Are you a real table tennis player? That's a question we ask ourselves sometimes. But what does it mean - does it mean you have a certain playing style, or a TT philosophy you adhere to? Do all real players of the sport see table tennis the same way? I hope not, and in this post I hope to offer some individual insights into the sport.
To begin with, not many understand that Table tennis (TT) is a sport almost unique in its fiercely independent, ponderous and solitary nature. Who is able to gauge the perplexing spin of the ball on contact or advise you on the next tactical micrometre adjustment needed, except yourself? Every athlete engages with their cohort in unique ways, no matter the sport. But why is it in the world of competitive table tennis, you tend to see individuals spending more time engaged in intellectual discussion about the game before any idle, social conversation like you see in pursuits like, say, pickleball? It has to do with the lone combat nature of the sport. But because full understanding can only come from the feel of one’s own racket, long-drawn practice sessions with myriad strangers can make one's body feel like a dilapidated house assaulted by countless tiny wrecking balls. It is as if no repairman will come to do maintenance. The importance of having a TT soulmate thus cannot be exaggerated; without one, giving up on this already fundamentally difficult sport from attrition becomes likely. But being TT soulmates is predicated on there being energy transfer - or energy flow - between two people, a rare occurrence indeed.
There's a difference in how team sport athletes bake rapport-building into their schedules when compared to the solitary nature of TT players. When the ping pong ball barriers are cleared to an empty court, all that's left is you and a yearning for the next personal killer stroke against a worthy opponent, or the yearning for an opportunity to fix some technical issue, which only your TT soulmate will know how better than you.
Idiosyncratic playing styles and the space for personal creativity are precisely what make table tennis the amazing sport it is. Table Tennis techniques are prohibitive rather than prescriptive, additive rather than subtractive. That makes TT a sport of freedom rather than of rules - the only rules are those of physics. The synergistic requirements of team sports mean they are more deeply fostering of social bonds while too detracting from the spirit of individual freedom.
We should not neglect the fact that mixed doubles is such a great way of socializing with the opposite gender that in just a little more than 60 years since the invention of TT doubles, it became - and continues to be - a highlight of the Olympics. The addition of two females to what is essentially a leisurely combat sport brings to the court a different kind of levity and energy. While table tennis can be very sociable in this way, there is a rub: any really good mixed doubles is predicated on there being two mixed pairs, both possessing great chemistry, existing in the first place, something which cannot be too common in this age of all-out violence in table tennis style.
About formats. Although it's wrong to say Doubles is not real table tennis... that sentiment is so often true. It was invented for females, and it became a fun way for beginners to train with the experts and coaches. Its belated inclusion in major international competitions was the result of the need for variety, to extend the TV runtime for more ad revenue, and a desire for audiences to see top male and female seeds compete together. Male and Female Doubles events are basically toilet / canteen breaks when the stadium empties out, except when there is Ma Long and Xu Xin playing together.
It's no cheap sport. Racket price really means quality, and roughly every 12% improvement means a doubling of price. You might rate a $40 racket a passing 50/100, based on criteria like power, control and spin etc. Buying a racket that is twice that price will not double the score, in fact, a score of 60 would be more realistic. A good % to keep in mind when upgrading your bat is 12% - for every 100% increase in price, you should expect that amount of improvement in racket quality, not significantly more or less. I used several pre-made rackets and four fairly priced (semi-) professional blades (including Victas Koki Niwa ZC) for my calculations, as well as five criteria including raw power, tactical power, tactical control, maneuverability and fun/thrill factor, to provide the following illustration of this principle (Acceptable Price: Evaluation score):
$25: < 50%
$50: 57% max
$80: 62% max
$150: 68-70%
$200: approx. 72%
$300: approx. 77%
$400: approx. 82%
$800: > 90%
Weight doesn't really matter, but height does. Racket weight really doesn't matter as long as it feels good in your hand, and it can be wielded as though it were in the process of becoming a part of one's anatomy. They say 183 g is too light? An outdated opinion. I have used (about 8) pimple-in rackets ranging from 176 g and 207 g, and depending on racket materiality and varying user muscle power, they can all work well for the main playing styles. Conversely height really does matter in the modern game, assuming table heights remain the way they are currently optimized for medium statures. A giant is going to be practically defenseless against a fast and arcing low ball to the body, or the next ball, while midgets stand little chance of achieving decisive scorelines against very speedy pro opponents, seeing they are doomed by nature to continuous running and defeat by tiredness.
