Every table tennis shot starts from how you hold the bat and how you stand while you wait. The shakehand grip is the usual starting grip (penhold is the other main family), and the key is holding it relaxed so your arm and wrist stay free. The ready position is a low, balanced, slightly forward stance with the bat in front of you, and you return to it after every shot. The camera reads your stance from the front; the fine detail of your fingers on the handle is too small for it to judge.
Shakehand grip, relaxed
Wrap your middle, ring and little fingers around the handle, and rest your thumb next to your middle finger on the forehand side.
like shaking someone's hand, not squeezing it.
Lay your index finger along the bottom edge of the rubber on the backhand side. For a neutral grip, keep the thumb and index finger roughly level with each other, lying along the blade near the straight edge of the rubber.
the bat sits balanced, not tilted toward one side.
Relax your hand. If your knuckles go white, you are squeezing too hard. A tight grip locks up the muscles in your arm and costs you touch, stroke speed and spin.
a light hold, not a clench.
Balanced ready position
Stand about an arm's length from the end of the table, positioned so you can reach the whole table given where your opponent is standing, not automatically on the centre line.
close enough to reach, far enough to react.
Set your feet about shoulder-width apart or a little wider. Too narrow and you lose balance; too wide and you can't move sideways. Some coaches go wider still, up to about 1.5 to 2 shoulder-widths. Right-handers usually keep the left foot slightly ahead (left-handers the right), so you are not perfectly square to the table.
a stable base you can push off in either direction.
Bend your knees and lean forward from the waist so your head is slightly in front of your knees and your weight is on the balls of your feet, not your heels. Bend, don't squat deep.
heels light, ready to spring.
Hold the bat in front of your body at about hip height, elbows out in front of you (not tucked into your sides), wrist straight and the bat face neutral. Keep your free arm up for balance.
the bat is in the middle, equally ready for forehand or backhand.
Reset after every shot
After every stroke, return to this ready position straight away. Rallies are fast, and the ready position is what lets you play any shot next.
hit, then back to ready, every time.
Feel it
A loose handshake grip with no white knuckles. Knees bent, head slightly in front of your knees, weight on the balls of your feet, bat in front at about hip height. You feel low and balanced, able to step either way. Back care: the ready position bends your trunk forward a lot, and a study of competitive female players linked more years of training with more back pain; the authors recommend adding exercises that offset the bent-forward posture. If your back hurts, ease off and get it checked.
Fix-its
- You squeeze the bat (white knuckles) Loosen your fingers until the knuckles return to normal colour. A relaxed hand keeps the arm free for touch and spin.
- Your legs are straight or you stand upright Bend your knees and lean forward from the waist until your head is just in front of your knees.
- Your weight is on your heels Shift forward onto the balls of your feet so your heels feel light.
- Your feet are close together Widen to at least shoulder-width so you are balanced and can push off sideways.
- Elbows tucked in or bat held low and to the side Bring your elbows out in front and hold the bat in the middle at about hip height.
Drill
- Grip check: take your grip, look at your knuckles, then relax until they aren't white. Re-check every few rallies.
- Ready-position hold: step into ready (feet, knees, lean, bat in front) without a ball. Stand up, then set it again several times until you find it quickly.
- Shuffle and reset: from ready, shuffle a few small steps to one side and back to the other, staying low, and finish back in ready each time.
- Shadow strokes: play a shadow forehand or backhand from ready and return to ready after every one.
- Film from the front at about table height to check foot width, knee bend and bat position in front of you.
Sources
- Table Tennis England — Paul Stimpson, Coaching: Grip & Ready Position (2010)
- Table Tennis England — New League Player Notes, Week 1 (2025)
- Bańkosz & Barczyk-Pawelec — Habitual and ready positions in female table tennis players and their relation to the prevalence of back pain, PeerJ (2020)
- Ben Larcombe, Expert Table Tennis — Table Tennis Stance and Ready Position (2013, updated 2019)
Last checked 2026-10-26.