13 guides & features
This is the full archive of TTW articles - technique breakdowns, equipment reviews, and practical guides for table tennis players in the UK. The writing is aimed at improving club and league players who want detail they can actually apply at the table, not marketing copy.
The articles sit alongside the deeper reference guides on rules, training, equipment, and beginners. Where a feature touches on a wider topic, it links back to the relevant guide so you can read around it. Browse by the most recent first below, or scan the category tags to jump to the area that interests you.
How doubles differs from singles: the diagonal serve, alternating shots, the service and receiving order, and what happens when players get the order wrong.
A guide to para table tennis: the 11 sport classes, rule adaptations for wheelchair players, the sport at the Paralympics and how to find a UK club.
A look at table tennis in Wales: the national association founded in 1921, Welsh influence on the world game, leading players and how to find a club.
How the ITTF world ranking works, how Table Tennis England's rating system calculates points, and how local league rankings fit in for club players.
How to choose a table tennis rubber: inverted, pimpled and anti-spin types, sponge thickness and hardness, ITTF approval and the rules on colour.
What umpires, assistant umpires and referees do in table tennis, the decisions each can make, and how to start umpiring in the UK.
The official size of a table tennis table, the net height, how much room you need around it, and what to check before buying a table for home or club use.
The forehand loop is the central attacking stroke in modern table tennis. Breaking down its mechanics reveals why most players do it wrong - and how to fix it.
Hybrid rubbers blend tacky Chinese topsheets with high-tension sponges. Here's what the technology actually does and whether it suits your game.
Carbon blades don't need to cost a fortune. These options deliver the speed and stiffness of composite construction at realistic UK club player budgets.
The tomahawk serve is one of the most disorienting deliveries in table tennis. Learn the mechanics, key variations, and how to make it deceptive.
The switch from celluloid to poly wasn't just a material change - it reshaped technique, rubber design, and the tactics of the modern game.
From using the Table Tennis England club finder to surviving your first club night - a practical guide to joining a table tennis club in the UK.
Articles fall into four broad areas: rules and scoring, training and technique, equipment, and getting started at club level. The aim is practical, source-grounded writing for players on the British circuit rather than product hype.
Pieces are written by editor Daniel Ashworth, a former club and county-level player based in Cardiff who now covers technique, equipment, and competition across the UK table tennis scene. More on the about page.
Features and guides are added as topics warrant rather than on a fixed schedule. The newest articles always appear first in the grid above, and the deeper reference guides on rules, training, equipment, and beginners are kept up to date separately.
Read the beginners guide for first steps and choosing a bat, then the rules guide for scoring and service. The club guide above explains how to find and join a club near you.