Ping Pong, also known as Table Tennis, is a very popular sport in which two or four players can participate in. These players are supposed to hit the lightweight ball with their paddles (also known as small rackets) to one another until one of the players gets a bad touch or misses the ball altogether. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a small white net. Even though it is not on the same level as soccer or basketball, Ping-Pong is still a very important sport that has its own championship going on since 1926. The World Table Tennis Championships are still being held today biennially.
The main reason as to why this relatively easy-going sport is so popular nowadays is the fact that it falls in the simple category of sports known as “Easy to understand, hard to master” sports. Anyone can pick up a Ping Pong paddle and start slapping the ball away, but becoming a professional requires just as much training and talent as you’d need from a professional soccer player.
So, now that we’ve established exactly what Ping Pong is and why it is so popular nowadays, how about we get to the real meat of the topic over here, aka the paddles. A lot of people would consider paddles to be rather simplistic and overall basic, but what they don’t realize is the fact that these small rackets are more significant than they think.
So, first and foremost, let’s address the first argument of this article, the quality. You will never see a professional like Timo Boll, Fan Zhendong or Xu Xin use anything but the best paddle out there during their matches and that’s a fact. If you’re a newcomer in the world of Ping Pong then you might fall under the impression that they’re all the same, but you’d be wrong. Thinking that they’re all the same is like saying that the black and red sides are the same. Simply put, you’re wrong. In the example we offered there the black side causes the ball to spin a lot less than the red side. This is why you’ll see so many pros flip the paddle every now and then depending on the hit they want to get. The same goes for the quality of the paddle.
Another reason as to why the paddle is so important for the player is the fact that it must suit your play-style. Some paddles are heavier while others have more dimples to make sure that they create a smoother surface against which the ball can bounce better. It all depends on what you’re going for. If you’re going for power and speed over accuracy then you’ll definitely want a harder and heavier paddle to make sure that your hits are unstoppable, but if you wish to be more versatile and flexible with it you should go for a smoother and lighter paddle.
This takes time and experience, but if you take your time and test them out you should be able to find the perfect one for you. Alternatively, you can also progress alongside the paddle. There are plenty of pros out there that have been using the same paddle for a long time now. A lot of people would probably consider this to be a handicap, after all, they are using an older version that has had to withstand the test of time, but alas, these pros are just as good with them as they’d be with a new and improved paddle, if not better.
But if you want to start with the best in mind you can always just have one custom made. Again, this takes a lot of experience since making a custom one is not as simple as it sounds. You need to know what you want and what you need, you need to separate fiction from reality, find your strong suits and work off of them. You won’t be able to get one to begin with, but what you can do is go for an already high quality paddle that you can rely on at any time whatsoever.
This is where we come in. We know how hard it is to get used to a new paddle, but we can assure you that you will have no problem with getting used to this one that we have provided for you. It is both simple to use and effective. In most cases the paddle is just as important as the player’s skill. And besides, you need to check as many out as you can before you realize which one’s the best for you, so you literally have nothing to lose. Thank you for reading and good luck “paddling”!