ping pong Paddle

Hi everyone,

I'm a recreational ping pong player, and I've been thinking about customizing my paddle to better suit my playing style. I've heard that changing the rubber, blade, or handle can have a big impact on how a paddle performs, but I'm not sure if it's worth the investment on these. https://pingpongacademy.org/best-ping-pong-paddles/

Have any of you customized your paddle before? Did you notice a significant improvement in your game? What changes did you make, and why?

Also, I'm curious about the different types of rubber and blades that are available. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each, and how do you choose the right ones for your playing style?

Finally, for those of you who have played with custom paddles, do you think it gives you an edge over players who use off-the-shelf paddles? Or is it more of a personal preference?

Hi! It's so nice to see some table tennis chat here so will try and answer your questions as best as I can.

Starting out most players will probably buy an entry-level pre-made bat from a sports shop and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that but if you really want to take the sport seriously and improve your game you've made the right call looking into getting some new rubber. For now the blade you have will probably be perfectly fine and the real difference will come in playing with rubber that can really effect the spin you'll be able to impart on the ball. The cheaper rubbers on pre-made entry level bats are often described as 'dead' and you'll tend to need to hit through the ball rather than being able to 'brush' the ball with topspin. There's very little sponge behind the rubber layer and the bat can't grip the ball. You'll almost always end up flat-hitting and struggle to lift backspin over the net when attacking - even simple blocking against your opponent's attacks/topspin where you would normally just let the ball hit off the bat without much arm movement will end up in the net because the rubber isn't as reactive. Most pre-made bat rubbers I've come across quickly lose their grip and degrade over time too.

I'm assuming you're a conventional attacking player with an offensive playing style - the world of defensive rubbers (short/long pips, anti-spin and anti-loop) opens up a can of worms best kept closed for now!

Having played table tennis for many years to a half-decent junior level and then returning to the game in my late twenties I've never gone anywhere near the extremely expensive carbon blades and fast rubbers and would advise that for someone looking for a decent recreational blade to stay well away from them too - plenty of professionals stick to slower more controlled blades/rubber too - it's your shots that will be doing most of the work!

I'd say if you're developing your strokes and really want to improve your level and master the basics stick to an 'allround' blade (ALL) for now - which your pre-made bat probably is closer too anyway. As for rubbers there's literally thousands to choose from all varying in quality, price and characteristics - I've always been perplexed by the sheer amount on the market and have stuck to the same rubbers for years (it's your own technique and practice that will make you a better player - not how expensive your bat is!) All the ratings/stats and marketing jargon go way over my head - as long as it's not fast rubber and it's from a decent brand you should be fine.

It used to be the go to rubbers for beginners that will give you the ability to generate spin and still control the ball was Butterfly's Sriver and Yasaka Mark V - having a quick look on some forums that still seems to be the case but the prices have increased a fair bit since I last played with Sriver over 10 years ago. An alternative to the European/Japanese rubbers that most players tend to go with has been Chinese rubbers which are usually quite a bit cheaper but just as good if slightly different in their properties (I won't go into all this here as I realise this reply is already quite long). I've heard good things about Friendship 729FX (another very widely used classic beginners rubber) that's also much cheaper and well worth giving a go for the price.

All you then need is some water-based table tennis glue/chack and a sharp pair of scissors to cut the rubber sheets and you're ready to go!

The biggest edge you will get from investing in decent rubber is the spin you will be able to generate as well as being able to play the basic shots properly that you can then develop and work on with practice. Hope these suggestions help!

All I can add is if you really enjoy playing and are serious about improving look for a local club and start from there.

Here's a couple of table tennis channels offering some great advice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts15JPS1K-w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYBOo8vOSVw

https://www.youtube.com/@TableTennisDaily
https://www.youtube.com/@TomLodziak

How do you hold the bat?