Over the years, I have heard many disgruntled table tennis players mutter these words “pimples should be banned”. I hear this mostly from players starting their competitive journey, having just suffered an incomprehensible defeat at the hands of a pimple player. I’m going to look at both sides of the argument, before giving my verdict. Keep reading
So you want to buy a table tennis table? It’s not an easy decision. There’s a lot of choice available. In this blog post, I share advice about how you can tell a good quality table from a poor one, which brands are best, how much you should spend and where you can buy. I also give specific recommendations on which table tennis tables to buy for your home, club and school. Keep reading
Many right-handed players do not enjoy playing left-handed players. It shouldn’t really feel that different. A left-handed player has a backhand and a forehand, just like a right-handed player. But somehow it does feel different. I actually enjoy playing left-handed players and have a decent record against them. My best tournament win to date was against a left-hander. There’s a few simple tactics I have developed over the years which tend to work well. Keep reading
Buying table tennis balls should be an easy task. But alas not! There are loads of different types of ball available – competition balls, training balls and cheap ‘just for fun’ balls. Some balls are made of celluloid. Other balls are made of non-flammable plastic. So which are the best balls to buy? In this blog post, I’ll give my views of a variety of different balls and give specific recommendations on the best competition and training balls you can buy. I also give recommendations on which balls to buy for casual play. Keep reading
Buying a decent table tennis bat for your child can make a big difference to how he/she plays and improves. A lot of kids start out playing at school or at home with very cheap bats. These bats are fine if playing for a little bit of fun, but are not so good for developing good technique. In this blog post, I give some advice about which table tennis bats are best for junior players (beginners, intermediates and advanced).
Keep reading
Over the past few weeks I have been testing out the JOOLA Proline One blade. This is the successor to the very popular JOOLA Rossi Emotion Blade. It has a 7-ply construction with inner 3K-c carbon and a hinoki outer layer, JOOLA describe the blade as having a softer feel for good control in the … Keep reading
Many of us have contemplated switching to a radically different style, but are often deterred by the question “what if?” What if I change style and start doing worse? Maybe this fear is misplaced. We can find a really good recent example of this in the professional game. Sabine Winter is a two times German national singles champion, who has recently changed playing styles and is having lots of success. Keep reading
In June 2025, I spent a week training at French club GV Hennebont. The training was intense but it was a great experience. In this review I’m going to tell you more about the club, the facilities, the training, the quality of coaching and the cost. There is also some video footage of my time at GV Hennebont. Keep reading
The most common serve in table tennis is a backspin serve, or backspin with some sidespin. The reason is simple. A backspin serve is harder to attack. Many players are not confident with flicks over the table, or even loops from behind the table. As the receiver, how can you return backspin serves more effectively? Keep reading
Having access to a table tennis coach is undoubtedly useful. You will improve quicker and a coach can help you solve any problems you are having with your game. But it’s not absolutely essential. You can still improve a lot without having any personal coaching at all. Here’s a few things you can do… Keep reading