What equipment do you need for table tennis -Table tennis equipment
Table tennis is a kind of sport that is played with a paddle and ball, which might be made of plastic. Except these two equipments a table tennis table and a net, which is set horizontally along the width of the table is also needed to play table tennis. So overall, if you ask me what equipments are required for table tennis, I would say paddle, ball, table, and net.
These four types of equipment are mandatory if you are going to play table tennis. I always emphasize one thing: as a new player before playing, you should have a basic knowledge about the game. This basic knowledge includes ideas about the playing table dimensions, rules of the game, equipment that are needed to play the game, etc. I’m writing this article for you guys to inform you about the equipment needed to play table tennis.
What equipment do you need for table tennis
Table tennis equipment
Paddle: This is the equipment that is used to make shots and score points in table tennis. Paddles are also known table tennis racquet. As table tennis is a kind of indoor version of outdoor tennis, so you can also call the paddle as racquet. The shape of these paddles is very much similar to tennis racquets. But the difference occurs regarding the size of the paddles.
As table tennis is a shorter version or indoor version of outdoor tennis played on clay or grass court, the paddles used here are shorter in size. The materials used to make the paddles and the design is also not similar to tennis racquets. These paddles are typically made of wood and rubber. A table tennis paddle has two parts, blade and handle.
The blade should be made of high-quality wood and the size, weight, and design depend on the comfort of the player. One thing a player should keep in mind is that the blade must be flat and rigid, which helps provide perfect shots on the table. Different kinds of coloring rubbers are used over the blade to provide spin in the shots.
Low-quality rubbers like pimpled rubbers are made of one layer of non-cellular rubber. There are also such rubbers that are made of cellular rubber, which are known as sandwich rubber. The most used rubber on the blade of the paddle is smooth rubber, which offers great spin and speed to the shots. You can buy readymade table tennis racquets and also customized racquets. Readymade paddles are highly recommended for the beginners of this game.
Balls: To play table tennis you need important equipment that is table tennis balls. The ball typically should be white or yellow in color. You can also use different colors of balls depending on the color of the table surface. But most of the tables are dark in color, so the balls used in table tennis are also lighter in color, mostly used white or yellow and orange. These balls are made of celluloid or similar kind of plastic materials.
A table tennis ball weighs around 2.7 grams and the diameter of the ball is 40 m. In past the diameter of these balls was 38 mm. But recently the diameter has raised and a bit larger balls are used to play table tennis. In place of celluloid balls, plastic balls are mostly used now. But all the table tennis balls are not the same. There are different types of balls made for a table tennis game.
Balls that are made for recreational table tennis games are different from the balls that are made for professional level. Again, there are balls that are used for practice sessions. Well for the competitive games there are three types of balls, one-star balls, two-star balls and three-star balls. Three-star balls are the highest quality balls, and the International Table tennis Federation approves these balls.
Table: The platform where the player makes shots through hitting the ball with the paddle in hand. A table tennis table is rectangular in shape. The table’s size is 9 feet or 2.74 meters in length and 5 feet or 1.525 meters in width. So a table tennis table is 9 feet by 5 feet in measurement.
The surface of the table is kept 30 inches or 0.76 meters above the ground. The tables are made of hardboard and the surface needs to be smoother enough to provide less friction. This will allow the player to make possibly the best shots with more comfort. The color of the surface is naturally dark. Colors like black, blue, or green are used on the surface of the table.
Net: Fourth and the last fundamental equipment that is needed to play a table tennis game is net. This is the equipment that divides the table into two equal halves. The net is set up 15.25 cm above the playing surface. For a better experience, you should tighten the net strongly with the help of the cord so that it doesn’t hamper the game later on.
The net must be six feet long and six inches wide and should have an upper white color upper tape, which will be no more than 15 mm wide. Some high-quality nets offer you an adjustable height option. If you want to spend a bit more on the net, then you can look for those nets.
So these are the equipment that is needed to play table tennis. Hopefully, you enjoyed reading this article and have got some important information regarding the equipment of table tennis.