Best Table Tennis Racket for Spin and Speed

Once you reach a more advanced level of table tennis, where you’re able to put a lot of speed and spin on the ball while still controlling the flight and keeping it in play, you may start wanting to look into a paddle to help boost those desired attributes. For this piece, we’ll review some options which we think could be the best table tennis racket for spin and speed.

Please note, that all of these paddles are ITTF approved, making them legal for tournament and competition play.

Our 3 Favorite Options

We decided on showcasing three different paddle options which specialize in spin and speed, with each paddle differing slightly in attributes and performance. All three of these paddles would be viable options if you’re looking to invest in a paddle with high spin and speed.

For each paddle, we look to go into the construction of the main components, namely the blade, the rubber, and the handle – while specifying what each paddle specializes in. We hope that this will help you determine which is the best racket for spin and speed, and which racket will suit your next upgrade.

Please note, none of these paddles are necessarily ‘better’ than the other, as they each have their unique qualities. However, all of these paddles are offensive-style paddles – and we think they are some of the best pre-made paddles for spin and speed on the market right now.

We have also included a table at the bottom of this article, comparing some key stats and components of each rocket.

JOOLA Infinity Overdrive

JOOLA’s Infinity Overdrive is a table tennis racket packed with power and has the most speed out of all the models in JOOLA’s Infinity series. This affordable paddle would be an ideal option for an advanced player who has mastered the basic strokes and has the right technique in controlling a fast-paced paddle.

Blade

The Infinity Overdrive has a 7 ply blade with 5 real wood and 2 carbon layers, which shows that this paddle is built for speed. The 2 carbon layers in the blade help with enlarging the sweet spot in the paddle, giving shots more spring in every area of strike. The carbon layers also help with reducing vibrations, leading to a more consistent strike. These carbon layers are the outermost layers of the blade, with one layer on each side of the blade.

The 5 wooden layers consist of three different kinds of wood, namely Hinoki, Koto, and Ayous. Hinoki and Koto are the stiffer but more nimble woods, giving the blade power. While Ayous is put in the blade to benefit the control aspect of the blade.

The wood and carbon layers complement each other and help give the Overdrive an impressive speed rating – but also noticeable control.

Rubber

JOOLA’s Micron 48 rubber is used for the Infinity Overdrive. This is a high-grade rubber that compliments the offensive style blade in the paddle.

The Micron 48 rubber has a very tacky surface, giving players great ability to grip and spin the ball. Having a more tacky surface benefits offensive players, as they are able to apply more topspin on their forehand drives. It also benefits side spin play, for more defensive and controlled strokes.

The Infinity Overdrive has a sponge thickness of 2.2mm, which is considerably thick. However, this is an offensive paddle and a thicker sponge benefits more attacking play. The sponge is also slightly softer than others, which helps the control attribute of the paddle.

This is a great rubber choice for the speed-filled blade, it benefits offensive strokes while having a slightly softer sponge, which helps with control.

Handle

The Infinity Overdrive uses the classic flared handle, making it the perfect match for someone who uses the Shakehand grip. This handle is ergonomic, meaning it is designed for both efficiency and comfort.

Another positive of this paddle, is that there are different color options in the handle, giving the paddle a sense of style.

Ratings

Speed	100
Spin	98
Control	92

Palio Legend 3.0

Palio’s Legend 3.0, along with their other pre-made bats, have become some of the most popular rackets on the market. The Legend series is Palio’s fastest racket, making it a good option for more advanced players looking to get more purchase for their offensive strokes. The Legend 3.0 doesn’t have the greatest control, however, we are focusing on paddles that specialize in spin and speed.

Blade

The Legend 3.0 has a 5 ply all real wood blade and has been upgraded from its predecessor, the Legend 2.0. The 3.0 blade has a greater focus on quality and feel, which is a reason for the paddle’s impressive reputation in durability as well as consistent ball striking.

The Legend series has a slightly heavier blade than others in Palio’s builds, which benefits offensive play. A heavier blade puts natural speed on the ball, without having to move the arm faster during the stroke. The Legend weighs in at around 190 grams – a good weight for an attacking player.

Although the blade doesn’t have carbon layers, there is still good speed in this blade. Its solid and heavier base helps contribute to the impressive speed rating in this racket.

Rubber

Palio’s Hadou rubber is used for the Legend 3.0. This ITTF approved rubber is one of the more impressive rubbers you’ll find on a pre-made bat, and can even be bought by itself.

The Hadou rubber has a harder sponge than most in its class, which gives the rubber an all-out attack style. The harder sponge also benefits players in being able to put more spin on the ball. A harder sponge does take away from the control of the paddle, however, this is an offensive paddle after all.

In terms of tackiness, the Hadou rubber is reasonably tacky, which helps with generating good spin on shots. The harder sponge also contributes to the high spin rating on the Legend.

A sponge thickness of 2mm also benefits offensive strokes and helps give shots good speed. The harder sponge helps add the pace which the sponge generates.

We love the rubbers that Palio uses in their paddles and the use of the Hadou in the Legend is a great fit for its blade. This rubber is built for speed but also generates impressive spin.

Handle

The handle used for the Palio Legend 3.0 is a flared handle. This is the ideal handle for a Shakehand grip user.

Palio has used a flared handle in all of their pre-made paddle builds, as it provides great comfort to players. A flared handle suits Shakehand grip users who often look to forehand play. This handle suits the offensive style of the Legend 3.0. This grip is ergonomic, making comfort and performance the main goal.

Ratings

Speed	100
Spin	90
Control	60

STIGA Raptor

STIGA’s Raptor is one of their newer paddle builds and is definitely one of their more impressive pre-made bats. The paddle specializes in spin and speed, making it a good option for more advanced players to look at. The Raptor is one of STIGA’s fastest paddles, and we thought it would be fitting to include this menace in this piece.

Blade

The Raptor has a 7 ply blade with 5 wooden layers, and 2 carbon layers. The wood used for the blade is balsa wood, which is a commonly used wood in paddles as it provides durability and quality.

The 5 layers of wood are covered by 1 carbon layer on each side of the paddle. These carbon layers play a role in enlarging the sweet spot of the paddle and giving the paddle more spring in general. The carbon layers also players a pivotal role in reducing vibrations where contact is made with the ball – which helps with consistent ball striking.

This is becoming a regular blade build for offensive paddles. Carbon technology has become a commonly used trait in paddles, as it brings noticeable benefits to paddles. The carbon layers are also lighter than wood, which gives rackets a comfortable light feel, while still providing good speed.

Rubber

The rubber used for the Raptor is STIGA’s S5 rubber. This ITTF approved rubber uses ACS technology – which combines microscopic air particles in an ultra-light rubber, which essentially adds to the elasticity in the rubber. The use of this technology adds some impressive speed to the paddle and is a big reason for this paddle’s insane speed rating.

The sponge thickness for the Raptor is 2mm, which is ideal for higher speed. A thicker rubber will increase the spring and therefore add pace to shots, but will also take away a bit of control. This is a big reason why the speed rating is a lot higher than the control rating in the Raptor.

The S5 rubber also has a tacky top sheet, which is why the Raptor has been highly rated for advanced spin play. The only problem with the rubber is that it does need a fair amount of maintenance, in order to keep its tackiness.

Handle

The STIGA Raptor has gone for a concave handle, which is essentially a flared handle. The slight difference is that the Raptor uses WRB technology, which means the handle is hollow. This gives the handle a light feel while remaining balanced in terms of weight. This is an ideal handle for the Shakehand grip user.

Having a hollow handle means the weight of the paddle is centered around the face of the paddle, giving the Raptor a unique but powerful feel.

WRB stands for: Weight balance, Rate of recovery, and Ball sensitivity respectively.

The Raptor has a handle built for comfort and balance but also built to enhance ball striking and precision.

Ratings

Speed	99
Spin	100
Control	80

Comparison

Best for Spin alone

If we have to focus mainly on spin (but still have amazing speed) we’d probably recommend the JOOLA Infinity Overdrive. This paddle has some impressive rubbers that have great grip. We’ve been seriously impressed by JOOLA’s latest paddle builds, and we highly recommend checking out some of their other recent builds as well.

This is an affordable paddle that will definitely boost your ability to change your pace of play, as well as put some impressive spin on the ball. It has been pointed out that this paddle has some serious control as well, which can be hard to find in offensive paddles.

Best for Speed alone

If you’re looking for out and out pace, we would have to say Palio’s Legend 3.0 would be a good option. The paddle has racked some seriously positive ratings and simply has to be looked at if you’re looking to add some pace to your game. The choice of the Hadou rubbers makes us feel that this is one of the better options for an offensive paddle.

Best of Both

STIGA’s Raptor is probably the best out of the three when it comes to both spin and speed. This is the most expensive out of the three paddles, but it is arguably the best in terms of spin and speed. The combination of the carbon technology blade and S5 rubber makes this a fantastic pre-made bat and gives it a professional feel.

Conclusion

We thought these three offensive paddles were some of the most impressive paddles in terms of spin and speed, and they’ll definitely have an impact on your play – if you choose to invest in one of them!

If you’re looking for a more defensive or control-oriented paddle, we’ve reviewed many options here.