Table Tennis is a sport where most players like to look and feel good with what they are wearing. In my personal opinion, compared to many other sports played in the world table tennis players wear some of the most unique and stylish sports clothing you will find. In this article we will look at some different styles of clothing being worn as well as some of the well known table tennis brands who specialise in producing clothing especially for table tennis players.
Butterfly is a well known butterfly brand that creates a number of unique and stylish table tennis shirts for both male and female players. They sponsor some very well known players around the world including TIMO BOLL (Germany), Jun Mizutani (Japan) and Liu Shiwen (China). By accepting sponsorship these players and other top sports people are able to showcase the Butterfly brand at international tournaments they compete in all round the world.
For example Timo Boll is frequently seen wearing sponsored table tennis clothing. Here are some photos below of him wearing butterfly table tennis shirts.
What to Look for When Buying Table Tennis Clothing?
My advice would be to look at the sizes of table tennis clothing that are available because sizes vary between brands. Be aware that just because you may fit a particular size brand of clothing does not mean you will be the same size in another.
It is important to ensure you don’t have a shirt that is too big because sometimes (rarely) a player wearing a shirt that is too big can get their bat caught up in their clothing when playing a shot causing them to lose the point. This scenario can be avoided by ensuring when choosing clothing that it is the appropriate size.
Also ensure any tee shirt you buy is not a white colored fabric as you may find an umpire during competitive play will ask you to change it. The reason given will usually be that your opponent could be disadvantaged by him having difficulty seeing the white ball during play against your white shirt.
Personal Choice
It is also important to choose clothing that you feel comfortable wearing. This is particularly relevant if you live in a country with hot climatic conditions. If you live in these types of conditions you can now buy some very smart looking shirts made from lightweight fabrics specially designed to absorb sweat without it sticking to your skin.
If you play table tennis frequently then you will be wearing your table tennis apparel regularly so the last thing you want is to not feel good. Again what you decide to wear is a personal choice, for example there are a wide range of smart trendy shirts that have collars, round necks and V necks marketed by all the big brand table tennis equipment suppliers that will suit any taste.
Photo of Timo Boll: By courtesy of the ITTF