Penhold Details: Wang Hao, Xu Xin, Ryu Seung-min and More
Top-level penhold players are now extremely rare. Felix Lebrun, Qiu Dang, Wong Chun Ting, and Xue Fei are among the few active penhold players who appear in our equipment rankings. In today’s game, where speed keeps rising and topspin rallies dominate, the shakehand grip has some natural structural advantages.
Among current penhold players, the Chinese-style penhold still holds some influence, while the Japanese-style penhold has nearly vanished from professional competition. Due to rule changes and ball material changes, the Japanese penhold’s weaker backhand has become increasingly difficult to match against shakehand players.
The Golden Era of Penhold
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Ryu Seung-min took the men’s singles title — the last hurrah for the Japanese-style penhold. In 2008, Chinese-style penhold player Ma Lin won men’s singles at the Beijing Olympics. In the World Cup, Ma Lin won the men’s title four times. Wang Hao took it three times — in 2007, 2008, and 2010. Xu Xin also won it once, in 2013. While Wang Hao never claimed Olympic singles gold, he made it to the final three times consecutively.
That was the final golden decade for Chinese-style penhold.
On the comparison between Japanese and Chinese penhold, Ogimura Ichiro (1988 Olympic men’s doubles champion and Lin Yun-ju’s former coach) noted that in certain respects Japanese penhold can produce higher attacking power, but overall the Chinese-style is superior. Today’s rules and playing styles have changed — from the serve to the third-ball attack. Longer rallies are now common. Rather than chasing peak attacking power, modern play emphasizes offensive-defensive balance. The Chinese penhold’s backhand side is easier to use: the variation in attack rhythm, defensive stability, and short ball handling are all better.
Looking at how top national team players compete today, it’s clear that you must focus on attack-defense balance and forehand-backhand equilibrium. Players like Xue Fei (strong backhand, ordinary forehand) or Xiang Peng (powerful forehand, weaker backhand) have a hard time going far.
With the plastic ball, single-shot quality has dropped overall, and that applies at the amateur level too. In the past, amateurs with strong forehands more easily became top players. But today’s younger generation has developed better backhands — they tend toward a style that can both attack and defend, with a relatively more balanced forehand-backhand game.
One thing I forgot to include last time: a thickness chart of penhold handles (from Tabletennisking magazine). Here it is for reference:
Racket Weight and Thickness
Compared to Japanese-style penhold, Chinese-style penhold players need to pay more attention to “racket weight” — not just the blade weight, but the overall racket weight including rubber. For beginning penhold players, the backhand rubber should be softer and thinner to reduce weight and improve control flexibility.
As backhand technique improves, you can gradually increase thickness and hardness on the backhand side. But for two-sided inverted rubber setups, the racket generally should not be too thick — unless you’re playing one-sided or using pips on the back.
Thinner blades give more control flexibility. Thicker blades offer better support and a faster rebound when borrowing power. It’s a trade-off.
Grip and Rubber Placement
Here is how Wang Hao and Felix apply the rubber on the front side (from Tabletennisking magazine): full coverage. This enables smoother forehand-backhand transitions and works well for players with excellent backhand technique.
Xu Xin and Wong Chun Ting use the right-side style — leaving some space on the front. In that setup, the thumb rests on the rubber and the index finger wedges between the handle and rubber, providing grip and preventing slipping. It also offers slightly better flexibility for short-ball play.