So you've decided to take up table tennis a little more seriously. There is quite a difference between the game played in garages worldwide and the first step towards what at its best is an extremely fast, exciting Olympic sport.

Along with the greater demands on your body, your equipment is also required to do more. Players first starting to carefully study the intricacies of spin and deal with it are best served with a "middle-of -the-road" racket. This is by no means a beginner's racket. In fact the last five World Champions were using rackets that fall into that category.

Many coaches recommend that a player's first competition racket be of medium speed and generate medium spin (which already is by orders of magnitude more than a "garage" racket). After a period of training, when students develop their own identity as players, they will be able to adjust equally far into either direction of the scale. Please discard the notion of a "beginner's racket". Once you've decided that you will be playing seriously, get yourself a racket that will serve you even when you have reached top level. You will learn its characteristics and avoid the sometimes painful adjustment period when you change rackets well into your development. Ultimately, you also spend less money, because you only buy one racket.

There are many possibilities to choose from. From our stock, we recommend
Avalox 555 Blue Thunder blade, and
Avalox Pronte 2.0mm rubber on both sides.

or

Avalox 550 Blue Thunder blade, and
Sterco 2.0mm rubber on both sides.

This type of 5-ply blade is the most commonly used blade. The 1995 World Champion Kong Linghui used an Avalox 5-ply with an anatomic handle exclusively. It is relatively soft and springy and provides good control while allowing plenty of speed. The control is due to a longer dwell time compared to faster blades, while the speed is created by somewhat of a "trampoline effect".

Avalox Pronte rubber ! Since the increase in ball size, players have complained about not being able to put enought spin on the ball. Some products like "G888" and "Hurricane" have offered somewhat of a solution, but always at a price. Those sheets are heavy, and the sponge is very hard, which limits the thouch. Avalox Pronte combines revolutionary German rubber technology with new Japanese sponge design and gives excellent control without compromising speed or spin. The soft sponge lets the ball sink in, which provides the good touch, and the blade's springiness projects it with power.

Our second option features a similar blade - Avalox 550 - and the new AVX STERCO rubber. This combination is lighter and springier than the one above. STERCO is a modern rubber, whose top sheet has been pre-tensed, which dramatically increases the rebound speed. Unlike other top sheets manufactured in China, this one has a grippy, but not tacky surface - more like a typical Japanese rubber. The Japanese sponge has a high restitution factor, maximizing the efficiency of the player's stroke. It makes a very forgiving, yet aggressive combination.

We recommend the same rubber on both sides for several reasons. Firstly, the most common style is built on a top spin game from the forehand and the backhand. Although the mechanics of the strokes are different, contact and targeted trajectory are similar - best achieved with so called "inverted" rubber. Secondly, a player need only learn one set of friction characteristics, since both sides are the same. With the tremendous variety of rubber sheets available, the difference in properties can be huge, each requiring a long learning curve. With only one type of rubber to learn that time can be shortened.

To order, please enter our shopping area, or call

1 800 500-5057 in the U.S.
(USA 626 584-6377 from anywhere else.)

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