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Are you a beginner raring to start playing table tennis in your den or in school? Before you can actually start, you need to have all the basic equipment to start playing. Here are the key equipment you will need in playing this enjoyable sport.

You will need to have a set of paddles, also known as bats or rackets. Rackets are made with a wooden blade, the blade being the supporting structure of the face of the bat. The blade has rubber glued on the entire face, usually made of pimpled rubber or sandwich rubber. The paddle's rubber needs to be different colored. This means that if one side is red, the other side must be black.

The paddle can be of any size according to the ITTF official rule book however, the rule states as well that the blade must be rigid and flat. Off the counter paddles though are very similar in size, they are 6 inches wide and 10 inches long, including the handle itself.

If you are gearing towards being a competitive player, it is not a good idea to get a pre-made racket as you do not know if the racket is already aged and the rubber on the blade is already deteriorated.

The next table tennis item you will need is the ball itself. During the beginning of this sport, the balls used were cork and rubber. Nowadays, balls are made of celluloid. Most sporting goods store sell these balls in varying colors but for competitions, white and orange balls are used.

Initially, balls for this game were 38mm but now, they are 40mm. Most stores carry 40mm balls.

There are 3 levels of quality for ping-pong balls, and this grade is called the 3-star system. Competition grade balls are 3 star while training balls are 0 to 1 star balls. 3 star balls are very expensive and do not really last longer than the 0 to 1 star ones. So for beginners, it is best to buy the 0 to 1 star balls from reputable makers instead of shelling out too much for the competition-ready balls.

The net is the next item you need to purchase when playing table tennis. Quick fact though, before you proceed. In the 1880's, instead of using nets, when the British army officers first started to play a game with the same concept as ping-pong, they used books instead of nets. Anyway, going back to nets, make sure to get one that has a secure way of fastening on the table, either by getting one that has clamps to screw on or spring clamps.

Lastly, the table itself. Buy a full sized table even as a beginner so if you do end up moving on to competitive play, there will be not too much adjustment for you.

Once you have all these items, all you need to do is grab a bottled water and your towel. Then you will be ready to start playing a great set of table tennis.