Tips for Choosing a TT Bat. Professional Paddles, £43 - £116 If you want to play like the Pro's then you need to use what the Pro's use. Most professionals purchase a single blade (and use it for a number of years), but change each side of rubber after about 50 hours of play. Speed glue is another important component if you want maximum speed and spin. Club Paddles, £17.50 - £43 The main distinctions between club and professional paddles are speed, spin, and control. Pro paddles allow for wicked spins and curves, while club paddles help keep the ball in play with control rubber and are less expensive. Paddles in this category are usually prefabricated and have the same rubber on both sides. Home Paddles £2.9-£17.40 If you know the kids are going to use the paddles for wacking more than ping-pong balls you might want to go with the cheapest and most inexpensive paddles on the market. Some of these paddles are made of plastic, while others have same colour rubber on both sides.
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TABLE-TENNIS RUBBERS
Which Paddles to choose: Butterfly SRIVERButterfly SRIVER-EL or Butterfly SRIVER-FX Rubbers ? Butterfly Sriver Table tennis rubber and its variations have long been the best selling rubbers. The original Sriver has a medium hard sponge and offers great all-round performance. With the advent of speed gluing, FX was introduced with a softer sponge witch works well with the speed glue. Recently, many of the professional players expressed a desire for a Sriver product with the power of the original Sriver and the speed gluing properties of FX. Thus, Sriver EL was born. All three Sriver products have the same top sheet the difference is in the sponges.
Tip: Watch top players to raise your own level of play.One of the best ways to improve your shots is get a good visual image of what your shots should look like just before playing. So, one of the best ways to get these shots really going is to watch a top player executing these shots just before you play. You can do this live (if players are available) or watch a videotape. Alternatively, you might get a tape of yourself playing at your best (you might have to do a number of tapes to get this!), and watch that just before playing. You'll be surprised at how much it might help. (Many players learn to do this without a tape, by mental visualization.)
TABLE-TENNIS SERVING TIPS
How to return serves short?
At the highest levels, the most common return of a short serve is a short push, even against a sidespin serve. At the lower levels, most players just push them deep, giving opponents the chance to loop. If you develop a short push, especially against backspin serves, you will disarm your opponents, and probably get pushed returns that you can loop. The problem with returning serves short is that if you misread the serve even a little bit, you will make many mistakes and give the opponent a lot of easy pop-ups.See more serving tips
Tip: How to serve a long ball? • There is a particularly good pattern for serving long to most players. Try these two combos:
• Serve long to the wide backhand, and following with an aggressive shot right back at the wide backhand;
• Serve long to the middle (opponent's playing elbow), and follow with an aggressive shot right back at the middle.
• In both cases the opponent will often be caught moving back into position after the first return, and will be going the wrong way when you make an aggressive shot right back to the same spot.
• When serving to the wide backhand, it helps if you can serve a sidespin serve that breaks into the opponent's wide backhand.
SPEED GLUE TIPS
To Speed Glue or Not to Speed Glue? That is the question! Speed glue is not for everyone. If you are just getting started or consider yourself to be a beginner, you should hold off on the idea of speed gluing for now. At What Level Should I Try It? Since virtually all of the world's top players use speed glue, we recommend that once you have developed a consistent all round or offensive game, it is worth trying.
Strategies against all opponents: If opponents have a strong forehand, their backhand is probably weak. If opponents have a strong backhand their forehand is likely ineffective. If opponents have a strong overall attack, their defence may be weak. Opponents with a strong defensive posture likely cannot attack well.
If opponents have poor footwork they are weak outside of their forehand and backhand power zones
Key Points: Gain info about your opponent before you play Draw a strategy before you play and stuck to it.
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Professional Paddles, £43 - £116
