wine bottle.

Once the popularity of the sport grew, manufacturers decided that they would capitalize on the idea. The first official ping pong bats that were made were made of stretched pieces of parchment on a frame, and that is how the game received one of it's names.  The name ping pong comes from the sound that the ball made when it hit the ping pong bats.


The next big breakthrough in ping pong came in 1901 when James Gibb, who was very fond of ping pong, found balls made of celluloid when he visited the United States.  He discovered that the balls were perfect for ping pong.  It wasn't until two years later that the ping pong bat got an update when EC Goode attached a piece of rubber to a wooden blade.


The popularity of ping pong started growing in leaps and bounds, and in 1901 ping pong tournaments started, books on ping pong were written, and the first unofficial ping pong world championship was held in 1902. In the early 20th century, Russian rulers banned ping pong due to a mistaken belief that the game damaged the eyesight of the players.


The Table Tennis Association was founded in 1922 in England, and four years later the International Table Tennis Associated followed. A year later the first official table tennis world championship was held in London. Ping pong wasn't introduced as an Olympic sport. until 1988.


Since the invention of ping pong there have been plenty more discoveries that have improved the game.  In the 1950s foam padding was added to the table tennis bats, giving the players a greater speed and spin on the balls.  Balls were increased from 38 mm to 40 mm, which slowed down the game by increasing the air resistance of the ball.


There is also a large ball variety of table tennis, which uses a 44mm ping pong ball.  This is favored by players who prefer the more leisurely game of table tennis over the fast paced speed and spin action that the sport now has.


References:

http://www.tabletennisspot.com/brief-table-tennis-history/