Site Products
Larry Hodges: MDTTC Coach & Butterfly Writer

Tip of the Week: Clean Your Racket

Tip of the Week: Clean Your Racket

by Larry Hodges

It’s a simple concept – keep your inverted sponge rubber clean!!! It doesn’t take much play for the surface to gather dust and lose some of its grippiness. It may not seem like much since it’s a gradual process, but it really can make a difference – though often players don’t notice it. (Related to this is that you should get new sponge periodically – the surface wears down and the sponge gradually loses its bounciness. Since I play 6-7 days/week, I change both sides every month; others who don’t play as much may go six months or even a year, though the latter is a bit long if you want to have lively, spinny shots.) Here’s my three-part recommendaton:

  1. Wash it off with water before every session. The simplest way is to wet a corner of a towel (and you do have a towel when you play to wipe away sweat and clean your racket, right?), and wipe it off with that. Then wipe the water away and dry the racket with a dry part of the towel.
  2. A few times each game simply breathe on the sponge’s surface, and then wipe it on your pants or towel. This gets rid of gathering dust.
  3. At the start of serious competitions, and perhaps once a week otherwise, use rubber cleaner to really clean it off.

Latest News

US Nationals Recap

July 6, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) The US National Table Tennis Championships is in the books.  One of America’s premiere events… Read More

United States Smash: Qualifiers are Finished and the Main Draw Begins Today

July 6, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT) Americans made waves in the qualifying rounds of the United States Smash, the… Read More

Shorten Your Swing

July 4, 2025
WAIT FUNCTION: Serve short backspin or side backspin to Forehand or Backhand, Robot plays long 1 backspin push… Read More

Bob Chen Attacking Backhand Flick: Butterfly Training Tips

July 4, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) Bob Chen Bob Chen Attacking Backhand Flick: Butterfly Training Tips https://youtu.be/RyFTvjLyHk4 Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly… Read More

Derek May Bowmar Sports Interview

July 3, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Bowmar Sports Interview, Coach Taiwo Adeyinka interviews long time Sponsored player, Derek May.… Read More

Apolonia ZLC + Dignics 09C + Dignics 09C Racket Review

July 2, 2025
(by Bowmar Sports) In this video, Coach Brian Pace reviews and dives deep into one of Butterfly’s elite… Read More

Open Up Your Body

July 2, 2025
WAIT FUNCTION: Serve short backspin or side backspin to Backhand, Robot plays long backspin push to Backhand, Backhand… Read More

Kanak Jha and Sally Moyland are National Singles Champions

July 2, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) Kanak Jha arrived in Ontario, California for the start of the US National Table Tennis… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.