OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I was wondering about this when my friend asked me about getting his own TT equipment and playing more seriously.

We noticed short pips out with no sponge is a common finding in recreation centers, and there are plenty such beginner sets sold on amazon.
Another common finding is, of course, an inverted rubber paddle set with thicker sponges but non-tacky topsheets.

I'm sure that a large part of the rationale for selling these is that they are cheap to produce especially without the sponge.
Additionally minimizing the spin in the game probably makes table tennis simpler and more enjoyable for casual players.

Is there anything more to it than that?

Because it's almost impossible for a random member of the public, picking up a bat for the first time, to actually land a ball on the table at all with inverted rubber.

Pips out/no sponge is known as "hard rubber" (sponge being "soft rubber"). Hard rubber (or hardbat) was the norm before 1952 - practically everyone used it, bar a few who used sandpaper or bare wood. Hardbat players were common through the 1960s. The first rule that actually regulated racket coverings appeared in 1959, by then sponge had taken over. Pips out (with sponge) was still as common as inverted - the Chinese were all pips-out hitters in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Iskandar

I think the answer above is only half true. In my opinion the tradition / inertia is the biggest factor. Basically it's cheap and nobody cares. It's not that beginners can't handle something else.

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I don't know about you, but in Poland pip is hardly ever popular - maybe 1 in 200 players have it. And if that's maybe 1 in 500 short pips is a pity.

That's for actual table tennis enthusiasts. Try looking in department or grocery stores, where they sell table tennis sets (2 or 4 bats, some balls, maybe even a very cheap net set) and see what they sell. If it's anything like what they sell elsewhere in the world (including China, where all this stuff is made) a lot of these beginner bats will be hardbats.

Here is an experiment to try. Set up a table somewhere public - a shopping mall, perhaps. Invite random people to hit with you. Give them a bat with inverted rubbers (even something "slow" like 729). Most of them won't be able to return simple serves. The ball will fly off all over the place. How do I know this? I've tried it. Next time I'll bring hardbats.

Iskandar