Introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Mixed Doubles is one of the most exciting tournaments in the table tennis calendar. It’s a rare opportunity to see the top male and female players competing together in teams to bring Olympic medals back to their countries. The mixed doubles event was considered by many (ourselves included) to be the best event this past Olympics, and chances are that it’ll be just as good, if not better, this time around in Paris.  Japan will be looking to defend its title, China is thirsty for revenge, and the other countries are more than ready to challenge them ..read more

The men’s singles event competition is a make-or-break tournament for the best table tennis players in the circuit.  Ma Long is considered the greatest player of all time, primarily because he’s the only player who has won two men’s singles events at the Olympics. In contrast, Wang Hao will always be remembered as the player who lost 3 Olympic finals in a row.  Such is the importance of the Olympics. Being an Olympic singles medallist is what separates great players from legends. We’ll cover the structure, schedule, and stats of the men’s singles event, historically, and for the upco ..read more

The women’s team event at the Olympics is the most important women’s international team competition in table tennis, alongside the World Team Table Tennis championships held every 2 years.  Normally a highly individual sport, this is a rare occasion that we get to see the best table tennis players represent their country as a team.  In this exciting team competition, we’ll see the best players in the world clash against each other to attain the most important prize an athlete could ever dream of: Olympic gold. We’ll cover everything you need to know about the structure, schedule, and ..read more

The men’s team event at the Olympics is one of the most exciting and high quality events table tennis has to offer. Normally a highly individual sport, this is a rare occasion that we get to see the best table tennis players represent their country as a team.  The format of the event is 3v3, so every nation that qualifies can only pick 3 players to represent their country. This makes for a very interesting dynamic, as the choice of players can mean the difference between winning and losing.  Everything you need to know about the men’s team event is in this article. We’ll go over the ..read more

Just 12 months ago, I was a fourth-division provincial player. After 500+ hours of applying the tips I’ll share with you now, I have risen to the second division. That puts me just a step below all the professional players and national team members here in Argentina. In these past 2-3 years, I’ve progressed from a lower intermediate player to now playing at an advanced level. Every year, my improvement rate has accelerated as I learned more about the sport and gained more momentum. If you want to speed up the pace of your improvement, this is the article to read. There is no doubt in my mind t ..read more

Having played table tennis for over 20 years, and coached hundreds of people just starting their table tennis journey, I can safely say that having the right racket makes a huge difference. The amounts of spin and speed you can put on the ball are fundamentally limited by the paddle you’re using. However, you don’t want to use the most expensive racket, or most powerful racket, when starting out or playing casual games with friends.  You need a racket that balances grip, power, and price.  Fortunately, I’ve tested a load of premade rackets so let me point you in the right direction ..read more

You may have heard players discuss how “grippy” or “tacky” their racket is. They’re common terms used when comparing rubbers, and the concepts are fundamental to table tennis. When designing a table tennis rubber, researchers are aiming to achieve the desired level of kinetic energy when the ball hits the rubber (speed), in balance with the coefficient of friction to get the spin and “purchase” desired on the ball. That friction comes from either tackiness, or grip. In this article we’re going to explain the difference between grippy and tacky rubbers, and how that’s experienced across 5 diffe ..read more

Released in 2017, Butterfly’s Rozena is one of the most popular table tennis rubbers currently in production. The Butterfly Rozena is a special rubber and one that I like a lot. It’s not as expensive as most of the other Butterfly rubbers, but it’s still close when it comes to performance.  Butterfly is a brand that’s known for its cutting-edge equipment. Professional players always choose Butterfly blades and rubbers as they’re known for being arguably the best you can get. However, because Butterfly put their efforts into developing the fastest and spinniest rubbers, they never released ..read more

Most table tennis players are afraid of encountering opponents who use pimpled rubbers. The game changes dramatically compared to the common ‘inverted’ rubbers used by most players. Not only do you need to identify which side of the racket has pimples, but you also need to figure out what kind of pimples are being used. Only then can you have a gameplan. If you’re thinking of using pimples yourself, they also require dramatically different techniques to make the most of their powers. Learning this can be quite challenging. As short pips and long pips are very different, we wanted to share a be ..read more

First introduced in 1967, Butterfly’s Sriver rubber has been used by players to win 20 World & 70 European titles. However, this was done in an era where table tennis was played with a 38mm celluloid ball. Many players would therefore consider the Sriver ‘outdated’, especially as Butterfly have released many new rubbers since 1967. Surely they’ve improved on their rubber design with the Tenergy, Dignics, and Glayzer rubbers? I first picked up this rubber in 2005, and I’ve come to love how it behaves for my playing style. Let me share my experiences, and help guide you to understand if Sriv ..read more