STSN NEWS STAFF
Table Tennis and More, the only venue in the state dedicated exclusively for the sport, has opened its doors in Gilbert.
Owner Matthew Winkler, the state’s No. 1 table tennis player, relocated his club from Phoenix partly because “lots of my students were coming from Gilbert.”
Winkler also took into consideration that he and his wife had a baby this year, noting, “The neighborhoods in Gilbert are so much nicer than in Phoenix so I wanted to move my family for the nicer parks and better schools.”
For the uninitiated, table tennis is the correct name for the game as Ping Pong is a trademark.
Winkler, one of a handful of USA Table Tennis Association-certified national coaches in the country, has operated Table Tennis and More, or TT&M, since 2015 in a 1,800-square-foot building behind his home in Phoenix. The club was started by his father, Len, in 1997.
Winkler’s new venue is 6,000 square feet and houses 10 tables, up from the four in his old digs.
“There’s not a lot of full-time clubs, we’re the only one in Arizona,” he said, noting that the other clubs in the state are using senior centers and community centers.
Although Winkler currently coaches about 25-30 students ranging in age from 7 to 80, he also wants Table Tennis and More to be a place for players of all skill levels.
“I want people to have fun,” he said, adding that the venue is for “people who want to do it for exercise, people who want to play in a tournament and people exercising to get better but not pay in tournaments.
“I eventually want to take a team to the U.S. Nationals and U.S. Open around the country and play.”
Winkler began playing the sport when he was 8 and won his first State Championship in 2009.
With nine more state championships and other titles he’s garnered, he took to coaching and running tournaments for the past 20 years.
The facility is opened six days a week and offers open play, group training, private lessons, leagues and tournaments.
TT&M also sells professional equipment such as tables, Ping Pong robots, paddles and blades with brand names like including Butterfly, Xiom, Donic and Gambler.
The business also stages corporate tournaments, birthday parties with a table-tennis theme, charity table tennis fundraisers or any other related events, bringing the tables, paddles, balls and table tennis knowledge.
Although pickleball has been growing in popularity with courts found throughout Gilbert and the Valley, table tennis actually ranks No. 8 in the world with an estimated 300 million people playing it, according to Topend Sports.
To learn more: tabletennisandmore.com/phx/tabletennisandmore.
