Home > Terms > English (EN) > Table tennis terminology

Table tennis terminology

Table tennis terminology is a set of English words and phrases used in the game of table tennis to describe the game, the play and the equipment. This article lists some of them.

Antispin – A smooth rubber with very low surface friction, used to defend against strong spin or to confuse the opponent. This type of rubber is rarely (if at all) seen in modern top-level table tennis, but is popular with amateur and veteran players.

Blade – The wooden part of the paddle

Crossover – The point where a player has to change from playing a forehand stroke to backhand stroke; often a target for attack, since it is difficult to return balls aimed at this area.

Early – The rising part of a ball's bounce

Inverted rubber – Rubber which contacts the ball with its smooth surface, and is glued to the rest of the bat with its pimpled surface. With a larger contact area this type of rubber generally produces more spin than pimpled rubber, although some rubbers are designed to have the opposite effect (see Antispin above).

Heavy – Used to describe strong spin

Late – The falling part of a ball's bounce

Loop – A strong topspin stroke that aims to overpower the spin of the oncoming ball (usually backspin)

Loose – A return which is too high, too long, has insufficient spin or a combination of the above. Easy for the opponent to attack or kill (compare tight, below)

Multiball – Training method minimizing wasted time by using many balls which are continuously fed to the player, either by another player or a ball robot

Penhold – Style of player who grips the paddle in a manner similar to holding a pen

Pimples(Pips) – Rubber which contacts the ball with its pimpled surface; produces different effects on the spin compared with inverted rubber, due to the reduced contact area and flexibility of the pimples

Sandwich rubber – Inverted rubber, with sponge

Shakehand – The most popular table-tennis grip; similar to a tennis grip, with the index finger extended over the paddle head perpendicular to the handle

Speed glue – Glue used to attach rubber to the blade; contains a high percentage of volatile solvents, which soak into the sponge of a rubber and increases the speed and spin of a stroke

Third ball – The stroke hit by the server after the opponent's return of the serve. Because the serve can be used to make attacking difficult for the opponent, the third ball is frequently the first strong attacking stroke in a table-tennis rally.

Tight – A return which is difficult for the opponent to attack. Always a low ball, usually in combination with being short, having strong backspin or both[1].

0
Collect to Blossary

Member comments

You have to log in to post to discussions.

Terms in the News

Billy Morgan

Sports; Snowboarding

The British snowboarder Billy Morgan has landed the sport’s first ever 1800 quadruple cork. The rider, who represented Great Britain in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, was in Livigno, Italy, when he achieved the man-oeuvre. It involves flipping four times, while body also spins with five complete rotations on a sideways or downward-facing axis. The trick ...

Marzieh Afkham

Broadcasting & receiving; News

Marzieh Afkham, who is the country’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will head a mission in east Asia, the state news agency reported. It is not clear to which country she will be posted as her appointment has yet to be announced officially. Afkham will only be the second female ambassador Iran has had. Under the last shah’s rule, Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, a ...

Weekly Packet

Language; Online services; Slang; Internet

Weekly Packet or "Paquete Semanal" as it is known in Cuba is a term used by Cubans to describe the information that is gathered from the internet outside of Cuba and saved onto hard drives to be transported into Cuba itself. Weekly Packets are then sold to Cuban's without internet access, allowing them to obtain information just days - and sometimes hours - after it ...

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

Banking; Investment banking

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution established to address the need in Asia for infrastructure development. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia needs $800 billion each year for roads, ports, power plants or other infrastructure projects before 2020. Originally proposed by China in 2013, a signing ...

Spartan

Online services; Internet

Spartan is the codename given to the new Microsoft Windows 10 browser that will replace Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer. The new browser will be built from the ground up and disregard any code from the IE platform. It has a new rendering engine that is built to be compatible with how the web is written today. The name Spartan is named after the ...

Featured Terms

a.protic
  • 0

    Terms

  • 5

    Blossaries

  • 2

    Followers

Industry/Domain: History Category: World history

Panzer IV

The Panzerkampfwagen IV, commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during ...

Contributor

Edited by

Featured blossaries

Seattle

Category: Geography   1 1 Terms

Weather

Category: Arts   1 33 Terms