What percentage of a table tennis racket blade must be natural wood by thickness?

At least 85 percent of a table tennis racket blade’s thickness must be natural wood.

This rule applies to the blade, the rigid part held by the player, rather than to the rubber coverings attached to its faces. A blade may include limited layers of composite material, such as carbon or glass fiber, but those materials cannot exceed the permitted proportion.

The regulation preserves the traditional characteristics of table tennis while allowing controlled equipment innovation. Players can choose blades with different wood combinations, thicknesses, and stiffnesses, then pair them with rubbers designed for speed, control, or spin.

The 85-percent requirement is a blade-composition rule, not a statement that 85 percent of the entire racket must be wood. The handle and rubbers are treated separately. This distinction matters because modern rackets can look highly technological even though their playing blade remains predominantly natural wood.