Learn the shakehand grip: finger position, wrist angle and a simple 20-ball test, so your forehand and backhand work cleanly from your very first day.
The honest answer: the shakehand grip is the grip you should start with. You hold the racket as if you were shaking someone's hand, and you reach the ball equally well on forehand and backhand. Most players in Europe use it, and the Swiss Federal Office of Sport calls it the "orthodox" grip adopted by most European players [1].
A lab comparison shows this is more than habit: 18 advanced shakehand players and 9 penhold players hit forehands and backhands against topspin and backspin. On the forehand there was no difference in speed. On the backhand, racket and ball were faster with shakehand [2]. Important: these were advanced men. The study proves nothing for beginners, it only explains why the grip is so common among the best.
The grip takes five minutes to explain. The hard part is something else: gripping it exactly the same way on every ball. How long that takes is different for everyone. Plan on a few practice sessions until it sits (experience value).
Good to know: one side of the racket is black, the other is coloured [3]. That is mandatory, and it helps you right away, because you can always see which side is facing forward.
Hold the racket by the blade with your free hand. Slide your racket hand over the handle as if offering it to someone. Your thumb lies on the forehand side, your index finger is stretched along the backhand side, and your other three fingers wrap loosely around the handle [1]. The throat of the racket sits in the crook between thumb and index finger.
Bend your elbow and hold the racket in front of your belly. Seen from the side, the blade should be almost an extension of your forearm, without a hard kink in the wrist. With the penhold grip, racket and forearm axes line up less – the authors see this as a likely reason for the lower backhand speed [2].
On a scale of 1 to 10 you should grip at about 3: firm enough that the racket does not wobble, loose enough that it could turn easily. At the moment of contact you may squeeze briefly harder. This is an experience value, not a measurement.
Bounce the ball up with the forehand side 20 times in a row without regripping. Then do the same with the backhand side by turning your wrist, not by changing your grip. If you manage both, move on to the forehand counter-hit.
Small changes have a big effect. In an experiment with beginners (topspin forehand), a prototype handle tilted by 20° changed the racket angle after only about 30 minutes of practice, while there was no significant difference in success rate [4]. So your grip influences your racket angle. Do not turn it by accident.
Table tennis is considered low-risk. When something does happen, it is usually overuse: tendon sheath inflammation, muscle strains and sprains are among the most common diagnoses [5]. The data is thin and most studies are weak. A constant cramp in the grip certainly does not help your forearm (experience value). If your wrist or forearm hurts while playing, stop and get it checked. This guide explains and motivates, it does not replace supervised training.
Do the grip test blind. Close your eyes, put the racket on the table, pick it up and only then look at your fingers. If the position is off, train exactly that: pick up, check, put down. After 20 repetitions your hand finds the grip without looking. In a match, that saves you the first thought about your hand. Also film yourself from above once a week while holding the racket in ready position and lay the still frames side by side: you will see whether your grip is slowly drifting without you noticing.
The shakehand grip. Most players in Europe use it [1], covers forehand and backhand and can be taught in any club. The penhold grip works, but it is a specialist path: in a study of advanced men it reached lower racket speeds on the backhand [2].
Yes. The rules do not prescribe a grip. All that matters: a stroke counts when you hit the ball with the racket in your hand or with your racket hand below the wrist [3]. How you place your fingers is up to you. Still, a proven grip is worth it, because it makes teachers, videos and training partners easier to work with.
Loosely, at about 3 out of 10, and only briefly tighter at the moment of contact (experience value). A grip that is too tight blocks the wrist and with it your feel for the racket angle, which is decisive for spin. Test it with the ball-bounce test: if the racket turns along effortlessly, you are on the right track.
Possible, but not proven. Typical table tennis complaints are overuse problems such as tendon sheath inflammation [5]. Gripping more loosely, taking more breaks and checking your grip on video often helps. If pain, swelling or numbness persists, see a doctor before you keep playing.
Forehand Counter-Hit: Your First Stroke in Table Tennis