Offensive Table Tennis Woods

Offensive Table Tennis Woods

As the name suggests, offensive table tennis woods are designed with the goal of shortening the opponent’s response time by exerting pressure with speed on every stroke.

Since its conception, the “speed” variable has had a fundamental importance, since it is one of the main characteristics of these blades. However, there are many ways to attack and therefore a large number of wood patterns exist.

To understand the characteristics of offensive blades, it is necessary to know in advance what the most common attacking styles are.

The offensive game

In table tennis, there are three different ways to attack. Below is a brief explanation of each attack style and the main characteristics that a blade must have to meet the needs of the table tennis player.

The Looper and Offensive Table Tennis blades

Players who like to spin the ball with every shot are classified as Loopers. Their main weapon is the top-spin loop effect. They are known as Loopers because of the loop the ball makes in its trajectory after being hit.

These types of players don’t usually attack with great speed, but they back up their attack with great spin.

Type of blade needed for a looper

Since these types of players base their game on spin, they need blades that are flexible enough to extend the contact time of the ball on the blade.

The speed of the wood will depend on the skill level of the player, but it should be noted that the speed in this type of blade is less than in less flexible racquets.

You can adjust the speed and contact time of the wood ball with the rubbers.

The speed, flexibility and control relationship of this type of wood is as follows:

Contrôle / control

vitesse / speed

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The Natural Striker and Offensive Table Tennis Blades

The natural striker is arguably the most complete and common attacking style of play. He likes, like the looper, to spin the ball but with a very clear variant: speed.

This type of player tends to put a lot of pressure on their opponent with fast, powerful and spin-laden attacks. At the same time, he’s not afraid to defend by blocking or playing from close range and to counterattack when the opportunity arises.

In principle, they are strong for forehands and backhands.

Type of blade needed for a natural striker

Natural strikers tend to use more complex blades, so it’s no surprise that they are priced higher.

They have to be flexible to provide a good amount of spin, soft to allow good control, and at the same time they have to be stiff enough to generate high speed.

That’s why finding the right balance in this type of blade is the challenge for table tennis blade manufacturers.

The speed, flexibility and control relationship of this type of wood is as follows:

Flexibilité / stiffness

Contrôle / control

vitesse / speed

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The Striker and Offensive TT Blades

The striker is a player who shows great skill in hitting the ball to no spin. His punches are usually very fast and greatly reduce his opponent’s response time.

He is constantly looking to organize the game so that the ball stays on their right and finishes with a smash. With the backhand, he is generally less powerful and above all he uses it to block with energy and control the game.

It is important to point out that this type of player hits the ball not because he does not know how to generate effects but because he does it very well.

Thus, the use of blade of this type requires a thorough knowledge of table tennis. In short, these are by no means beginner blades.

Type of blade needed for a striker

The blades used by this type of player are usually very stiff and hard.

The complexity of this type of blade is to make them light enough (less than 95 grams). This is why the use of composite materials is common but not essential.

Thus, the speed, flexibility and control relationship of this type of wood is as follows:

Flexibilité /stiffness

contrôle / control

vitesse / speed

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