Table tennis is one of the most accessible sports. Whether it is your office hall or a friendโs garage, you can start playing with two paddles and a ball.
Table tennis can be as easy or as difficult as you make it. If you just want to play with your friends for fun or to take the stress away from work during breaks then it is relatively easy to learn. However, the difficulty level quickly takes an upward slope if you go to a table tennis clubs or tournaments.
If you want to compete in tournaments and climb up the ranking ladder, the mastery of skills needed will make it more challenging. In this article, we will learn what makes this sport difficult, how it compares to other sports, and how long it might take for you to master it.
Check out our other article: Can Anyone Play Ping Pong? Q & A
Table Tennis Difficulty Compared to Other Sports
There is no doubt that table tennis is one of the most complex sports today. But does the complexity alone make it more difficult than other sports? Letโs see how it compares to other similar sports.
Table Tennis vs. Tennis
They both have tennis in their name so they should be quite similar, right? Actually, the skills required for both sports are quite different.
- Physical strength: The heavier ball and racket of tennis means it requires more strength compared to table tennis and itโs practically weightless ball.
- Timing and reflexes: The interval between each shot in table tennis is minimal compared to tennis, this combined with the amount and variety of spin means table tennis is more timing and reflex sensitive.
- Endurance: Tennis matches can last for hours while a table tennis match takes 20 minutes on average. Tennis players execute more powerful swings and cover more distance during the time of play so high endurance is a must in tennis.
- Mental: They are similar in usage strategies but the higher pace of table tennis requires more mental work than tennis.
- Beginner Friendliness: A beginner might struggle with the physical strength needed for tennis, or techniques needed to be mastered on table tennis so it comes down to personal preferences.
Table Tennis vs. Badminton
While they are both fast-paced, indoor sports that are played with rackets, the skills required for each sport thus the difficulty can vary.
- Physical strength: Having a larger play area, a 5-foot (1.524 meters) high net, and the force required to hit the shuttlecock over it results in badminton requiring more physical strength than table tennis.
- Timing and reflexes: They are quite similar in pace when it comes to doubles matches averaging a shot every 2 seconds but singles table tennis has a slightly faster pace. While table tennis players need reflexes to read the spin and trajectory of the ball, badminton players need similar reflexes for deceptive shots and maneuvering.
- Endurance: Badminton matches on average last slightly longer than table tennis matches but the amount of force the player needs to use in each shot combined with having less downtime means badminton players need a lot of endurance.
- Mental: These two sports are similar in pace and strategy but table tennis gets more complicated with spins so it is slightly more mentally challenging.
- Beginner Friendliness: Badminton can be physically challenging and table tennis can be technically challenging for a beginner.
Table Tennis vs. Pickleball
Americaโs fastest-growing sport, pickleball, has elements from tennis, table tennis, and badminton. Letโs see how it compares to table tennis in difficulty.
- Physical Strength: Slightly heavier paddles and balls with a larger area of play make pickleball physically challenging. However, table tennis with the footwork and burst of strength required to achieve high-quality shots is even more physically demanding.
- Timing and Reflexes: The faster and more spinny ball of table tennis demands a higher level of reflexes than pickleball.
- Endurance: Even though pickleball rallies are not as demanding as table tennis, they usually last longer so the endurance required for both is quite similar.
- Mental: Pickleball strategies usually involve placement and speed of the ball, meanwhile on table tennis players also need to deal with spin and read opponentsโ shots before the ball even leaves their racket, making table tennis more mentally challenging.
- Beginner Friendliness: Pickleball is by far the easiest racket sport to get started. It is not that technical, meaning you can pick a paddle and start joining tournaments.
You might also like this article: Do You Need To Be Physically Fit To Play Table Tennis? FAQ
Is Table Tennis One of the Most Difficult Sports to Learn?
Table tennis requires not only physical skills such as hand-eye coordination and agility but also mental skills such as thinking fast, planning shots ahead of time, and maintaining focus.
It also has a steeper learning curve than many other sports. Being the most spin-focused racket game of all means there are lots of different shots that need to be executed with precision.
Table tennis has a combination of brain and muscle usage, unlike any sport. Studies show that for a professional player to perform a successful shot, they need to use more than %80 of the muscles in harmony.
Combine this with the amount of focus, strategy, and predictions required and you have quite a challenge to overcome.
Deciding if table tennis is the most difficult sport to learn is still up to you. Some may find physical strength to be the decider on how difficult a sport is, while others may think it is the strategy.
What we can say is that table tennis is not the easiest sport to play at advanced levels compared to other racket sports because of the wide range of skills and techniques required. Letโs look into what makes table tennis difficult to learn, and what you can do to overcome these obstacles faster.
Learn how to improve your table tennis game with our tutorials here.
What Makes Table Tennis Hard to Learn
Skill Development
From pushes to loops, a variety of strokes need to be learned in table tennis. Only half of the job will be done by learning the strokes as executing these strokes in match conditions is as important as having proper technique.
Physical Aptitude
Physical fitness is often overlooked in table tennis. Moving swiftly in short bursts to get in position, good hand-eye coordination and explosive power is a must to execute proper shots.
Understanding Spin
This is one of the main problems beginners face. The ball can spin upwards of 7000rpm in many directions and understanding the effects each spin has on the ball is a must.
Speed and Reaction Time
Shots that can reach up to 70mph, a table that is only 9ft long and 5ft wide, and shot placements that constantly change wonโt give you much time to think and act. Reflexes need to be sharp and predictions on ball trajectory have to be done in time.
Serves
Beginners may think serving is just a way to get the rally going but itโs much more than that. It is the key to setting up your play. They will also get spinnier and harder to predict as you climb up the letters.
Equipment Knowledge
Each player has a unique playstyle that requires unique equipment. Finding the right equipment for you can improve the quality of your shots while giving you more confidence and feel.
Mental Control
Staying focused for long periods, stress management, and good concentration during matches is what separates the good players from the great. Adjusting to different strategies and not giving up during setbacks will also be mentally challenging.
How Long Does it Take to Learn Table Tennis?
There are lots of variables that affect how quickly one player develops their skills. Being a table tennis coach for many beginners taught me what to expect in a certain time frame so letโs talk about that.
- How long to learn basic skills and consistently keep the ball on the table?
It will take about 3 months to learn basics like forehand and backhand drives and the fundamentals of footwork.
- How long to reach a decent level where you can compete?
A player should: master basic techniques, have fundamental footwork, read spins including serves, plan their next stroke during play, and have the right mindset while playing to tackle their first tournament. This will take 1.5 to 2 years on average.
- How long to reach a pro level?
This one is really hard to say, as professional levels of play are usually different for each country but on average, to start playing on the lower levels of pro-play should go through 5 to 10 years of training.
Keep in mind that factors such as the amount of training per week, quality of the training, coaching, and personal skills can change how quickly you learn.
Difficulty of Table Tennis, From a Coachโs Perspective
My Personal Journey
I was once a beginner too, not knowing anything about spin or technique. I didnโt have coaching, just training with my friend while watching the Pingskills YouTube channel. We trained often, usually 5 times a week and after 2 years we were in the semi-finals of a tournament.
I was confident in myself and my skills at the time, but that didnโt take long. Joining a local club made me realize I had to train a lot more. Researching training methods and exercising them 2 times a week for 6 years got me to represent my university team and start coaching people in the club I joined.
On my journey, I faced some big obstacles. The most difficult one was my mentality during the competition. Losing my focus, having anxiety, and not believing in myself meant I wasnโt even performing half of my ability during matches. Another one was the game strategy. I couldnโt realize that it is not all about hitting the fastest or spiniest shot.
My Students
About my students, most of them were with me for a long time so I was able to watch their development over time. I had a 9-year-old student who played table tennis for the first time with me, and he loved it.
He happily came to train 4+ times a week and usually stayed after training to play with seniors. Six months later I was signing him up for his first official tournament and after six more months, he won his first big tournament. His challenges were like mine, mental strength, and psychology during matches.
Another one was a middle-aged doctor who decided to take table tennis seriously. The biggest challenges we had were getting rid of old habits, footwork, and match performance. After half a year we started having great rallies between us.
Now, after 18 months he joins local tournaments with confidence and is aware of what he needs to do to improve. Fun fact, he even passed me in equipment savviness and owns enough equipment to open a shop!
What Do You Think?
Deciding on whether table tennis is hard or not depends on you, and the challenges you choose to overcome. Each sport comes with its unique challenges.
There might be a faster, more physically demanding, or more strategic sport out there but only table tennis offers this unique, amazing balance that we table tennis players fall in love with.
Sources: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1149295/full, https://butterflyonline.com/ping-pong-is-not-the-game-of-table-tennis/, https://medium.com/@ttdementor/table-tennis-going-from-beginner-to-intermediate-level-20a059b0806a
