Ma Long Equipment and Profile

Last Updated on April 19, 2024 by Alex Horscroft

Ma Long is a Chinese table tennis player. Nicknamed “The Dictator” and “The Dragon”, he is the most successful table tennis player of all time. When you watch him play he almost seems robot-like — but in a good way! He seems programmed to not make any mistakes!

Let’s dive in and learn more about this one-of-a-kind player. We’ll start with Ma Long’s equipment and go from there.

Banner image — credit: Xiaoyu Tang | CC_BY_SA 2.0 | unedited

Ma Long Key Info

Name: Ma Long
Nationality: Chinese
Date of birth: 20th October 1988
Grip: Shakehand
Style: Right-handed aggressive attacker
Highest ranking: 1
Height: 5ft 9in
Weight: 72kg (159lb)

Ma Long Equipment

Ma Long Blade

While Ma Long’s table tennis blade appears to be the DHS Hurricane Long 5 this is not actually the case. He in fact uses the DHS W968, otherwise known as the DHS Long 5 National version. It’s easy to confuse one for the other as they essentially look identical.

From my research, it seems that several Chinese national players use their own version of the blade. This allows players to have a blade that suits their individual needs — Ma Long’s blade is specifically tuned for his playstyle.

In terms of performance, they do not seem to be hugely different. However, the general consensus is that the W968 is slower, softer, and has more control, while the DHS Long 5 is stiffer and faster. Despite it being aimed toward national players, you can purchase the W968, however, it is horrifically overpriced. Considering they play similarly, the commercial DHS Hurricane Long 5 is probably a better bet, but it’s still very expensive.

Ma Long Rubbers

Ma Long uses Hurricane 3 National (blue sponge) on his forehand. Like his blade, it’s a national variant which means it’s harder to get a hold of and more expensive than most rubbers.

Although formerly, Ma used Tenergy 05 on his backhand, he now uses another Chinese rubber — Hurricane 3 NEO. This rubber is a commercial variant so it is far cheaper. In fact, it’s cheaper than most rubbers available today, so a great buy if you like tacky rubbers.

Ma Long Playstyle

Killer Attack

Ma Long undoubtedly has one of the strongest forehands in the world, so his game plan is to use it wherever possible. That being said, his backhand is also very strong. But if he has the opportunity to step around for a forehand loop kill he will always take it.

You may notice his forehand loop stroke is very long — he often finishes way past the center line of his body. This is pretty unorthodox and not advisable for most players as it takes longer to reset to the ready position. However, it is beneficial for Ma as it gives him more power and he is quick to reset.

Serving

Ma Long is a player who rarely switches up his serving, rather he varies his favorite serve — the pendulum. However, he does have a few other serves in his arsenal. His secondary serve is fast and down the line. It pairs nicely with his pendulum as the setup is identical. He conditions players to expect him to always serve on the backhand side, so it usually catches his opponents out.

He also has a few other serves, but we rarely see them. I recall him using a backhand corkscrew serve in one match many years ago. This was because the umpire kept calling fault on his main serve. However, more recently, I saw Ma using the reverse pendulum serve.

He used it constantly against Fan Zhendong in the Singapore Smash 2022 tournament as he needed to make some changes to alter the course of the match. Perhaps he’ll start using it more in the future. It seems, for now, Ma only switches serves when he is feeling uncomfortable.

Chop Block

I’m a huge fan of unorthodox shots, and none are more so than the chop block. It’s hard to execute, but very effective if played unpredictably. There are few players who use it consistently and Ma Long is one of them.

He uses it to great effect. His opponents never know when it is coming and it really disrupts their timing. What’s more, Ma doesn’t just use the simpler right-to-left sidespin chop block. He also uses the more awkward left-to-right sidespin version as well. This gives him more versatility to play the shot. Check out the compilation below.

Ma Long Record

As the most successful player of all time Ma Long has an exceptional table tennis record. No player has beaten him more times than he has beaten them (assuming they played at least 5 times).

Timo Boll vs Ma Long

Fan-favorite Timo Boll has fared better than I expected against the dictator. He may have only secured 6 wins of the 20 times they met, but I was surprised to see he rarely loses in straight sets. As dominant as Ma Long is, I fully expected him to have many 3-0 and 4-0 victories.

While Timo has put up a good fight over the years, this was mainly during his younger days. Timo won 5 out of 6 of his victories from 2005-2010, so I doubt we’ll see him give Ma Long too much trouble in the future.

Zhang Jike vs Ma Long

Zhang Jike has fared marginally better than Timo Boll, winning on 11 out of the 33 occasions they have faced one another. However, Zhang Jike for all intents and purposes seems to be retired now. He hasn’t gone on record officially, but he’s been plagued with injuries of late. So the pair are unlikely to face each other in the public eye again.

Wang Hao vs Ma Long

The player who has given Ma Long the most trouble is Wang Hao, and by some margin. Ma won just 53% of the matches against his fellow countryman. Wang Hao is long retired, so Ma Long’s stellar record continues to hold strong.

Interestingly, Ma was hammered by Wang Hao in his early career, winning just 6 of the 24 times they played from 2005 to 2008 (25% win rate). However, by 2011, Ma Long had his number, winning 13 of the 16 times they met from 2011-2014 (81% win rate).

Ma Long’s Toughest Opponents

Opponents	Wins	Losses	Win Rate
Ma Long vs Wang Hao	29	26	53%
Ma Long vs Fan Zhendong	23	13	64%
Ma Long vs Vladimir Samsonov	10	5	67%
Ma Long vs Ma Lin	30	14	68%
Ma Long vs Hao Shuai	20	9	69%
Ma Long vs Wang Liqin	32	12	73%
Ma Long vs Zhang Jike	31	11	74%
Ma Long vs Timo Boll	20	6	77%
Ma Long vs Xu Xin	45	13	78%

Ma Long Medals

Olympics Games — 5x gold (Singles, Team)
World Championships — 12x gold (Singles, Team, Doubles)
World Cup — 9x gold (Singles, Team)
Asian Games — 5x gold (Singles, Team, Doubles)
Asian Championships — 13x gold (All events)
Asian Cup — 4x gold (Singles)
ITTF World Tour Grand Finals — 7x gold (Singles, Doubles)
National Games of China — 4x gold (Singles, Doubles, Mixed Doubles)
All China TT Championships — 8x gold (All events)
World Junior Championships — 3x gold (Singled, Team)
Asian Junior Championships — 3x gold (Singles, Team, Mixed Doubles)
Other Achievements
ITTV Male Star of the year 2015 & 2016
Most ITTF World Tour Singles titles (28)
The only player to date to become a double grand slam winner
Had the longest unbeaten streak in December 2011 (40 matches)

Ma Long’s Net Worth

It’s tough to estimate Ma Long’s ping pong earnings, but given he has performed at the top level for decades, it’s safe to say he is one of the richest table tennis players of all time.

You have to remember, Ma Long has many sources of income. He earns money through the Chinese Super League, for being part of the Chinese National Team, through brand deals, and also through prize money.

I expect his earnings for being on the Chinese National Team are the highest but I couldn’t find any figures. In regards to competing in the Chinese Super League, Ma Long is likely pulling in serious bucks (or more specifically Yuan).

According to Sportsflu, international players earn from $3,000-$35,000 per match win, with big names such as Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Timo Boll securing $16,000 per match just for competing. Ma Long likely makes that look like chump change given he is a bigger name and wins virtually all his matches.

His name and success further influence his earnings through brand deals and prize money. As the most famous and successful player, he almost certainly earns more than anyone else through these channels. So in other words, Ma Long is loaded.

One source estimated his net worth at $20 million back in 2017, but I think the real figure is probably a lot more.

What a Player!

Ma Long proves time and time again that nobody can hang with him. He may lose matches here and there, but his resume speaks for itself. He continues to push back his retirement, which is great as it gives us more time to appreciate his career.

I hope you found this write-up about Ma Long’s equipment and career interesting. And remember, don’t go buying his rubbers and blade willy-nilly. You’re better off picking something that suits your own playstyle. I’d only recommend his equipment to elite attackers who like tacky rubbers.