Table Tennis Ireland is committed to assist our members and club as best as we can. Table Tennis equipment is very important for our members and clubs. We have set out a guideline below which we believe will help out when looking for various equipment. 

Equipment Requirements: 

The table playing surface, must be rectangular, 274cm long and 152.5cm wide, and the playing surface to be 76cm above the floor. The table has to be dark coloured and matt, but with white sidelines.  

  • Table legs shall be at least 40cm from the end line of the table for wheelchair players  
  • The net must be suspended by a cord attached at each end to an upright post 15.25cm high.  
  • The ball must be spherical, with a diameter of 4cm, weigh 2.7g and made of celluloid or similar plastics material.  
  • The racket may be of any size, shape or weight but the blade must be flat and rigid. 
  • Rubber – Any ordinary pimpled rubber or sandwich rubber covering the racket shall be currently authorised by the ITTF and shall be attached to the blade so that the ITTF logo, the ITTF number (when present), the supplier and brand names are clearly visible nearest the handle.  
  • The surface of the covering material on a side of the blade, or of a side of the blade if it is left uncovered, shall be matt, bright red on one side and black on the other. 
  • With effect 1st October 2021, the surface of the covering material on a side of the blade, or of a side of the blade if it is left uncovered, shall be matt, black on one side, and of a bright colour clearly distinguishable from black and from the colour of the ball on the other. 

Below are some options that could be considered when choosing Equipment: 

Tables – there are indoor and outdoor tables.

Type of table: Rollaway, Wheelaway, Centrefold, Polymer Concrete 

Thickness of tabletop:  Range from 16mm to 28mm.  Thickness of a tabletop determines the bounce of the ball and playing performance.  Usually, the thinker the surface, the better bounce and performance will be. 

Blades –

4 general types including Defensive, Allround, Offensive and Offensive+ 

Rubbers –  

  • Pimpled rubbers include short, medium and long pimple. 
  • Sandwich rubbers and Anti-Loop.   
  • Types of sponge in set rubbers including soft, medium, medium-hard and hard.  The harder sponges will result in faster speed but less control. 

Balls –  

  • Colour: White or Orange.  
  • Type: Training ball, 1 Star, 2 Stars and 3 Stars. (3 Stars usually for