Welcome to Racket Insight, a place designed to be an insightful resource for every Table Tennis player across the world, from beginner to expert. We produce content that covers coaching, equipment reviews, buying guides, local information and much more. Really, we aim to create anything that Table Tennis fans might find interesting!
Racket Insight was founded in 2021 by David, a Table Tennis player, coach and umpire living in Sydney Australia. He always welcomes any questions or discussions over email either at david@racketinsight.com or through our Contact Us form.
You can also click through to learn more about our editorial process.
You might also find these cute little guys around the site… I consider them our mascots. They’re how our editorial and writing teams communicate, and they’ve earnt their place here on Racket Insight
Most websites these days are anonymous black holes where you don’t really know who’s written the content itself. I want Racket Insight to be a little different. That’s why I want to share my Table Tennis journey and just maybe it might resonate with a few people out there.
If you want to reach out to me directly, come and say hi on Quora or Reddit.
David’s Story
I’ve been playing Table Tennis since I was a little kid when my Dad would take me to the local sports hall and we’d play Table Tennis in one of their squash courts. I was a shy kid back then and hated the idea of playing at a club… it’s hard to convince a 10 year old to do something they don’t want to do!
Fortunately, it was only a couple of years until my parents convinced me to try the local after-school Table Tennis club. After only one night there, I was hooked.
I joined a group of kids being trained by a coach who had a passion for bringing new players into the sport. Looking back, he dedicated so much time and energy to the sport without ever asking for money outside of court hire. These are the kind of the people that sports all around the world rely on to bring new players in. It’s his influence I credit to my continual improvement and building passion for the sport.
Over the first few years, I trained to improve and started playing in my local league. Anyone who’s played “local” matches before will be familiar with small community halls, churches, dance studios and all manner of weird venues being used to hold weekly Table Tennis matches. I loved those nights, often playing until past 11pm and with a real competitive spirit.
I then started playing in our regional junior league, taking on under 18 players from across our region. As I continued to grow (both in age and ability), I started to be able to beat some strong players and playing Table Tennis was often the highlight of my week.
Then, at 17, it became a conscious decision not to ramp up the training to improve towards a national level. I was a good player, but even then there were players coming through a few years younger with more talent and ability. Instead, I chose to focus on my education and continue playing Table Tennis for fun.
That’s when I reached University and joined the Table Tennis team. Over my 3 years there, we toured the UK on Wednesdays playing different Universities. Day trips to Durham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Sheffield and more were highlights of my University days. I continued to improve as a player but also transitioned into coaching.
To earn my coaching badge, I received a grant from Gillette (yep, razors! Link is to a web archive article) and even met Sir Chris Hoy. Definitely a highlight. I spent a few years coaching at my university club, followed by a few years coaching locally. It’s incredibly rewarding helping players find shots, techniques and strategies that they didn’t even know they could pull off.
During this time, I also met with another local hero in the North-West of England who encouraged me to get my Umpiring qualifications. If anyone wants to appear at the Olympics, that would definitely be the easiest way to go! Understanding all the intricacies of Table Tennis rules at competition standard was definitely a learning curve and I’ve enjoyed umpiring at various national events.
Jumping forward to today, I’m still as much in love with the sport as I always was. I’ve added Badminton and Tennis to my racket skills armoury and I could never see my life being complete with some competitive racket sports to bring me energy.
Hopefully, I can share a little bit of the energy and passion with readers across the world.
Oh, and here’s a video from a much younger David answering a few questions about getting my first coaching qualifications. I wish I could go back and tell him to wear a button-down shirt and look a little smarter!