15 Best Table Tennis Books You Must Read (#11 is Controversial)

Table of Contents

Would you like to read the best table tennis books that can help you take your game to the next level?

If you are serious about improving your game, then the answer will be an obvious YES!

After all, who wouldn’t like to get their hands on table tennis coaching books? (In this article, we will uncover some of the best table tennis books for beginners and intermediate players, so stay tuned and read on…)

Playing table tennis is always so much fun. But when you want to play it at the tournament level or take part in the competitions, you need to take it very seriously.

For this, you would need to learn about all the tactics and techniques from some best table tennis books, so that you have full knowledge of the game while playing at the highest level.

If you are well aware of the strategies and the way top players use them, then it would become easier for you to practice and work on your play. You can know all this by reading some of the best books written on the ping pong.

Especially if you are a beginner, reading TT books for you can be of great advantage. As you can learn more and more about the game, its basics, and techniques of top-level players.

Table of content:

Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers
Table Tennis: Steps to Success
My Secret Life as a Ping-Pong Wizard
Table Tennis: Steps to Success (Steps to Success Activity Series)
Expert In A Year: The Ultimate Table Tennis Challenge
Winning Table Tennis: Skills, Drills, and Strategies
Table Tennis Tips from a World Champion
Table Tennis Tips
Breaking 2000
Table Tennis Tactics: Your Path to Success
Ping-Pong Diplomacy: The Secret History Behind the Game That Changed the World
100 Days of Table Tennis: Get Your Daily Dose of Table Tennis Advice
History of U.S. Table Tennis
Ping Pong Diet: A Twenty-one Point for Sustainable Weight Loss
Revelations of a Ping Pong Champion

Top 15 Best Table Tennis Books (Table Tennis Coaching Books)

Let’s have a look at the table tennis coaching books that will help you become a better player. We hope it helps you 🙂

1. Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers

Larry Hodges wrote this book. This book has excellent content in it and is one of the best ping pong books.

Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers Book Overview

This book will tell you about the tactics and how you should handle the opponent’s shots well. It explains to you what are the tactics you need to learn, such as service tactics, rallying tactics, beginning tactics, hardball tactics, receive tactics, etc.

Which a beginner is not even aware of and at times even intermediate players do not know. This table tennis book will make you well verse about the difference between strategy and tactics, and describe to you why each of them is vital.

Every table tennis player should read this book as the concept of spinning, pushing, choppers, non-inverted surfaces, and tournaments are explained in such a manner that it would give you an in-depth understanding of each of them.

Table tennis tactics for thinkers also includes that which are the best places to hit shots and get the point. On the contrary, what could be your significant misses and how to overcome them by practicing.

What will you learn in this book

There are an end number of things to learn from this book if you read it seriously. Some of them are-

Know well about the weak point of your opponent and try and hit there
Examine as much as you can your opponent’s game in the first round
Never think during points, as it would distract your mind and put unnecessary pressure. Try and think in-between the points
Tactics do not mean making difficult strategies, instead, create strategies that are simple and easy to attack
Try ‘heavy no spin’ serve; it would make a difference

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2. Table Tennis: Steps to Success

The author of this book is Richard McAfee. This book states the steps that you need in order to be a great table tennis player.

Table Tennis Steps to Success Book Overview

After reading this book, you would walk up in the game and career of table tennis. In this book, there are 11 steps approach which you need to take to become a table tennis professional.

In these 11 steps, the author has described everything about the grip you need to have for a better play, spinning, footwork, stroke combination, serve, receive, spinning, and much more.

By learning these skills, it would enhance your playing, and you would understand when and where to apply these tactics.

The contents of the book include firstly, grip and control of the racket, which helps you in understanding how should you grip your paddle well and controlling it well while playing fast shots.

The second thing that is explained in detail is about spin and racket of angles in it they have told the players about how to do spinning in a better way and give you detail about the angles of the racket, so that you are well versed how to use the racket, in the best way.

What will you learn in this book

This is one of the best table tennis coaching books. Numerous things are explained in this book about good coaching, let us see the best ones to focus on-

How to attack or defend short balls, which would help you gain an edge over others
Returning smashes through better strategies
The excellent thing is that the author has written everything about advanced strategies for service and receive
How to play intermedia strokes
Playing your best and how to win successfully in tournaments

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3. My Secret Life as a Ping-Pong Wizard

This book was written by Henry Winkler. This is an exciting story of a child and how he chooses table tennis and excels in it.

My Secret Life as a Ping-Pong Wizard Book Overview

The reviews of this book are great. People love reading this book as its story of a fifth-grade child whose name is Hank. It was his summer vacations, and it became difficult for him to choose one sport he could play as he was not good in any of them like other kids were.

So his dad, whose name was Pete, suggests him to opt for ping pong. The notable part is that he listens to his father and chooses for ping pong.

Still, somewhere in his mind, he thinks that he would not be able to play it and his peers will make fun of him. He still gives it a try, and he is able to play the game well. He gets praised by his teachers and friends about the way he played.

Then he practices well and reaches the championship level. But after reaching that point, he comes to know that the competition will be held in his family’s bowling alley.

So he gets confused about whether he should go ahead and play or cut off his name from that championship?

What will you learn in this book

This book will teach you more about how to gain more confidence and motivation rather than about technical skills. This is an excellent table tennis book for beginners. Let us see the major things that you may learn-

Never think that you cannot do it
Focus on more practicing rather than paying attention to others statement
Do not underestimate yourself and try different things, till the time you know what you are best at
Have confidence in yourself and stay motivated by reading books of top players and their journey
Never stop trying and think that people will make fun of fit, instead of shutting their mouths by playing incredibly

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4. Table Tennis: Steps to Success (Steps to Success Activity Series)

The author of this book is Larry Hodges. In this book, there is a self-pace learning program mentioned in detail so that you become well aware of the techniques you need to learn in table tennis.

Table Tennis Steps to Success (Steps to Success Activity Series) Book Overview

Table Tennis: Steps to Success book will tell you everything about table tennis. Starting from history, about the sport and its method of practice. This book was written after doing a thorough investigation and research.

Not only this, many expert players were consulted while writing this. The reason for consulting them was that whatever techniques and experiences are mentioned in the book should be based on practical experiences.

There are 15 steps mentioned in the book on table tennis for you to become a better player. The book starts from the basics that you should know and then in further chapters it explains about the advanced techniques.

The fifteen steps of this book are-

Grip and Racket Control
Spinning and Racket Angles
Ready Stance, Forehand and Backhand Drives
Beginning Serves – Getting the Initiative
Positioning and Footwork – How to Move to the Ball
Pushing – Your Basic Backspin Shot
Blocking – Close-to-the-Table Defense
Looping – Topspin Attacking
Flipping – How to Attack Short Balls
Chopping – Backspin Defense
Lobbing – How to Return Smashes
Advanced Serves – Getting the Initiative
Playing Styles and Rallying Tactics
Advanced Serve and Receive Strategy
The Physical and Mental Game

What will you learn in this book

These 15 steps mentioned above would explain to you everything about table tennis and would give an added advantage. Let us see some takeaways from this book-

It would help you in making your basics clear and correcting the standard mistakes
Prepare you in all ways to play tournament
Tell you so many new things like topspin, hardbat tactics, etc. which would make you even more excited about the game and would boost you to practice even more
You would get a fair idea how much you know and what you need to work on.

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5. Expert In A Year: The Ultimate Table Tennis Challenge

The author of this book is Sam Priestley. This is a fascinating story, and a must read especially for beginners and intermediate level players.

Expert In A Year: The Ultimate Table Tennis Challenge Book Overview

This story is of Sam Priestley, who was a novice player and had no idea about table tennis. He was into rowing and running but not too successful there.

So, his childhood friend who became his coach Ben Larcombe convinced him to become his guinea pig in his experiment.

The experiment was named as ‘Expert in a year’. In this experiment, both of them practiced every day for hours without a break. They felt everything be it pain, failure, stress, tired, tears, blood, etc. but they did not give up.

This is the best thing explained in the book, whether you are a beginner or trying to grow in table tennis game you should never give up.

In this book on table tennis, they will tell you about excellent training methods, lessons people learn in their training and how to deal with failure. Also, this book would motivate you to reach your dream goals.

What will you learn in this book

Expert In A Year: The Ultimate Table Tennis Challenge is more about motivation, inspiration, learning from failures, and making it your strength. Below mentioned are a few extra points to remember from this book-

If you have strong dedication than nothing is impossible, and you can become an expert with more practice and a great coach
Start from the basics and just work on them till the time you become perfect in the basics
Once you have full hands-on basics, then you should start with the advanced strokes. This book explains the advanced techniques and how to make them perfect
Footwork and loop techniques are described well and how Sam worked on it and how he made them his strength is explained
The next main thing mentioned in this book is how to win. Here it is explained that when you know everything about the techniques then start thinking about tactics to win

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6. Winning Table Tennis: Skills, Drills, and Strategies

This book is written by Daniel Seemiller. The author of this book itself is one of the best American table tennis professional, and he has shared his experience and techniques with the help of this book.

Winning Table Tennis: Skills, Drills, and Strategies Book Overview

Daniel Seemiller is a great player and won U.S singles five times and doubles champion 12 times. Knowing his experience and tactics to won would, for sure impact your game too.

This book has 10 chapters and these chapters are bifurcated into 3 parts which are preparing to play, sharpening your skills and how to compete so that you can be a winner. This book explains about 29 drills which would make your shot-making ability even better.

There are numerous photos in this book which would help you in understanding the techniques better and also makes learning easy and quick.

This book is a must for especially professional players as it would help them have a vast knowledge about various kinds of drills, how to make grip better, knowing methods of success, converting weakness into strength and learning when to take a point.

Overall the author of this book, Daniel has explained in one of the best manners that how you can become a professional player by making use of techniques and having the edge over your opponent by learning different things

What will you learn in this book

There is a lot to learn from this ping pong book. Knowing experiences of top players is the best benefit a player can have as it aids them in knowing about many new things and their practical lessons which can prepare you to become a great player. Let us understand what the other elements to remember from this book are-

This book states how you should practice every technique in a realistic way
How to find tournaments and taking place in them
There is everything about drill techniques, choosing the correct equipment, serve and return tactics, about footwork and selecting the proper stroke.

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7. Table Tennis Tips from a World Champion

The author of this book is Brend-Ulrich Grob. This is quite a different book which aims at improving each individual’s skills and tells how to polish them.

Table Tennis Tips from a World Champion Book Overview

This book is written by Werner Schlager, and he tells about the excellent tips on table tennis and how to use them.

The unique thing about this book is that the experience and strategies that he shares, he tells the players to use them in their unique way. All the focus in the book is at ‘Belief in yourself’.

This book aims at increasing self-confidence and determination. This book is mainly for players who are really serious about table tennis and want to progress further in it.

In this book, most of the content mentioned is in the form of an interview. There are many pictures and illustrations used in this book so that it becomes easy for the reader to understand how to apply them practically.

In Table Tennis Tips from a World Champion book, there is an inspiring story of Werner, and he explains the best and worst of his shots and how he worked on them. So, all in all, it tells deeply about using the techniques in your own ways.

What will you learn in this book

This book is written in a different way as in the form of an interview, which creates more interest and answers all your doubts related to table tennis in-depth. Let us see what would you gain after reading this book-

The primary point which was mentioned above that is individuality and uniqueness. Your game and playing method should be such that people want to become like you.
Always try and use the advanced techniques and the basics in the way you feel comfortable, do not try and imitate others playing style as it can also have a negative impact
This book explains in a great way that why skills and concepts are vital.

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8. Table Tennis Tips

Larry Hodges wrote this book. This is one book where you can find everything about table tennis and tremendous 150 tips are given in this book by Larry Hodges.

Table Tennis Tips Book Overview

In this book, Larry Hodges, who is an IITF certified coach and also a U.S National coach has given 150 tips for every player who love table tennis. The tips mentioned in this book are for all type of players, be it a starter, intermediate level, or a professional.

The tips are based on all the things that come in table tennis be it serve, receive, tactics, grip, footwork and much more.

Initially, it starts from the basics, so that once you are well aware and have full knowledge of the basics, then only the advanced tips and techniques come in to picture.

After that, Lorry has explained about the advanced tactics, how to use them, and when is the best time to use them.

Reading this book would make you realize what you were missing on in everyday practice. In short, this book would prepare you for a tournament if you read it carefully and practice the know-how.

What will you learn in this book

When the tips are from Larry Hodges, there can be a lot to learn and take away. Let us know what this book Table Tennis Tip teaches you and how it makes you a better player-

The remarkable learning from this book is that you would understand how to start from the basics, being a perfectionist in them and then further learn the advanced ways to play
Playing table tennis is just not a physical game you need to be mentally strong and plan which shot to play when and how to defend in the best manner
Also, in this book, you would get adequate knowledge about the ready position, footwork, tournaments, equipment, psychology, grips and other techniques.

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9. Breaking 2000

The author of this book is Alex Polyakov. This book is really different as in this they tell you story of this great player and explain each point in detail how he became a professional from a beginner.

Breaking 2000 Book Overview

In this book, Alex Polyakov describes how eagerly he wanted to break the record of United States Tennis Association ranking of 2000. Now, how he does that, what challenges he faces, what different he had to do attain that success is there in the book.

The way he has told everything in this book is just fantastic; it feels that you are going through it. In this book, it is also told what the various kinds of techniques are, how did he learn them, how to do them, and most importantly when to use them.

It is also explained very nicely that in table tennis as you learn new things, your game would go a little down. The reason behind it is, till the time you practice and do not learn how to apply it, it would not become perfect, and your game would be slightly at a low pace. But as you learn it become perfect in it again, you would rise as a better player.

What will you learn in this book

As it is a real story of a great player, there are end number of things you can pick from it and apply in your game as it would benefit while you practice for tournaments-

This book will teach you to become a great player and how to start when you are new to the game and go step by step
This book explains precisely how he started as a beginner until his complete success story and how he crosses 2000. It explains the challenges you might come across and the importance of every technique and how it should be used when needed
Coaching is fundamental. This means that you should select a good coach for yourself so that he can tell you what you do not know and teach you the basics and every angle of racket in the best possible way.

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10. Table Tennis Tactics: Your Path to Success

This book is written by Klaus-M Geske. This book tells you everything about table tennis such as official rules of table tennis, basics of the game, and reading your opponents play.

Table Tennis Tactics: Your Path to Success Book Overview

This table tennis book is primarily for beginners so that they can commence by learning the rules of the game, which is very important. This book has 10 chapters each of them explains different aspects of the game.

This book starts with the basics, which is ball placement, racket grips, game types and characteristics of fore-hand and back-hand players, also how to dominate them.

After this Kalus-M Geske has explained very well about the pace whether it should be fast or low and then everything about drills.

Then the most significant thing in the book is how to play against the opponents and how various types of opponents are to be handled and what tactics should be used to defeat them. Also, another major thing described pretty well is all kinds of spins and service tactics.

Risk assessment is also there, which every player should be aware of and know how to handle the situation in stress. There are many pictures and illustrations in this book, which makes it even more exciting and straightforward to understand.

What will you learn in this book

As explained in the overview, there are multiple things to pick up from this book and include in your game. Let us see more things to acquire from Table Tennis Tactics: Your Path to Success-

The author in this book gives great learning that the most important things to become a great player is fitness. And fitness comes from a blend of 5 things which are endurance, speed, flexibility, coordination, and strength for every player.
You will learn one of the best things needed to win the game that is to understand how to play against the different type of players
You should not only learn about the hitting techniques but should also very well know when to use them. As learning would only benefit when you know in which kind of shot it can be applied.

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11. Ping-Pong Diplomacy: The Secret History Behind the Game That Changed the World

This book is written by Nicholas Griffin. This book tells the story between The U.S.A and China, and how ping pong was used politically by China.

Ping-Pong Diplomacy Book Overview

This story is from the year 1971 of the World Ping Pong Championship In Nagoya, Japan. How ping pong was used as communist propaganda. In this story, Nicholas tells everything about what happened in the championship how the Chinese player Zhuang Zedong treated him.

In this book, it is clearly stated that for Chinese people, table tennis has always been played politically. Nicholas also shares how difficult ping pong was in the year 1971 and it was manipulated by top-level people.

He explains really well that why is book was given a subtitle which was ‘the game that changes the world’.

In this book he tells how can you can become a top competitor even when you are in a different country, facing numerous challenges and the environment is new for you.

This book would give great motivation and tell you many things about history and how they overcame it.

What will you learn in this book

Most importantly, the great thing that you would learn from this book is the history and understand how it uses to be then and how drastically it has changed now. Below mentioned are other points which you should grab from this book-

How in the year even The President and all significant delegates were a part of it and how this game was used politically
How to stay confident and give your best when you know the importance of the game and the expectations from you of the complete country
This book explains really good that how should a player give his best even when he is under pressure by remaining calm and not losing patience

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12. 100 Days of Table Tennis: Get Your Daily Dose of Table Tennis Advice

The author of this book is Samson Dubina. He is a great coach he explains his experience of training so many players and what are the best techniques and how to use them.

100 Days of Table Tennis Book Overview

In this book Samson explains about the drills, serve, receive, footwork, grip, angles of the racket, back-hand, fore-hand play and all the things what a layer need to become perfect in just a couple of months.

It is explained well that nothing is possible without giving ample of time and practice to the game.

After reading this book just physically, but you would get even mentally ready to win the game.

The main thing that Samson focuses on is that learning everything is important, but even more important is using those techniques in your way. Using techniques your way would aid you in becoming more comfortable with the game, which would make you a better player.

This book would teach you how to play like a champion and how to stay motivated. Samson wrote this book after doing considerable research and his years of experience. As he has been a coach, he very well knows where the player lacks behind and how to make their weakness their strength.

What will you learn in this book

As this book is written by a great coach, who knows the insights of the player and he has written after gaining vast knowledge and experience of table tennis. Let us see what more you can learn from this book-

This book will list particular performance goals for every drill
Would tell you how to practice is essential to win the game, even you become a great player, still, you should never stop practicing as that is the only way to learn new things
How to prepare for the tournaments so that you can give your best shot.

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13. History of U.S. Table Tennis

Tim Boggan is the author of this book. He is the author of many books and has mentioned about the U.S. table tennis multi-volume history.

History of U.S. Table Tennis Book Overview

This book ‘History of U.S. table tennis’ includes all the information of table tennis in the year 1983. Though the table tennis game started from the 19th-century beginnings, volume 12 covers only 1983.

As there are many other volumes such as volume 18, which includes for the year 1990-1991 which is written by the same author, volume 18, volume 7, and so on. Each book comprises of different year’s history of U.S. table tennis.

Tim Boggan was the vice president of the former international table tennis player who states that United States Table Tennis Asociation (USTTA) should send their young upcoming and talented players to international events along with coaches.

He also quotes that they should play and see others so that they would know what to expect. The same thing he has mentioned in this book, which is so inspiring and motivating for youths who want to succeed in this game.

What will you learn in this book

Motivating young and promising players whether they are international players or national. For the domestic players, It will drive them to enter into global events. For international players, it will motivate to win or succeed in an international tournament.
Knowing about the history of table tennis, especially for the year 1983, in which many table tennis tournaments originated to take place, and the main competition was initiated.
Identifies the key to attaining best tactics after letting you know about the U.S. table tennis history

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14. Ping Pong Diet: A Twenty-one Point for Sustainable Weight Loss

This book is written by Dr Chris Ko M.D. He has mentioned all the weight loss techniques that are possible by playing this sport that is table tennis.

Ping Pong Diet Book Overview

This book is perfect for fitness freaks as well as the table tennis players who want to be fit and play this sport.

This book will let you know about reducing your weight if you are hefty by having ping pong diet that means you just need to play this game regularly, which would be easier than doing gym and stay fit.

It will also teach you about the game tactics on how to make an improved version of yours in this sport.

This is not like other diet books which will only teach you to be on a strict healthy diet (as we know it is really tough), keep exercising or gyming (which is too monotonous). Instead of all this, this book focuses on staying fit (losing your weight if you are fat).

There is a reason behind keeping the name of this book as it will instruct you about the 21 strategies for keeping your weight balanced by playing table tennis regularly which helps to keep us fit and apart from playing, eating healthy.

What will you learn in this book

Enhancing your concentration ability by developing the skill of keen focusing.
Along with having fun and lighten up your mood, you will be able to make your muscles stretch and help in reducing.
Let you know about how to activate not only your body but also your mind.
How can you keep yourself motivated and depict a nutrition label, which is imperative to stay healthy and fit?
Make you learn about controlling your sugar level, nutrition level, and hunger.

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15. Revelations of a Ping Pong Champion

A twenty-one point plan for sustainable weight loss- The author of the book is Dan Seemiller. This book will tell you about the journey of Danny Seemiller.

Revelations of a Ping Pong Champion Book Overview

You are not a real table tennis fan if you are not familiar with the name of Danny Seemiller. He was a legendary player and one of the best champion in table tennis. He is from the United States.

This book will take you to the entire journey of Danny Seemiller’s life as it is almost 50 years that he has been playing this sport.

Coming over to his achievements, though the list is quite long, he has been awarded as 12 times U.S. men’s double champion, 7 times U.S. mixed doubles champion, and 5 times U.S. men’s singles champion.

But this is not where he wanted to stop. He even transitioned to table tennis coaching, and he coached the U.S. national team. He also organized many major tournaments and has been the president of USATT. Currently, he has been working on the World veteran games, in Las Vegas

What will you learn in this book

Way to identify where you are lacking at and ways to overcome them.
You will get to know about Danny’s playing style by which you will get to know where you stand and how can you improve your game.
Tips to become a tactical competitor or opponent.
The prediction for the next huge change in table tennis strategy.
Ways to change your style of playing the game as you grow older.
What are the best gripping strategies or how can you hold the racket to strengthen your game level.
get to know about World veteran championships in 2018 which will enable you to learn lots of perceptive ideas about this game.

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It’s Your Time to Read The Best Books on Table Tennis 😀

Reading the table tennis books, about the techniques of the game and rules is as vital as practising. Because without this knowledge, you could never become a great player.

It is always essential to know the history of the game you are playing, it’s rules and how to stay motivated and for that reading is very important. So, these were 15 best ping pong books you can choose from according to your interest.

If you liked this list of books on table tennis then do share it on social and with someone who can benefit from these books.

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