TT PioneersJackie LeeThe Table Tennis Pioneers, Your Ping-Pong Superstore

Grip and Handle Styles

The grip style is the way that you hold your racket. The handle style is the shape of the racket’s handle.

Grip Style

There are two grip styles: shakehand and penhold. In the shakehand grip, you hold the handle like you are shaking hands with it. In the penhold grip, you hold the handle as if you were using it as a pen.

Shakehand players have rubber on both sides. Some penhold players have rubber on both sides and some have rubber on only one side.

All of our manufacturer-assembled penhold-grip rackets, except for the STIGA Energetic CR PHC Racket (PHC) and STIGA Performance WRB PHC Racket (PHC), have rubber on only one side.

The rules state that one side of the racket must be bright red and the other side black. If you are a penholder who uses only one sheet of rubber on your racket, we sell a red or black penhold backside color sheet that you can affix to the back of your blade.

Handle Style

Blades and rackets come in various handle styles. For most blades, you can select the handle style that you prefer. Handle style is solely a matter of personal preference: choose whichever feels best to you.

Handle styles can be categorized by the grip style that they are designed for. Anatomic, flared, straight, conic, right-handed, and left-handed handles are designed for players who use a shakehands grip. Chinese penhold and Japanese penhold handles are designed for players who use a penhold grip. Japanese penhold handles have a ledge that you hook your finger around.

Anatomic handleFlared handleStraight handleConic handle
Anatomic (AN)Flared (FL)Straight (ST)Conic (CO)
 
Chinese penhold handleJapanese penhold handle
Chinese (PHC)Japanese (PHJ)

STIGA Flared Handle Styles

Most STIGA blades come in two flared styles: Legend (wide) and Master (narrow).

Wide flared handleNarrow flared handle
Wide Flared: “Legend” (FL-L)Narrow Flared: “Master” (FL-M)

DONIC Dotec

DONIC Dotec blades have a handle that is covered in cork and is shaped to fit your hand. Each blade comes in right-handed and left-handed versions.

Right-handed handleLeft-handed handle
Right Handed (RH)Left Handed (LH)

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