Table Tennis - Equipment
The Table may be the main equipment required for playing ping-pong, but that is not the only thing required. Players need a racquet or paddle and a ping-pong ball as well to go with the game.
Racquet / Paddle
The term keeps changing depending on the country where it is played. As for Britain, it is bat; in the USA, it is called a paddle. The term followed by ITTF is racquet.
The racquet is laminated and covered with rubber on either side or on both the sides depending on the player. The player based on his/her grip decides whether they need the rubber on either or on both sides.
The handle of the racquet is called blade. This blade could be made of many different materials varying from glass fiber, cork, carbon fiber, Kevlar to aluminum fiber. But ITTF recommends that at least 85% of the paddle has to be made of wood. Woods to be used are cypress and Korina. The bat is usually is 6 inches (15 cm) wide and 6.5 inches (17 cm) long.
Ball
The accuracy of the ball is determined by bouncing it on a flat uniform surface from a height of 12 inches. If the ball bounces for about 9.4-10.2 inches, then that particular ball is perfect for play.
ITTF has set certain rules for the ball’s dimension and weight. A ball of 40 millimeters in diameter and as light as 2.7 grams should only be used to play table tennis.
Usually the balls are manufactured in either white or yellow color. The color might vary depending on the color of table as well as surroundings. The ball is made of plastic only and it should be ITTF approved. Ball quality is displayed by manufacturers with star mark ranging from one to three, three being the highest.
