Top 10 Best Ping Pong Paddle For Beginners In 2021: Buying Guide

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Written By sachinkds

I am Sachin, a content writer, and Table Tennis enthusiast. On the Bestpingpongtips site, I share ping pong tips, give my honest Table tennis equipment review, and help people choose a quality product.

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Having a right ping pong paddle can change your game loss to win. A good paddle fits in your hand, a better design of the handle, and the type of rubber used on the surface that gives full control to hit the wall and where the ball goes. If you are looking for Best Ping Pong Paddle for beginners or experts, then We have reviewed the top models and put them together in our buying guide to choose the right paddle and level up your game.

best ping pong paddle for beginners

Best Ping Pong Paddle For Beginners and Professionals: Buyer’s Guide

In recent years, there are dozens of pre-made table tennis available in the market that make confuse to choose the best ping paddle. Many newbs players have this common question of how to choose their paddle, and what things should consider? We’ve written up some important advice below and some basic parameters any player should know about their racket to help them. Table tennis is the most competitive sport, and the right paddle will make some difference. 

We want to make the best choice and tried to give as many questions as answers that help you to make the right decision. If you feel we haven’t answered your query or have a query, feel free to post a comment, we are always ready to help you.

Racket Parts and how they affect speed, spin, and control

Ping pong paddles assemble with four different parts that are very important to know each part of the bat affect play, control, block, and attack. That helps you to buy good quality ping pong paddles for your playing style and good experience.

Here are the four major parts of the ping pong table.

  • Paddle handle
  • Blade 
  • Sponge
  • Paddle rubber sheet

Let’s discuss these parts bit more detail and see how they affect your table tennis gameplay.

Paddle Handle

The bat handles come in three different shapes, which depends on your choice and how you feel comfortable holding them. These are

  • Flared handle(FL)
  • Anatomic handle(ST)
  • Straight handle(AN)

The Flared handle (FL)

Flared handles are by far the most famous and popular style of the racket grip. This handle comes with thicker at the bottom side which helps to stop slipping out a paddle from the hand while playing the game, along with this helps you have better control when hitting back the ball.

Anatomic handles (AN)

The Anatomic handles are wider in the center of the handle. This style helps you fit the paddle handle in your palm and provides you with a bit more stability or control.

Straight handles (SA) 

The last one is the straight handle that comes with the same width from top to bottom. It allows you to change your grip according to your playing style.

If you are a beginner and unsure which shape is better for you, we recommended starting with a flared handle grip. After that, you can try the other one that you prefer.

The blade is the most important and main part of any paddle. It’s always created with wood, but official rules from the ITTF allow us to contain a small ratio of other materials like carbon fiber and compressed paper. For competition standards, the ping pong paddle blade should be at least 85% of wood, and other material you can use below 7.5% of the total thickness.

Maybe you are shocked to know that a tennis bat can be any size, shape, or weight, as the blade flat and rigid.

The blades are manufactured with 5 to 9 layers of wood and other material. The best quality and as per trend made of the balsa wood which is extra light. Sometimes table tennis blades come with a couple of carbon fiber layers that make the blade more strong and lightweight.

The Sponge

The sponge layer is used between the blade and the rubber of the paddle. The thickness of the sponge in the paddle is 1.2mm to 2.5 mm. If we use the less thick sponge in the paddle, you will get more control but less power you will create than hitting a ball. And obviously, a thicker sponge has less control but more power to hit the ball. As a result, most of the players preferred thicker sponge than thinner.

The Rubber

On the top layer of rubber, the other side of the blade is the surface that makes contact with the ball while playing the game. There are many types of variations used like Ordinary pimpled rubber and Sandwich rubber. These both verities can affect grip or the spin that you generate.

So when you purchase any type of paddle from the market, always check they have approval by the ITTF to know it’s ok to be used.

Your Playing Style with Ping Pong Paddle

best ping pong paddle for defense

When it comes to playing as a beginner in the game, you always try to focus on your basic table tennis skills first. You’ll try to pick a more general bat and has good control, which helps you focus on honing your shots. As you progress, you’ll develop your style of play, and this will affect that type of bat you’ll go for. Maybe your level up as an attacking player that likes to go for speed? In this case, you will prefer a fast and lightweight paddle. Perhaps you more like to play as defensive, in that case, you need a paddle which slows down the ping pong ball with more control.

How To Hold a Ping Pong Paddle?

Picking the right and professional ping pong paddles will also be depending on your grip on the paddle. There are very different styles to hold the bat, but the famous ones are the shakehand and Penhold. 

Shakehand grip 

Shakehand grip is pervasive and used by every player, especially beginners. This is a typical European style type grip because the way you hold the ping pong paddle the head of the racket faces up, and its looks like ready to shake hands with someone. Shakehand grip is also called Forehand Grip. In our recommendation, this is one of the best ping pong grips for beginners.

Penhold grip

Penhold grip is the second most famous grip used by the tennis table Asian, japan and Korean players. For this grip, you need to put your index finger and the thumb at the handle’s front, and the other three are behind the bat head. 

This grip style allows us to attack with full power and spin the ball shots. But there is some weakness like it makes it difficult for players to hit backhand topspin shots.

This grip is good for ping pong paddle expert players.

What are the ping pong paddle ratings?

In the market, there are tons of paddles verities, and options available. It makes it difficult to choose the right one. To make this easy, every paddle performance is rated out of 100. It depends upon how the paddle performs with three major parameters.

  • Speed
  • Spin
  • Control

Depending on your playing and griping style, maybe you choose a paddle with a high rating in one category over another. So the paddle might be good for one defensive player but the same paddle maybe not good for an aggressive player. One thing wants to mention that the ratings given by the manufacturers. If you want to know more then, you can read reviews of the players who played with them out than believing everything the manufacturer tells about his product.

Speed

It’s quite self-explanatory, this refers to the max speed rating, which makes it easier to strike the ball faster. If you’re an attacking player that will help you to create more power to hit the ball. If you upgraded your paddle faster, you have to give less energy to hit the ball at the same speed as before. Coming for the cheaper paddle. That makes a huge difference. You will get good speed but need to sacrifice with control.

Spin

This refers to the paddles that allow you to generate a good amount of spin that only possible when the paddle has many grips. If you want to generate more spin, then your ping pong paddle has thicker rubber. Thicker rubbers allow you to more spin than thinner rubber.

Control

The last one is controlled; this type of paddle gives you more control over the ball. For beginners that’s essential paddle has control over balls hits. Speed and spin come after you gain some experience, but for now, you need to focus on more control of the ball to improve your tennis skills.

Always Keep Your Paddle In Good Condition

Once you’ve selected and bought your best ping pong paddle, then it’s essential to keep it clean and best condition so that you can play with your racket for a long time. There are two ways to keep your paddle in good condition.

Always Carry Ping Pong Paddles Case

The easy way to keep your paddle clean and safe is by using a case. This will stay away from your paddle from damage by dust, water, and getting brocked accidentally when not in use. Some paddles do not come with good durability, and it’s essential to use a case. 

How To Clean Your ping pong Paddle?

Always clean your paddle after two or three months to get rid of dust and stains. This way you can keep your paddle clean and safe, but one thing keeps in your mind don’t use when you clean your paddle then don’t use hard scrub on your paddle that can scratch your bat.    

Top Table Tennis Racket Reviews

Okay, readers, We’ve covered everything that you need to follow before purchasing your best ping pong paddle set. Now time to move on to ping pong paddle reviews. We’ve collected some top models with a good range of price options so that you can spend money according to your budget on the new paddle. We expect these reviews will help you to pick your pro ping pong paddle.

#1 Killerspin Jet 800 Table Tennis Paddle

Killerspin Jet 800 tennis racket
Credit: Pongboss

Highlights

Ratings – Speed 9.5, Spin 9.0, Control

Blade – 7 ply blade with 5 wood layers and 2 carbon layers for aggressive table tennis play, high-level performance

Rubbers: Nitrx-4Z rubber with 2.0mm high tension sponge

ITTF approved?: Yes, you can use this in official tournaments.

Price: $$(Check current price)

User Ratings: 9.9/10(check reviews by users)

It’s quite self-explanatory, Killerspin is the top paddle for players who love to use the spin technique. Killerspin Jet 800 is the best ping pong paddle ever. it’s an amazing pre-made paddle manufactured with premium material with a 7 ply layer blade, two carbon fiber which makes this more lightweight and gives maximum power to spin and shot the ball.

Killerspin Jet 800 comes in my top list, spacially the design. I thought its one of the best looking table tennis racket that I have tried. For players its burnt wood and flared handle make it more handy and comfortable. But it’s not only good looks even it performs very well too. This paddle rating speed is 9.5, spent 9.0 or control 8.0, which makes this paddle more fantastic. 

This paddle is specially made for aggressive players because it offers a lot of power and the best spin. It’s the best paddle for speed and attacking ball hits of play with excellent control.

Killerspin Jet 800 paddle is best for defensive aggressive players who gain points on defence.

It may take some time to get used to this racket, but once you set up your hand on this paddle, you will easily start spinning and attacking.

In this paddle Nitrix4z, premium rubber is used, which improves the speed, generates more power to give you the best shots.

You can also customize ITTF approved paddle as per your requirement and use it as a custom ping pong paddles.

Killerspin Jet 800 best ping pong paddle for a spin and is also used in Olympic games. If this paddle quality and features fit your needs and playing style then give it a try. It may be your next best ping pong paddle.

Pros

  • Best in class for offensive players
  • Comes with fantastic speed and quality
  • Best table tennis racket for professionals
  • Best for spin

Cons

  • Bit heavier than other rackets
  • Less control on the ball
  • Bit expensive

#2 DHS HURRICANE-II Best Tournament Ping Pong Paddle

Highlights

The Blade: DHS Hurricane II blade with 5 different ply-wood layers

Rubbers: G555 black and red rubber

ITTF approved?: Yes, HURRICANE-II is officially approved by ITTF

Price: $$ (Check Current Price)

Our Rating: 9.7/10

DHS HURRICANE-II is one of the best ping pong paddles for intermediate players and experts. 

We compared this with other paddles, but we did not find the best speed, but the spin power is insane. This racket is very different from other ones because it comes in two rubber style. One side is red pimple rubber used, and the other side is coming black plan rubber that helps to quick change player playing style between the game with generating power hit or surprising spin. 

When it comes to the first tournament is always an exciting time, but how you know your racket will approve the tournament organization or not?

DHS HURRICANE-II solves this issue, yes this paddle is approved by ITTF, and we can use this racket in any tournament.

This paddle is made for every player, the price is a bit high, but the good thing is you also get some premium accessories. THE DHS HURRICANE-II comes with a premium racket cover that helps you prevent your racket from dust and damage, two walls, and Landson wrist support in the gift box.

But this is not only the best thing when you spend that much money on your best table tennis paddle. You always expect it to last, but many rackets fail to do but this fantastic racket long time, and we can use it for home and tournaments.

This is a popular paddle choice of professional and intermediate and perfect returns with a good amount of spin. You must try this one.

Pros

  • Comes with paddle-cover, balls, or Landson wrist support
  • Used for the huge amount of spin
  • Best for professionals and intermediate
  • Build with very high quality
  • Good for defensive and offensive

Cons

  • Not good for beginners
  • Rubber needs frequent maintenance.
  • This racket has some fishy smell even after washing.

#3 Killerspin JET 200-Best Budget killer Table Tennis Paddle

Killerspin JET 200 ping pong paddle

Highlights

Ratings: Speed 6.0, Spin 7.0, and Control 8.5

Blade: 5 ply layers used with flared handle grip

ITTF approved?: No, this is not approved, and we cannot use it in official tournaments

Price: $ (Check current price)

Our rating: 8.7/10(Check reviews online)

Killerspin JET 200 is the best cheap ping pong paddle its top-selling racket in the market. This paddle is super affordable but comes with some limitations. This paddle speed rating is 10/6, and the spin rating is 7/10, but it comes with good control ratings 8,5 out of 10. 

This racket comes with 5 wood ply layers with a flared handle grip. If you are a beginner, then this is the best ping pong paddle for beginners. 

Killerspin JET 200 is not approved by ITTF, So you cannot use this one in tournaments. But don’t worry, you can improve your playing skills with this because it comes with a high control feature that is good for your skills.

If you’re a very tight budget and can’t spend more money, then this is the right choice for you. This can be a good start as a beginner before make a larger investment in advanced ping pong paddles available in the market.

Pros

  • Best ping pong paddle for beginners level
  • Fantastic control rating
  • Comes in different cool colors

Cons

  • Not approved by ITTF

#4 STIGA Evolution: Best Paddle For Tournament Play

STIGA Evolution: Best Paddle For Tournament Play

Highlights

Ratings: Control 90, Speed 96, Spin 94

Blade: Premium rubber used, 6 ply layers with 2mm Sponge

ITTF approved?: Yes, approved for official tournaments play

Price: $$(Check current price)

Ratings: 9.3/10(You can check reviews)

STIGA Evolution is another best contender for the top ping pong paddle from Stiga. It comes with very high quality 6 ply layers and a 2mm premium sponge. If you are looking for the best ping pong paddle for beginners or intermediate while maintaining speed and control on the ball, then Stiga is the great choice to try out.

This racket is approved by ITTF that allows playing in tournaments. It comes with a speed rating of 96, spin ratings 94, and control 90 which is quite good, allow us to a lot of spins and good control over the ball.

This paddle is the best-premade paddle, we have tried other paddles, but this racket is lighter than others and allows us to make the balance between speed and controlling defence. 

Suppose you are want to improve your playing skills then STIGA Evolution best ping pong paddles for intermediate players and beginner players. You can enjoy this paddle in both normal and competitive tennis games and surprise your opponent with spin and killer ball shots.

IT may be not a budget or cheap paddle out there, but definitely worth the money.

Pros

  • Best ping pong paddle for beginners and intermediate players
  • Good quality material used.
  • Fantastic overall performance
  • Good control
  • Lightweight and easy to use

Cons

  • Not fit for aggressive players because of lightweight.
  • Less speed than others racket in this price

#5 STIGA Titan lightest Table Tennis Racket

STIGA Titan lightest Table Tennis Racket

Highlights 

Ratings: Speed 80, Spin 77, Control 82

Blade: 5 ply extra light wood blade layers with 2mm sponge

ITTF approved?: Yes, approved by ITTF and allow to use in tournaments

Price: $$

Rating: 8.9/10

STIGA Titan is one of the best-selling budget-friendly, lightweight paddle and a fantastic option for beginners or intermediate ping pong players who want to level up their skills.

This racked is made with premium quality material, manufactured with 5 ply balsa wood layers and top-class 2mm sponge rubber. The shape combined with STIGA WRB technology makes this paddle lightweight and offers players a good amount of speed and spins without losing too much control over the ball.

If you are looking for the budget killer paddle and versatile, then give it a try. It Might be your next best ping pong paddle for beginners and intermediate.

Pros

  • High-quality material used
  • Very Budget-friendly
  • Best paddle for beginner and intermediate players
  • Very lightweight

Cons

  • Not fit for an above novice or intermediate players

#6 Palio Expert 2.0 ping pong paddle

Palio Expert 2.0 ping pong paddle

Highlights

Ratings: Speed 6/10, spin 9/10/ control 10/10

Rubber: Palio CJ8000 with 2mm sponge

ITTF approved?: Yes, you can use this paddle in tournaments

Price: $$

User Ratings: 9.3/10

Palio Expert 2.0 is the top class affordable paddle from the collaboration between expert table tennis and palio. They manufactured a fantastic series of ping pong paddles for beginners, intermediate, and advanced level players. 

This racket is the right choice for beginners with fantastic control without losing everything in terms of power and spin. It’s approved by ITTF that allows use in tournaments.

It comes with good build quality like Palio rubber is used in this rack with 2mm thicker sponge or tacky sheet make this paddle more powerful to generate spins and shots.

If it comes to rating, then this paddle carries Speed 6/10, spin 9/10/ control 10/10 which is quite good for spin and control over the ball. 

If you are an entry-level or defensive player, then it’s a great choice for you.

Pros

  • Budget-friendly
  • Good Spin and control over the ball
  • Best for entry, intermediate level players

Cons

  • Not good for aggressive and above entry-level players

#7 STIGA Raptor: best tennis table racket

STIGA Raptor best tennis table racket

Highlights

Build Ratings: Speed 99, Spin 100, Control 80

Blade: 7 Ply and carbon layers with 2mm sponge

ITTF approval: Yes, you can use it in tournaments

Price: $$ (check the current price)

Rating: 9.6/10

When it comes to the best ping pong paddle for advanced players and intermediate level players, then STIGA Raptor is the best option that provides you a great opportunity to expand your offensive game.

STIGA Raptor is the alternative of Stiga Pro carbon with the same model features. It comes with 5 plywood balsa layers and 2 carbon layers resulting in lightweight and provides good control over the game performance. 

This well-designed and balanced paddle are approved by ITTF that allows using of this racket in tournaments and is considered as a low price and high value. If you’re an intermediate or advanced player but don’t want to purchase a super expensive and premium paddle, then this is for you this paddle gives you a premium look and fits in your hand very comfortably.

Its ratings are also shocking. It comes with a 99-speed rating, spin 100, and control 80 which means you don’t need to sacrifice anything like generating power speed, spin, and control over the ball.

In competitive games, STIGA raptor may be a game-changer against your competitor. So if you want a budget-friendly and performance-based paddle then must try this one.

Pros

  • Fair pricing
  • High build quality
  • Best for spin and control
  • Fantastic rubber tackiness
  • Best for intermediate and advanced level players

Cons

  • Not fit for beginners
  • Less durability than others
  • Bitless control

#8 Idoraz Ping Pong Paddle:

Idoraz Ping Pong Paddle

Highlights

Ratings: Speed 99, Spin 93, and control 90

ITTF approved?: Yes it’s approved by ITTF and can be used in tournaments

Blade: 5 wood layers and 2mm thick rubber

30 days Guarantee

This is a new budget-friendly paddle in the market. Idoraz paddle is not the well-known brand, but its surprise you with their features. It comes with good quality 5 wood layers with 2mm rubber that means you and generate a great amount of speed and spin with good control over the ball.

When we used this paddle, then found a flared handle that comfortable in hand and didn’t slippery type. This racket approved by ITTF and you can play with this in tournaments.

It comes with outstanding ratings. The speed rating is 99, spin 93, and 90 control. You don’t need to sacrifice any features like others. This is not only a budget-friendly paddle but also you will get a carrying case that helps you to prevent dust and damage.

If you are intermediate, professional, and want to level up your skills and have limited money to spend, then try this one. Idoraz Ping Pong Paddle also offers 30 days back guarantee, which is fantastic.

Pros

  • Money-back guarantee
  • Good build quality
  • Great speed, spin, control over the ball
  • Come with carrying case.
  • For intermediate and Professional level players

Cons

  • Not so good for Entry level players

#9 Butterfly 401: Best Tennis Racket Set

Butterfly 401 ping pong paddle

Highlights

Ratings: Speed 8.0, Spin 8.0, Control 8.5

Material: Butterfly Yuki Rubber and 2.1mm sponge

ITTF approval?: Yes, it’s approved by ITTF and can use in tournaments

Price: $$(Check Current Price)

Rating: 9.2/10(Check Reviews)

We have tried many paddles, but Butterfly 401 is an all-rounder, and We love to play with this. It comes with great specs like fantastic balance and performance qualities along with this price, is very affordable.

This best budget ping pong paddle is made with 5 plywood layers and 2.1mm sponge rubber that gives more power speed, tackiness for the spin ball and help to defend your competitor. Butterfly 401 is approved by ITTF, and you can use this both home and tournament. 

The rating of this racket is fantastic, Speed 8.0, Spin 8.0, Control 8.5, which make this paddle insane like speed, a good amount of spins, and control over the ball.

This ping pong paddle comes in shakehand style and available in different colors like red, black, grey, and blue that make it more stylish this racket. 

When you buy this paddle, it comes with a free case which helps you to protect your paddle from dust and accidental damage. 

It doesn’t matter you are a beginner or advanced level player Butterfly 401 is all-rounder because of its speed, spin, and control. If you have a small budget, but you want the best pro ping pong paddle features then try this one. 

Pros

  • Budget-friendly
  • For beginners, intermediate, and professionals
  • Good build quality
  • Come with Free carrying case.
  • Shakehand style handle

Cons

  • Surface rubber need to clean frequently.
Bestpingpongtips

I am Sachin, a content writer, and Table Tennis enthusiast. On the Bestpingpongtips site, I share ping pong tips, give my honest Table tennis equipment review, and help people choose a quality product.

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