Of Table Tennis and Table Tennis Paddles
Table tennis stands strong in being one of the most popular of sports in the world today. Owing much of this popularity from the standard tennis game, table tennis is basically a scaled down version of a standard tennis game, similar in premise and concept, different only in particular rules and gameplay value.
Where in tennis the value of stamina, speed and ball control is quite essential, in table tennis, considering that the playing area is smaller, these values of speed, ball control, as well as endurance stamina are put through more a more rigorous test, requiring players to consider the size of the playing field, controlling their speed and their strength. With table tennis, ball control is of particular importance.
The origins of table tennis dates back to 1880 in Europe, when Victorians of the day would play table tennis games as a form of after dinner entertainment. The popularity of the game paved for the development of table tennis gear, of which table tennis paddles would be one of.
Before the discovery of utilizing novelty celluloid balls in a table tennis game, table tennis paddles were designed similarly to that of a regular tennis racket. A piece of parchment would be stretched over a frame, completing the basic construction of a table tennis paddle. When celluloid, gas-filled, balls became the standard in table tennis game, more solid table tennis paddles were developed, ideally complementing the new table tennis ball being used in table tennis games.
Table tennis paddles are basically paddle shaped items, comprising of a handle, and an area wide enough to hit a table tennis ball with. Table tennis paddles are generally made out of wood, which is then covered with a piece, or pieces of rubber on either one or both sides, depending on a table tennis player's preference.
There are a number of classes of rubber which are put on table tennis paddles. These classes of rubber define the type of table tennis paddle one uses on a table tennis game. There is the Inverted, non-Chinese rubber variety, the Inverted, Chinese rubber variety, the Short Pimpled rubber variety, the Long Pimpled rubber variety, as well as the Anti-spin rubber variety.
Each of these rubber varieties affect the way a table tennis paddle handles a table tennis ball's spin, facilitating a table tennis player's performance in a table tennis game event. For example the anti-spin rubber variety makes for table tennis paddles which don't generate much spin, but allows table tennis players to go for no-spin balls.
All in all, it is the table tennis player who defines the ideal table tennis paddle for him/her to use during the course of a table tennis game.
