![]() ![]() They have extremely strict requirements about the kind of plastic, the size, and the roundness of the ball. As of January 2014, the ITTF officially made the switch to a plastic compound. ![]() Table Tennis balls used to be made of a celluloid material. However, if you really want to talk like a Table Tennis pro, you can call it a "bat." What is a ping-pong ball made of? A piece of sporting equipment is only a racket (or racquet) if it has strings (i.e. TODAY Illustration / Getty Images Is it called a racket or a paddle? If you have a kid at home who loves to play ping-pong, some high-level table tennis equipment makes for a great gift: Butterfly is a great brand for all things Table Tennis. This prevents slipping and ankle injuries when performing the quick directional changes necessary for high-level competitive play. Table tennis athletes also wear special shoes with a unique, rubberized grip underneath the shoe. This reflects the biggest difference between professional and recreational table tennis: It’s not the speed. The rubber surface allows the players to maximize the amount of spin they put on the ball. The biggest difference in the paddles is that professional ones have a layer of thick, sticky, smooth rubber on either side (compared to very thin, often bumpy piece of rubbery plastic that you find on most basement paddles). It can also get quite expensive! The most elite paddles sell for hundreds of dollars. Like any sport, professional table tennis equipment is leagues above the standard recreational fare. ![]() The Table Tennis table used at the London Olympics in 2012 Feng Li / Getty Images Is professional table tennis equipment the same as what you have in your basement? It’s not where you want to be! Much like playing at the net in regular tennis, standing closer to the table is the more offensive, more dominant stance to take. However, it’s a misconception that “the better you are, the further back from the table you stand.” In a professional setting, when a player is far away from the table during a rally, that means they are on the defensive. This is true, and very exciting to watch. The most common association people have with professional table tennis is that the players stand very far back from the table. Why do professional players stand so far back from the table? Olympic Table Tennis begins at the Tokyo Summer Games on July 24 (with the time difference, that's July 23 in the United States) and continues through Aug. He is indisputably one of the best (if not the best) player of all time, earning him the nickname: "The Dragon." He will compete in the 2021 Games in Tokyo where he has the opportunity to become the most decorated Olympic Table Tennis player of all the time. He is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. The reigning Olympic champion is Ma Long of China. ![]()
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