Are Strong or Flexibile Wrists More Important in Table Tennis / Ping-Pong?

Question: Are Strong or Flexibile Wrists More Important in Table Tennis / Ping-Pong?

Answer: Hello Roger, That's an interesting couple of questions, since the wrist is a very important component of many table tennis strokes.

For players with weak wrists, I would certainly recommend strengthening them as much as possible to try to bring them up to adequate levels, so that the wrist can perform its function of adding wrist snap to strokes when desired, in order to increase speed and spin, or change direction of the shot.

For players with normal wrist strength, I think that it certainly would not hurt to have stronger wrists when playing table tennis. I remember one of my past table tennis coaches used to have a wrist roller device, which was a long metal pipe with string wrapped around it, with a brick tied to the end of the string. You had to roll the brick up to the pipe, and then lower it again, using only your wrists. It was very good for strengthening your wrists while still keeping them flexible.

Once enough wrist strength is present to allow strokes to be performed without a handicap, I then think that flexibility and touch in your wrist is more important than pure strength. I would think that the average person has more than enough flexibility in their wrist for table tennis purposes, but as players get older doing some exercises and stretches to keep your wrists supple would be a definite plus. Too much stiffness caused by tension in the wrist muscles is also to be avoided - it is very important to keep the wrists free to move as required.

So overall, once a minimum amount of strength is reached, extra strength is helpful but not essential, and maintaining flexibility and touch in your wrists becomes more important. I would argue that extra flexibility is always a good thing, but for most players it's not something they need to worry much about unless they notice that stiffness in their wrists is impeding their play.

One thing to be aware of if you decide to embark on a wrist-strengthening or flexibility campaign - while your muscles are adapting to the new demands, you may find your touch suffers a little. But once your wrists get used to the extra load, you should find your touch returning. I'd also recommend never doing a wrist strengthening exercise the same day you are due to play an important match - you may find you have reduced your fine motor control and lost your table tennis touch.

Regards,
Greg Letts