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How To Choose a Table Tennis Rubber

2018-07-24T11:33:00-07:00

Once you have chosen a blade that suits your playing style, you are ready to move on to the next step which is to choose a rubber.

Before we begin, here are a few things you should know!

RED/BLACK COLOR
According to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), one side of the racket must be red and the other side black. This means you will need to purchase a red rubber, and a black rubber if you intend to participate in authorized table tennis events.
ITTF LOGO
Only rubbers authorized by the IFFT can be used in authorized events. Rubbers that are authorized have an ITTF logo engraved on it. The ITTF have a list of authorized rubbers which is updated frequently, so it is best to check before you purchase a rubber.

Check out the list here [ LARC 2018A (List of Authorized Racket Coverings) ]

Moving on with the guide, there are 3 things you should consider when choosing a rubber.

RUBBER TYPES
You may have noticed that rubbers have these little projections on one side. These are called pips/pimples and they affect the spin of the ball.

Inverted/Reverse Pips

This type of rubber has the pips facing in and the flat smooth side facing outwards. Therefore, you use the smooth side to strike the ball. This type of rubber is the most common one used as it gives good control and allows players to develop their stroke. Inverted rubbers have a large contact area which allows the player to easily exert spin on the ball. As such, it is suitable for beginners and all-rounded players.

Short Pips-Out

This type of rubber has short pips facing out and the flat smooth side facing inwards. Therefore, you use the short pip side to strike the ball. This type of rubber is suitable for players who have a fast blocking/ counter attacking game. This rubber is not easily affected by the opponent’s spin due to its small contact area with the ball, allowing you to easily return an opponent's spin shot.

Long Pips-Out

This type of rubber has long pips facing out and the flat smooth side facing inwards. Therefore, you use the long pip side to strike the ball. This type of rubber is suitable for defensive players as it slows down the speed of the ball and can counter the spin on your opponent's shots.

Short and Long Pips without Sponge

This type of rubber has the pips facing out and the flat smooth side facing inwards. Therefore you use the pip side to strike the ball. This rubber does not have a sponge layer underneath, resulting in a lighter racket with less elasticity. Thus rubber is suitable for defensive players who want to drastically cut the speed of your opponent's shots, slowing down the rally.

Anti-spin Rubber

This type of rubber is similar to the inverted rubber as it has the pips facing inwards and the flat smooth size facing out. Therefore, you use the pip side to strike the ball. Anti-spin rubbers are generally hard with sponges ranging from medium soft to extremely soft which slows the ball down. They also have less friction on the rubber effectively, cancelling the spin on your opponent's shots.
Sponge Thickness

The sponge layer is an area between the rubber and the wood which acts as a trampoline. This layer should already come attached to the rubber sheet when you purchase a rubber so you don't need to do any installation.

Thinner sponges will be less “springy” and have a hard feel, as the ball will generally sink to the wood surface, producing less spin and speed. Thin sponges are suited for defensive play styles as it is good for slowing down the speed of your opponent's shots as well as the amount of spin on it.

Thicker sponges will have a soft feel and will be faster and provide more spin as the ball will sink deep into the sponge layer catapulting it outward with tremendous velocity and increased spin. Thick sponges are suited for attacking play styles as it provides good speed and spin for looping and driving shots.

As a general rule of thumb, the thicker the sponge, the more offensive it is.
i.e. provides more speed and spin.

Many rubbers come in a variety of sponge thickness to accommodate different players.

eg. Butterfly Tenergy 05 comes in 1.7, 1.9, and 2.1mm sponge thickness.

If you are unsure about which thickness to choose, 1.9mm sponge is always a safe bet.
Sponge Density

Sponge density is often overlooked as people tend to focus more on the rubber. When we talk about the density, we are referring to the hardness of the sponge. High density sponges are harder, while low density sponges are softer.

Denser sponges have more stored energy but also require more racket speed to compress the sponge and release this energy. Therefore, players who swing harder prefer the harder sponges.

The all-round player or players with shorter strokes will prefer sponges with medium or softer sponges.

Check out our selections of table tennis rubbers here

How to Choose the Right Table Tennis Blade

2018-07-20T13:16:00-07:00

For those of you who are more advanced and wish to buy a customized table tennis racket, you will need to choose a blade and rubber combination that will suit your playing style.

In this post, let's focus on the different types of blades that are available.

When choosing a blade, you should consider the grip style, handle shape, and your play style.

Grip Style

If you are at the stage of buying a customized blade, you likely already know which style you prefer.

This is important as different grip styles will have a different selections of blades.

Check out our selection of Shakehand blades here

Check out our selection of Penhold blades here

Handle Shape

Penhold blades only have one type of handle so you don't need to worry about this part if you chose the penhold grip.

Shakehand blades on the other hand have three different handle shapes. The handle can be either anatomical, flared, or straight.

Handles shapes depends on your preferences when holding the blade. The most popular shape is the flared handle. There is no advantage in choosing one shape over the other, just choose the one that is most comfortable for you.

Play Style

Weight, Ply, Thickness

Blades will generally weigh between 75-95g.

Lighter blades (75-80g) are better for defensive play as you have better maneuverability of the blade.

Heavier blades (90-95g) are better for attacking play as it provides better stability and generates more power.

Blades can come in different # of ply ranging from 1-9.

For those of you who don't know what ply means, it is basically the layers of wood.

eg. 5 ply = 5 layers/sheets of wood

The general rule of thumb for blades is that:

Less Ply (<5) = more flexible = more spin/less speed = good for looping

A more flexible blade increases the trampoline effect that promotes spin.

More ply (7+) = more stiff = more speed/less spin = good for driving/blocking

A stiffer blade increases the speed of the ball for driving shots.

Aside from looking at the number of ply. The thickness of a blade also affects how it plays.

Thin blades ( <6mm ) are good for spin/looping

Medium blades ( 6-7mm ) are good for driving

Thick blades ( 7+mm ) are good for blocking

SUMMARY

All-round

For an all-round play style, you should go for blades with medium ply (5) and medium thickness (6-7mm) weighing at 80-85g.

Check out our selection of all-round blades here [ Shakehand | Penhold ]

Attacking

For an attacking play style, you should go for blades with more ply (7+) and medium thickness (6-7mm) weighing at 90-95g.

Check out our selection of attacking blades here [ Shakehand | Penhold ]

Defensive

For a defensive play style, you should go for thin blades (<6mm) with less ply (<5) weighing at 75-80g.

Check out our selection of defensive blades here

Once you have chosen your blade, you are ready to move on to the next step which is to choose a rubber.

Read our guide on how to choose a rubber here

Beginners Guide to Choosing a Table Tennis Racket

2018-06-27T10:35:00-07:00

If you are new to table tennis and are looking to buy a racket then keep on reading!

When buying sports equipment, it is important to make sure that you get the right gear that is suitable for your level. This will maximize your performance while keeping costs at a minimum.

There are 5 main components of a table tennis racket that you should consider. These components are the blade, handle, grip, sponge, and rubber.

Each component of the racket shown above come in many different varieties, allowing players to customize a racket to their liking.

Since this guide is intended for beginners, we will keep things simple. We will look at your level of play, and the grip style you prefer.

Grip Style

There are 2 main grip styles in table tennis, shakehand and penhold.

There are two versions of the penhold grip style: Chinese and Japanese.

Chinese penhold has a flatter handle compared to the bulkier Japanese penhold. The shape of Chinese penhold blades are more rounded compared to the Japanese penhold blades which are more square shaped and are slightly larger.

Both the shakehand and penhold grips have their own advantages and disadvantages. Both styles are used by professional players so it is best to try both styles to see which one suits you best.

Pre-assembled Rackets

Table tennis rackets can be customized or they can come pre-assembled. For beginners, it is best to go with the pre-assembled rackets as you won't need anything specific when you are starting out.

Pre-assembled rackets are as the name suggests, pre-assembled and ready for play out of the box. These rackets range from $20 to $100+. This type of racket is not only suitable for beginners as there are selections for intermediate and advanced players as well.

Pre-assembled rackets will save time as you won't need to choose between the different types of rubber and blades. You also won't need to spend any time assembling the racket as it is already done for you!

You will also save money as pre-assembled rackets are generally more affordable.

At Yumo, we carry few types of pre-assembled rackets from Butterfly, Stiga, Donic and DHS [double happiness]

Recreational

The recreational rackets are more for the beginner-intermediate level players while the Pro-line is intended for advanced players.

Check out our selection of Recreational Rackets here!

Pro-line

The pro-line rackets are selections of Butterfly's best selling blade and rubber combinations that are used by their sponsored players. They are already assembled and are offered at a discounted price as opposed to if you were to buy the parts separately.

Check out our selection of Pro-line Rackets here!

Customized Rackets

For advanced players who are looking for rackets that suit their specific needs, they will need to customize their racket.

In addition to Butterfly, we also carry DHS table tennis that are available in pre-assembled and customized form.

Check out our selection of Table Tennis Blades here!

Check out our selection of Table Tennis Rubbers here!

To read more on this topic you can check out our other blog posts that talks specifically about the different types of blades and rubbers.

Choosing a Table Tennis Blade

Choosing a Table Tennis Rubber

Table Tennis guide of Grip

2015-05-07T15:33:00-07:00

Ping pong is an amazing sport that requires precise hand-eye coordination and quick reflexes. It takes skill to hit the ball and even more skill to hit the ball on the table. Basic skills to know are being able to serve the ball and being able to hit the ball on the other side of the net. This guide starts from the very beginning and teaches newcomers to ping pong on how to hold a ping pong paddle properly. It is important that beginners start with learning this because it gets more difficult to get used to a different grip as they become more skilled to the sport. So it is better to start off with a proper grip. Let's get started!

Things needed:
-A ping pong paddle
-Yourself

Shakehand Table Tennis Grip

The shakehands grip is when the racket is held as if the player is performing a handshake. The shakehands grip is very popular among western players. This is why it is also referred to as the western grip.

The shakehands grip is very simple to learn, it allows easy flexibility of the racket and very good for players that attack from both side. The shakehand grip has its own table tennis blade specifically made for that kind of grip.

To learn the shakehands grip is very easy, just follow these simple steps.

1. Give your racket a handshake by the handle and extend your index finger.

2. Your thumb should be along the bottom of the blade and your index finger at the other side of the blade.

3. The blade is held between the thumb and index finger while the remaining three fingers should be around the racket handle.

4. When playing a backhand stroke or serve, use the thumb finger as support and if you are playing a forehand stroke or serve use the index finger as support.

5. The middle fingers which are wrapped around the handle of the racket are used to carry the weight of the racket.

Having very good control over the racket due to your firm grip, giving better natural consistency

Players using the shakehands grip always have what is called a crossover point or area of indecision; this is when the ball cannot be struck easily by either forehand or backhand but this rarely happens in a game and can always be handled.

Table Tennis Penhold Grip

The penhold grip is common among the Asian table tennis players. It is a grip pattern that the racket is held as if one is holding a writing pen.

Unlike the shakehands grip, the penhold grip involve holding the racket like a pen by using the thumb and the index finger to hold the racket handle and the remaining three fingers are curl around the back of the racket.

There are two types of penhold grip; these are Chinese penhold grip and the Korean penhold grip. What is the difference between the Chinese penhold grip and the Korean penhold grip? Let’s find out....

The Japanese penhold grip

The Japanese Penhold handle is a type of Penhold handle with an added cork block for a slightly different grip. This block gives some added stability at the expense of reduced wrist flexibility.

The Chinese penhold grip

A round racket blade is used for the Chinese penhold grip and it involves the use of the thumb and index finger to hold the racket like holding a pen, but unlike the Korean penhold grip, the remaining three fingers are curl around the back touching each other.

The difference between the Korean and Chinese penhold grip is the type of racket and the way the racket is held. In the Korean grip the remaining three fingers are curled around the back of the racket without touching each other while in the Chinese grip the remaining three fingers are curled around the back of the racket but touching each other.