Table Tennis in Kyiv: A Concise Guide

News

More news:
• Ukrainian Table Tennis Federation — All-Ukraine table tennis tournaments; UTTF ranking
• The Kyiv City Table Tennis Federation — Facebook of the Kyiv City Table Tennis Federation
• Настільний теніс Києва — Telegram of the Kyiv City Table Tennis Federation
• Настільний теніс Київської області — Telegram of Kyiv Region Table Tennis Federation
• НТК | Настільний теніс Києва — Kyiv table tennis news; a tournament schedule
• TTN | Table Tennis News — Ukraine and worldwide table tennis news

Maps

Kyiv table tennis map

World table tennis map

Notes

• Sometimes on Android, links to the map do not open from the first tap.
• Sometimes on Android, it's hard to switch from the Kyiv tennis map back to the regular map (without paddles). Solution:
  1. Tap on any paddle icon.
  2. Tap "View map legend".
  3. Tap the "Close" button.
  

Federation Competition Calendars

• KMFNT competitions plan for 2026
• Ukrainian Table Tennis Federation competitions plan for 2026
• WTT Youth Centender 2026 Prospects
• International competitions calendar 2026
• The regulations of the Club Championship and the Children’s League for the 2026/2027 season (the calendars are in Annex 1 to the respective regulations).

Weekly Club Competitions

Club Competition Formats

Tournaments

• "Tournament for players without ranking" is a tournament for those who are just taking their first steps in table tennis or have played for a long time but cannot win against any ranked player.
• "Tournament 0-5" is primarily for beginners, who have either no ranking (zero) or a small official Ukrainian ranking (up to 5.9 inclusive);
• "Tournament 0-15" is for beginners and amateurs;
• "Tournament 0-40" is for beginners, amateurs, and professionals, though honestly, beginners would not be interested in such tournaments, since they will lose all their matches quickly and won't learn to play better.
• "Tournament 0-100" is effectively a tournament without limits. Everyone can play, from novices to national team players.

Ranked Tournaments

If you don't have a UTTF ranking, and you win against a ranked player in a ranked tournament, UTTF will calculate and assign you a ranking.

Children's ranked tournaments are often held in multiple categories, e.g. children born in 2012 and older, children born in 2014 and older, and so on (or U11, U13, U15, and so on).
Likewise, table tennis veterans' ranked tournaments are often held in multiple categories: 40 years and older, 50 years and older, and so on.

• The ranking system in Ukrainian table tennis.
• See the official ranking of Ukrainian players, past game scores, tournaments, and participants on the Ukrainian Table Tennis Federation website.
• You can calculate the UTTF ranking yourself in the ranking calculator.
• One more ranking calculator.
• UTTF Rules of table tennis sports competitions.
• Unified sports classification of Ukraine for table tennis.
• View match statistics for two players.

• In almost all clubs, players whose ranking exceeds the limit by tenths are still admitted to participate in the tournament. For example, a player with a ranking of 25.9 is admitted to a 0–25 tournament.
  Pokolinnia strictly enforces the ranking cap. Gourmet sometimes admits players above the ranking limit by tenths. Raketka allows the limit to be exceeded by a few points: for example, a player with ranking 33.8 can participate in a 0-30 ranked tournament.

Unranked Tournaments

• Game results of unranked tournaments do not affect UTTF the rankings of players.
• Participation in an unranked tournament does not require the annual UTTF fee.
• Participation in an unranked tournament typically costs 30% less than participation in a ranked one.
• Unranked tournaments are divided into age categories much less often than ranked tournaments.

Ladders

Advantages of this competition format:

• No need to register in advance to participate.
• You can arrive late or leave at any time.
• You can come without a partner — and that’s actually how most players do it.
• Players of any skill level can take part — from beginners to professionals. After each set, players are automatically sorted by level, so stronger players play with stronger ones, weaker with weaker, and beginners with beginners.
• Unlike a tournament, a ladder does not have a knockout bracket, so within a few hours of play everyone has a chance to become the top player — more than once, even.
• Players are less nervous than at tournaments, so they swear less and generally behave better.
• There are almost no breaks between games, so you spend your time as efficiently as possible.

• Each table is assigned a number: table #1 is the strongest (the top of the ladder), table #2 has a bit weaker, and so on.
• All tables start their sets simultaneously.
• Players who complete their set shall wait until all other tables have finished.
  • When many tables are in use, some clubs shorten waiting times by ending all games as soon as the strongest table (or, alternatively, any table) finishes its set. The players at that table shall immediately announce, “Game over! Rotate!” Upon this call, play at all tables shall stop immediately, even if a rally is in progress. The leading player at each table is declared the winner. If the score is tied when play is stopped, one deciding point (no-ad, “sudden death”) shall be played to determine the winner.
• After each set, all players change tables. The player who lost the set moves to the table with the next highest number (stepping down to a lower rung of the ladder) and will face a weaker opponent in the next set. The player who won the set moves to the table with the next lower number (stepping up to a higher rung of the ladder) and will face a stronger opponent. Once all players are in position, the next set begins simultaneously on all tables.
• A ladder typically lasts several hours; however, players may continue for as long as they wish. Any player who joins late or returns after a break shall resume play from the lowest rung.
• If the number of players is odd, the player who loses a set on the lowest-ranked table shall sit out the next set and join the waiting line.
• If there are only three players, they rotate regardless of who won or lost the previous set. Each player faces one opponent in the first set, the other opponent in the second set, and then sits out the third set. This rotation ensures all players get equal playtime.
• When there are insufficient tables for all players (i.e. two or more players are waiting), the players who lose their set on the lowest-ranked tables shall vacate their tables and join the waiting line. The players at the front of the waiting line shall then take places on the lowest-ranked table(s).

• Volia:
  • Players gather every evening (around 19 o'clock on weekdays, or 18 on weekends). Exceptions occur very rarely.
  • Every day, players announce in the Viber-group for ladders, when they are going to play this evening.
  • Some regular players are around 20–25 UTTF ranking.
  • When the number of players is odd, administrator Oleh joins the game so that nobody would sit on the bench.
• Gourmet:
  • The club hosts a ladder every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The club has been following this tradition for many years.
  • Some regular players are around 30–40 UTTF ranking.
• Orion:
  • With a "Happy Hours" season pass, the ladder is very affordable.
  • Some regular players are around 20–25 UTTF ranking.
• Sports School #23
  • A single visit costs 100 hryvnias.
  • Some regular players are around 15–20 UTTF ranking.
• KUTT
• Leader (Sports School)
• Pechersk
• Mykilska Slobidka. During the warm season, people play knockout here every evening, both singles and doubles.
• The pensioners' court in Hydropark. In the warm half of the year, players gather here almost every day.
• The court in Holosiïvsky Park. In the warm half of the year, players gather here almost every day.
• Rusanivska sandspit. During the warm season, people play here every evening — open format.

• To participate in a ladder in Breiks, you need an invitation from the organizers, as they always gather an even number of players of approximately the same skill level.
• Join respective groups in Telegram and Viber to see who and when is going to play.

Coach-Guided Matches

Training

• Individual training sessions and split sessions are available in most clubs and usually don't have a fixed schedule, as they are arranged individually between the player and the coach.
• Group training for amateurs takes place regularly — though with varying frequency — in clubs such as:
  • Gourmet
  • KUTT
  • Orion
  • Podacha#9
  • Pokolinnia
  • Quiks
  • TT Republic
  • Volia
• Professional athletes are trained from an early age in these clubs and schools (in alphabetical order):
  • Gatne, SC
  • Leader (RC)
  • Leader (Sports School)
  • Orion
  • Pokolinnia
  • Pulse
  • Raketka
  • Sports School #23
  • Sports School (Brovary)
• Orion also regularly holds masterclasses, sports shows, training camps, winter/summer children's sports camps.

Useful Info

More resources on table tennis in Kyiv

• The Kyiv City Table Tennis Federation: website, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram
• Where can I play table tennis in Kyiv?
• I love to play table tennis in Kyiv!
• A flea market on Telegram
• A flea market on Facebook
• Another flea market on Facebook

Stores

• Since Tabletennis11 offers great prices and volume discounts up to 30%, Kyiv players created two Viber groups for joint orders:
  • "Заказ tabletennis11". A private group that makes an order once a month.
  • "Теніс: інвентар+" makes orders a few times a year.

Equipment tips

Those who train with a coach usually use equipment recommended by the coach.

Those who don’t train and don’t plan to should be warned against supermarket paddles because there are tons of vastly better alternatives. Here are some of the most affordable yet decent options for people not yet familiar with table tennis equipment:

• Players looking for a pre-assembled racket cannot go wrong with Yinhe 05B (in Ukraine or from China) or Yinhe 06B (in Ukraine or from China). They are well-suited for playing both in clubs and outdoors. The rackets generate good spin and are good for smashes, striking a balance — not too fast, not too slow.
• A drawback of factory-made rackets is that they are glued with such adhesive that makes it hard to replace the rubber when the time comes. So players usually prefer to buy a blade and rubbers separately and assemble the racket themselves using special glue.
  Players who don't mind assembling the racket themselves can go by
  • A blade
    • for an adult
      • Yinhe N-10S — an allround blade (in Ukraine or from China)
      • Yinhe N-11S — an allround blade (in Ukraine or from China)
      • Sanwei T5000 — an attacking blade for aggressive play (in Ukraine or from China)
    • for a girl who needs a thinner handle — Yinhe CN2 (in Ukraine or from China);
      
    • for a child — Yinhe CN5, its handle is even thinner and shorter than that of Yinhe CN2 (in Ukraine or from China)
    Most blades are available with different handle shapes (FL, AN, CS, ST). Choose FL if you’re not sure which handle shape you need.
  • Rubbers — Yinhe Mercury II Soft or Medium, Palio AK47 Yellow, Sanwei T88 Ultra Spin, Yinhe Mars II Soft or Medium. AliExpress runs big sales a few times a year, during which these rubbers can drop to around $3-5 per sheet. Note that according to the rules, one rubber must be black, and the second one can be any colour except black.
    If you do not know how to play yet, take Sanwei T88 Ultra Spin or Yinhe Mars II Soft — these are very comfortable rubbers for beginners. And if you already know how to play, Yinhe Mercury II is an excellent choice for close-to-the-table play, while Palio AK47 is great for a more aggressive style or to play a couple of steps back from the table.
  • Glue Revolution №3 (medium viscosity) — apply a thin layer of glue to the sponge and to the blade, let it dry until clear, then apply another layer, and let it dry again. Then glue the rubber to the blade and cut the excess. Examples: 1, 2.
  Most table tennis stores can assemble a racket for you free of charge if you buy both the blade and the rubbers from them. This won’t be a factory-made racket, but a professional assembly with professional glue. If a shop offers this option, it’s worth taking advantage of it.
• Note that some of the rubbers mentioned here, such as Sanwei T88 Ultra Spin, are quite slow. If you prefer to play aggressively, it makes sense to glue them onto a fast blade like the Sanwei T5000.
• Direct sunlight, dust, and temperature fluctuations quickly wear out any rubber. If you mostly play outdoors, it makes sense to buy inexpensive rubbers and replace them once or twice a year. It’s also worth considering that for outdoor play, a slower racket is generally preferable, as it’s easier to adapt to non-ideal playing conditions.
• Outdoor tables sometimes do not have nets, so you need to bring your own. The "Joola Avanti" net is one of the best portable options: inexpensive (30$), lightweight (700 grams), reliable (metal), with convenient tension and height adjustment (like professional nets), and overall well-made.
  If you want an ultra‑budget option, the extremely cheap Cima CM‑T117 net, while lacking decent tension and height adjustment, is well-made and weighs only 430 grams.

Table tennis, ping-pong, hardbat

• Table tennis is an Olympic sport in which the ball travels fast and spins intensely, and players' rackets differ greatly in their speed, control, tackiness, and so on. Each player selects a blade and rubbers that suit their playing style (attack, defence, control). Often, the rubber on one side of the racket differs significantly from the other, which is why the rules require the rubbers to be of different colours.
• The term ping-pong has a more complex history. Simply put, about a hundred years ago it was an alternative name for table tennis. Later, the term was used for recreational forms of table tennis. About 15 years ago, "ping-pong" became associated with a specific variation of table tennis in which players use identical rackets covered with sandpaper on both sides. In ping-pong, the ball usually travels more slowly and spins less than in table tennis.
  Ping Pong Point is the only club in Kyiv that prefers ping-pong over table tennis.
  More information about ping pong can be found on the Ukrainian Ping Pong Federation website.
• In Chinese, table tennis is called "乒乓球" (pīng pāng qiú, literally "ping-pong ball"), which reinforces the confusion between the terms table tennis and ping-pong among people unfamiliar with these sports.
• Hardbat is a style of table tennis using short pips without a sponge on both sides of the racket. It’s not popular in our region.

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