The material from which the surface of the table is made. This surface often has a special coating that provides additional protection and resilience, but the key characteristics of the countertop still depend on the base material.
-
Chipboard. Chipboard is one of the best countertop materials in terms of performance. Such a surface allows you to achieve an excellent rebound of the ball, and at the same time, it is inexpensive. One of the key disadvantages of chipboard is its sensitivity to moisture, and therefore this material is typical mainly for tables installed indoors (see "Type").
-
Laminated chipboard. Tabletop made of laminated chipboard (see above) is supplemented with a protective coating in the form of a polymer film. This film improves rebound characteristics, as well as increases strength and moisture resistance, which has a positive effect on service life. In terms of performance, laminated chipboard tables are between chipboard and MDF products (see below).
-
Melamine. It is a specific type of plastic. The main advantages of melamine are strength and excellent resistance to moisture and temperature changes, which has led to its wide popularity in all-weather tables (see "Type"), including high quality. At the same time, compared to chipboard, melamine is noticeably more expensive, while it is also more viscous, which is why
...the rebound is somewhat worse.
— Aluminium. Another material used in all-weather tennis tables along with the melamine described above. It is an aluminium base, on which a layer of special plastic is applied on top. This combination provides relatively good rebound characteristics; in this characteristic, the aluminium composite is noticeably superior to melamine (although it does not reach chipboard characteristics). However, such tables are much more expensive than melamine ones.
— Plywood. In the construction of tennis tables, usually, moisture-resistant plywood is usually used, due to which such models are most often referred to as all-weather (see "Type"). Plywood achieves better rebound properties than melamine but is less commonly used because more difficult to manufacture (to achieve the desired reliability, you have to apply various technological tricks).
— MDF. Abbreviation for Medium Density Fibreboard. MDF is somewhat more expensive than chipboard, but it is a more elastic material, which has a positive effect on the quality of the ball rebound and is also more resistant to deformation. However, it is found exclusively among indoor tables (see "Type").
— Concrete. As paradoxical as it sounds, traditional concrete can also play the role of a tennis table material. Such countertops are found in some all-weather models. Concrete is expensive and weighs a lot; the latter is exacerbated by the fact that the tabletop must have a fairly large thickness, otherwise it will be too fragile. As a result, the weight of such tables is usually several hundred kilograms. On the other hand, a concrete countertop is practically “indestructible”, it perfectly resists precipitation and other weather elements, and it is very difficult to damage such a surface, even if you specifically set yourself such a goal. This makes tables made of this material perfect for public areas where there is a risk of vandalism. However, due to these shortcomings, relatively few such models are produced.The weight of a tennis table is, to some extent, an indication of its overall class. A more advanced model, usually, also weighs more: it has a thicker tabletop, and a more solid base, such a table is more stable and harder to move. Among models for indoors (see "Type"), weight up to 70 kg is typical for amateur tables, from 70 to 110 — for semi-professional, and above 110 — for professional. The weight of all-weather tables can vary from 40 to 100
