In any sport, the way you hold the playing tool would always determine your professionalism in the game. This is what we call mastering the game mechanism. The way a player masters his/her body language toward the tools & techniques defines his/her level of professionalism, accuracy, and potential to achieve the heights of success.
In table tennis, the key to winning the game is the tools with which you hold a ping pong grip. It determines the excellence of your gameplay. Although there are various ping pong grips that are favored by specialists and instructors, and each has its own authenticity & advantages, here we would assist you to choose the best ping pong grip out of the pool of products available in the market.
A buying guide will also tell which specifications you need to consider while buying the best grip in order to achieve the height of comfort & competency in your game.
1 Butterfly Table Tennis / Ping pong Racket Soft Grip Tape:
This grip is famous for easily wrapping around the racket paddle and offers a highly comfortable & sound grip to the player for the best strokes.
With an amazing rating of 4.6 out of a total of 187 reviews, the grip is highly trustworthy to purchase.
Most of the buyers are of the view that while using other grips, the players had complained of sweaty hands causing them to slip off from their hands. Sometimes, too dry hands also cause the racket to fall off the hands of players. Using the butterfly table tennis grip, the pro players mentioned that they did not feel the need to worry about holding the paddle strongly. The soft table wrapped around the paddle made it so comfortable and lighter to hold the racket & which increased their focus on the ball rather than on the racket.
Specifications:
- Weight: 18.14 Grams
- Brand: Butterfly
- Size: 19.75x 0.13 x 1 Inches
- Ideally lighter grip for both sweaty & dry hands.
- Helps the player focus on the game rather than the tools
- Enhance the thickness of the racket paddle.
- Soft material enables the player to wholly control the racket without any supplementary power.
- No disadvantages found yet
Conclusion:
The softness and the grip-friendly material of this ping pong paddle grip had massively helped the table tennis players achieve their scores in the competition.
Also, the price is highly reasonable that not even professionals, but also beginners can afford to buy them.
2 Table Tennis Paddle Grip for Oculus Quest 2 with Touch controllers:
Table Tennis Paddle Grip is one of the most practical & user-friendly ping pong grips available on the market. The best thing about the grip is, that both right and left-hand players can use it for professional purposes. You Can also check the Best Table Tennis Net.
The protection provides to the player for the quest 2 controller is out of the world. Also, the design is extremely safe and handy to use and you can install and remove it very easily. Furthermore, the grip is very easy to fit into the hand and remove at the same time. Some users might find it a bit tricky to install it but reading the manual carefully would serve the purpose.
The user manual is included in the package with step-by-step guidelines that everyone can easily comprehend.
Last but not the least, it is specially devised for Oculus Quest 2 and its function on the paddle grip is equally good as a real/manual table tennis grip.
Specifications:
- Weight: 100 grams / 3.5 ounces
- Control Type: Touchpad
- Size: 7x5x4 Inches
- Rating: 4.3 out of 5
- Easy to use
- safe
- Needs a practice before getting expertise
Final Words:
Some of the players had mentioned that for a long time to play, this grip would be heavier in weight which might cause your wrist to get tired. It is difficult to position this grip to the hand, however with some practice, you can learn to position the grip according to your hand shape.
3 ProBagel Tennis Racket Grip Tape (Pack of 6,12,30 & 60 pcs)
Another form of ping pong grip widely used by professional players is the ProBagel tennis Racket Grip tape. It comes in different packs of 6 pcs, 12 pcs, 30 pcs & 60 pcs.
Various color options are available online and you can choose the color of your choice. Mixed colors are also available in one pack.
The tape is suitable for professional as well as seasonal players and fits on all types of racquet paddles. Apart from tennis, this ping pong grip can be used for different other games as well including badminton, pickle ball, squash & many more. You Can also check the Best Outdoor & Indoor Ping Pong Tables.
Below are some specifications of the grip tape that I have personally used and experienced. One of the best features of this grip is it can be used for a lot of sports. Ideally for ping pong racquet but others can also benefit from it including Badminton racquets, Squash rackets, Fishing poles & even Walking sticks. Binding the tape on the racket paddle raises the edges of the handle and enhances the grip which ultimately reduces the shock giving a high level of comfort to the player. Apart from this, another add-on is the anti-slip feature which ensures winning batting power and increases life. But wrapping the tape around the paddle would add up some weight making it tiring for the wrist in long plays. It would affect the originality of the racquet which might be a deal-breaker for anyone. The tape might wear out after a few months and would not be easily and completely removed ultimately affecting the racquet’s original quality.
Specifications:
- Size: 3.43 x 2.9 x 2.8 Inches
- Weight: Package of 12 pcs
- Weight: 4 kilograms
- Strong Grip
- Available in many colors
- Multipurpose
- Adds weight to the paddle:
- Effect the originality:
Conclusion:
Based on the above discussion and per my personal experience with these gripping tapes, we can conclude that the advantages are more than the disadvantages. While playing the game, the player should be having ultimate comfort and support which is the primary purpose of this product.
Buying Guideline:
Out of various table tennis grips available in the market, the actual challenge is to choose the right fit for you. The choice varies widely as per players’ demand, body mechanism, and game demand. For example, ping pong racket soft grip tape would be an ideal fit for professionals who have a high level of expertise in the game and require a better grip on the racket. The paddle grip with touch controllers would be the right fit for oculus quest 2 and for the players who want to play VR table tennis. The positioning & controlling techniques play a vital role in this type of grip. Also, check the Best Ping Pong Tables Under $500.
IMPORTANCE OF CHOOSING THE RIGHT GRIP:
Ping pong is a unique game based on the decision of a split second. Without even thinking, the player had to strike the best stroke contemplating the grip. The player must train his/her body to quickly respond in a fraction of a a second. With consistent practice, the right grip & the strokes techniques would help the player deliver the best stroke within a second.
For all these reasons, it is highly important that the player must choose the best gripping tools to suit his/her body language. Once a grip is developed, it will last forever. Hence, if poor gripping tools are used, it will be next to impossible to train your body on a new gripping tool.
While changing the gripping technique, it would be natural for the body to give worse results at the beginning which might demotivate the players and hence establish inadequate habits. Also, check the Best Stiga Ping Pong Paddle.
The right gripping technique would greatly help the player to have complete control and accuracy in the game and ultimately, he/she would attack/defend the competitor in a fraction of second alertness.
TECHNIQUES USED IN PING PONG GRIPS:
There are various techniques of grips used while playing table tennis. Playing table tennis is all about gripping the handle and the technique used by the player. Out of various techniques, the most commonly successful technique is the Shakehand grip. Although many top players are using different techniques, the most widely used is the Shakehand. However, it widely depends upon the player and how it fits suitably as per the player’s comfort.
Types of ping pong grips:
-
Shakehand Grip:
The first technique is the Shakehand technique which is most widely adopted by table tennis players all around the world. The shakehand grip originated from Europe & is also well-known as the European technique grip, but this technique has earned a lot of recognition among Asian players across the world. Also, read the Table Tennis Stance.
The name Shakehand originated from the position of the hand in which the player’s hand looks like he is ready to shake his hand with another person and the face of the racket’s head is in the upward dimension.
How the shakehand technique works:
Here are the steps to adopt this technique like a professional table tennis player:
- The three fingers must be wrapped around the handle and the index finger should be stretched on the face of the racket in a right-angled dimension towards the handle.
- The thumb would be on the backside of the racket face along with the three fingers.
- The most important placement is that the crease (natural V) of the hand should be on the edge of the handle (also known as a blade) to give more flexibility and power to the wrist.
Shakehand is one of the most versatile and widely used techniques because it looks very easy, and it gives a lot of power to the hand for long-time games. The wrist does not get easily tired with this grip and the accuracy level is very high.
Now, even top-rated Chinese players have started adopting this technique resulting in a high level of success and accuracy.
The second most common & widely used ping pong gripping technique is the Penhold Technique.
-
PENHOLD GRIP:
The name Penhold was derived from the shape of the hand while holding the paddle of the racket. In this technique, the middle finger and the ring finger gets wrapped around the racquet. This technique originated in China & this technique of holding racquets is also known as the Chinese Penholding technique.
However, it looks a bit different and difficult from the other techniques, but the results are found to be marvelous. The players using this technique are often known to play differently from the other players and hence are tough competitors in the game.
Penholding is also adopted by Korean & Japanese players in a slightly different manner. The Korean/Japanese players hold the handle of the racquet with three fingers curling around the paddle instead of two. Also, read the Ping Pong Paddles Under $50.
The players using the Chinese Penhold technique prefer using a round-head racquet whereas the players using the Japanese/Korean Penhold technique prefer using the square-head-shaped racquet to suit the position of their hand.
The Speciality of this technique is that the players use only the side of the racquet while playing despite using the right/left hand. However, after 1990, the Chinese discovered a reverse technique where the players use both sides while playing. This technique is known as the Reverse Penhold technique.
How the Penhold technique works:
After the Shakehand technique, Penhold is known to be the best way of holding a ping pong paddle. Both the techniques have their own advantages & disadvantages. The Shakehand technique offers comfort and power to the hand and leads to improved left-slanting and forehand strokes. Whereas the Penhold method gives a great level of flexibility to the wrist and promptness in the responses. It is often said that the players using the shakehand technique would observe a point of indecisiveness to distinguish whether to use the backhand or forehand in that split-second moment which might cost them to lose precious time which is the ultimate treasure of this game. But this could be overcome with continuous practice and building accuracy in the body mechanics. Also, check the Best Ping Pong Paddle Cleaners.
However, there are some disadvantages to the Penhold technique as well which are widely known in the ping pong market.
Penhold players find it difficult to execute the backhand twist.
The players require high accuracy in footwork along with wrist flexibility which is an add-on to the body mechanics.
For new players/ beginners, the Penhold technique would be difficult to adapt to and might make them feel unnatural to hold the paddle. However, this could be overcome with some rounds of consistent practice and passion.
The third technique used in ping pong is known as the Seemiller.
-
Seemiller Grip:
This is the third and most interesting technique used in a ping pong game. The name Seemiller was derived from the name of a top-rated player Danny Seemiller who invented this technique. Danny seemiller is from America & is known to be the best coach and professional in his field. He headed the Olympics in the United States and now he is the head trainer of South Bend table tennis Club. He was the first player who used this technique on the unorthodox ground and achieved great scores.
How Seemiller Grip works:
Below are the steps to hold the paddle using the Seemiller Grip:
- Hold the paddle of the racquet by placing the thumb on one edge of the racquet and the index finger on the other side.
- The rest of the three fingers shall be wrapped around the racquet towards the bottom side.
If contrasting colored rubbers are placed on alternate sides of the racquet, this technique could be highly distracting for the opponent.
The seemiller grip resembles a shakehand grip. The only difference is that in a seemiller grip, the same side of the racket is used for both the right-hand side and left-hand side of the body while playing. A combination bat is mostly used for the seemiller grip. You Can also check the Best Ping Pong Robots.
The players have stated that in seemiller grip, they have felt more flexibility in the wrist movement because only one side of the racket is used for both right-hand and left-hand strokes and hence they do not have to face the problem of cross-over point which is usually faced by players using Shakehand technique. Also, check the Best Ping Pong Paddle Under $100.
The Seemiller technique is mostly adopted by the players who have an attacking approach. These types of players mostly prefer to play with a powerful forehand and a relentless backhand spin.
Here is one of the best ping pong grips that we have ground best among the rest.
CONCLUSION:
The right gripping material would greatly help the player to have complete control and accuracy in the game and ultimately, he/she would attack/defend the competitor in a fraction of second alertness. We hope you found this article helpful in the basic understanding and selection of the best ping pong grips. Also, check the Best Ping Pong Paddle Case.
FAQs:
-
What grip do pro ping pong players use?
Pro ping pong players use shakehand grip mostly. This technique uses the right-handed players and the left-handed players use this grip while inverting the side.
-
What are the 2 most used grips in table tennis?
There are no hard and fast rules from the International Table Tennis Federation, but most players use penhold rip and the shakehand grip.
-
What is the difference between a shakehand grip and penhold grip?
While using a penhold grip, a player only uses the front side of the paddle. But in shakehand grip, both sides of the paddles can be used.