Table tennis rackets are also enchanting. Let’s take a look at the fashion “password” of top table tennis players – China News Network – China News Network

　　Punk pink, matcha green…the table tennis racket is also enchanting

　　Let’s take a look at the fashion “passwords” of top table tennis players

At the 2023 ITTF Mixed Team World Cup in Chengdu, in addition to watching table tennis, the audience also paid attention to the unique temperament and personality of the athletes.

On the evening of December 6, during the second stage of the Mixed Team World Cup, the German team played against the Swedish team in the women’s singles. German player Sabine Winter, ranked 50th in the world, held a matcha green racket and won with 11:7. first round. “Wow, this racket is so bright and colorful.” Fans discovered that the white table tennis ball was hit by the matcha green racket, which gave a fashionable atmosphere.

From the unlimited color, to red and black rackets “running” for 37 years, to the ITTF lifting the ban on racket colors. With the richness of colors, table tennis has become more diversified.

　　“Fashion Queen” Szokos:

　　Punk pink racket paired with fierce playing style

Not only matcha green, the unique punk pink racket also attracted a lot of attention at the Chengdu Mixed Team World Cup. Romanian player Bernadette Szokos, ranked 12th in the world, is the “fashion queen” of table tennis familiar to Chengdu fans. She has a pretty face, a nimble figure, and a very fierce playing style. Every time she is on the court, she has exquisite makeup and carefully matched jewelry.

This time when she came to Chengdu, she wore a punk pink racket and her nails were painted light pink. Unlike most female athletes who compete without makeup, Szokos puts on makeup before competing. It usually takes about half an hour for Szokos to get dressed and put on makeup. She never worries about the makeup on her face being worn away due to sweat during the fierce competition. “I use professional waterproof cosmetics, so I’m not afraid of sweating.” In addition to three bracelets, there are also a number of earrings. These fashion elements do not affect her flexible running and active attack. In the group match on December 5, she faced French player Pritika Pavard and won 2:1.

Szokos’ father is a well-known singer in Romania, and his mother is a doctor. Szokos became a table tennis player following in the footsteps of her brother, who is also a professional table tennis player. When he was 7 years old, Szokos followed his brother to the gym and started his table tennis career.

In addition to his flamboyant personality, Szokos’s “serial set” phenomenon with Chen Meng and Hayata Hina has also been talked about. In the table tennis WTT championship in Frankfurt, Germany, which ended not long ago, the national table tennis Olympic champion Chen Meng lost to Szokos 2:3. As early as last year, Szokos had already defeated Chen Meng once. However, Szokos did not go far and soon lost to Hina Hayata 2:3 in the next round. Interestingly, Szokos has lost five consecutive games against Hina Hayata without a win, and Hina Hayata has lost to Chen Meng six times in a row and has never won. Many fans jokingly call this a “serial set.”

　　Can be used for table tennis rackets in compliance with regulations

　　What colors are there?

Not only are female players trying it out, but male players are also starting to choose blue rackets. So, which colors are legal for table tennis rackets?

Starting from the second half of 2021, the ITTF will allow four new rubber colors to be used on the court. It also emphasizes that one side of the racket must be black. The newly added rubber colors are pink, purple, green and blue. Together with the black and red currently used, that is to say, there are six colors appearing in table tennis rubber products.

At the 2019 meeting, more than 75% of the participants agreed to the colorful rubber plan. Thomas Weickert, then president of the ITTF, said that this was in line with the trend of the times and could make table tennis more colorful and dynamic.

It is reported that this proposal was first put forward by the Table Tennis Association of Hong Kong, China. They were inspired by the young players and believed that the color of the racket rubber could be used to complement their hair color and clothing.

　　Why has the red and black color scheme of table tennis rackets remained unchanged for 37 years?

　　Originating from Cai Zhenhua’s “unique skills”

In fact, the color of the rubber of early table tennis rackets was not mandatory. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple were all acceptable. However, due to the immature rubber coloring process at that time, most of the rubber was black.

At the 37th World Table Tennis Championships in 1983, Chinese player Cai Zhenhua used two sides of heterogeneous and same-color rubber to the extreme. Both sides of the racket are black, with sticky rubber on the front and anti-arc rubber on the back. The racket is flipped frequently during use. The two sides of rubber have opposite properties, and with the reverse board, Cai Zhenhua’s ball path is unpredictable. The racket flying up and down in his hand was called the “magic wand” by foreigners, and he was called the “magician” and achieved many good results in the world series.

Foreign players were fooled by Cai Zhenhua, whose racket was black on both sides, and they protested to the ITTF. In addition, because they can’t understand it, the audience won’t know “why the player made a mistake”. If the colors on both sides of the racket are changed, the opponent and the audience will understand “now it’s granular rubber/anti-arc rubber” and “that’s reverse rubber”. Therefore, at the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) conference during the 1983 World Table Tennis Championships, the rule that “the rubber on both sides must be of different colors” was formulated. It was implemented from the next year in 1984. After that, the rubber was limited to red. and black.

It will not be until October 1st after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics that colored rubber will return to the table.

West China Metropolis Daily – cover news reporter Lai Fangjie and Chen Yuxiao’s photo report