Frequently Asked Questions

The Wally Rebounder Advanced Rebounding System is a 34"x15" board supported on each end with a tripod.  The tripod base is about 24" depending on how far the legs are spread out. So about 12" of area is needed in the front, back and side of the board (1/2 of the tripod footprint).  To be safe, a 60" x 24" footprint is required for the Wally Rebounder.single board setup.

We ship the board in a 37"x15"x6" box that weighs 21lbs (an extra 2 pounds if the Close-up Bounder Add On is purchased).

The Double Bounder (and Combo Bounder when set up in the Double Bounder configuration) requires a footprint of roughly 24"x 96".

The Double Bounder is shipped in a 37"x17"x5" box and weighs 32 lbs.  The Combo Bounder is an additional 2 pounds.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of a Wally Rebounder is just how incredibly convenient it is to move and store.  Wally Rebounders are pretty much unbeatable in terms of ease-of-use and the ability to quickly switch from practice mode to play mode.

The Wally Rebounder Advanced system can easily be moved by a single person just by picking up on the tripod brackets.  The unit weighs about 17lbs and in the time that you can walk to the rear of the table and back, you can pretty much re-position your Wally out of the way for a match with your friends.

Your Wally Rebounder uses commercial table tennis rubber and should be cleaned occasionally to ensure maximum performance.  We recommend one of two methods:

1.  Water and Sponge - Yep, good old H2O makes a good cleaner for the table tennis rubber on your paddles and your Wally Rebounder.  This method is quick, easy, and cheap using a simple dish washing sponge. 

• Dampen the sponge and squeeze out the excess.  The sponge should be damp but not dripping wet in order to avoid getting a lot of water on the board itself. 
  
• Gently wipe the rubber surfaces removing fine dust and any loose particles.  Do not scrub too vigorously as your goal is really just to lightly remove any surface film of dust or dirt.
• Let the surfaces air dry before returning to your practice.
  

2.  Rubber Cleaning Solution and Sponge - There are many commercial cleaning products available specifically for cleaning table tennis rubber.  These come in various forms including sprays and foams and generally work fine for cleaning the rubber on your Wally Rebounder and your paddles.  While a dish washing sponge works well, there are also commercial sponges available that are designed specifically for this task.

• Read and follow the instructions on your rubber cleaning solution.  Remember that a little goes a long way so start with a smaller amount than you think is necessary and add more if the cleaner is not spreading easily over the entire surface.  You want to avoid getting a lot of the cleaner on the board itself
• Gently wipe the rubber surfaces removing fine dust and any loose particles.  Do not scrub too vigorously as your goal is really just to lightly remove any surface film of dust or dirt.
• These products generally air dry very quickly and then you can get back to enjoying your Wally Rebounder!
  

The Wally Rebounder is designed as an Indoor Product.  Hey, if it is a beautiful day and you want to get a little practice in the great outdoors then go for it.   Just don't let your Wally get wet or sit in direct sunlight for any extended period of time and please treat your Wally kindly and store it indoors when it is not in use.

Your Wally is very versatile and can be placed in many different configurations:

1. Directly behind the table - This is probably the most common configuration and great for basic forehand and backhand drives.  In this configuration, the bottom of the Wally usually sits just an inch or two above the  surface of the table
2. One or two feet beyond the table - This configuration is used when you start working more forehand and backhand topspin shots.  These shots typically land deep on the opponents side of the table and even if blocked, the blocking action will normally come from a little further away.  In this configuration, the bottom of the Wally usually sits 5-6 inches higher than the height of the table as your hits are rising the further they travel.
3. Three to six feet beyond the table - This is starting to get into pretty advanced configurations for players that are working on very strong forehand and backhand loops.  This can be a fun but difficult position to master and will really force good control as well as strong spin by improved feel for brushing the ball.
   

Wally uses high performance commercial Chinese rubbers (currently Yinhe 9000e).  In general, our rubbers are medium-tacky with a medium hardness.  This combination produces a nice "blocking return" similar to what many coaches will use in 1:1 instructional drills.  It is also important to have enough grip for advanced players to return their heavy topspin shots in a very natural manner and will allow good follow-up shots and rallies. 

Rubber is the most expensive and most important component in a return board and we do a great deal of materials testing to optimize the price and performance of our products.

If you are experiencing problems getting "good" returns or hitting multi-hit rallys from your Wally Rebounder then this section should help you diagnose the problem and start making progress. 

Expectations - It often takes people a few sessions to develop a good and smooth forehand drives and good and smooth forehand topspin shots so please do not be discouraged if you are having trouble at first.  The Wally Rebounder is a great training tool because it gives you immediate feedback and forces you to have good form.  Focus on making one or two really good hits at first over the number of times in a row you can hit the ball.  Focusing on good form in practice will result in consistency and will improve your overall game.

Paddle Issues - The rubber on your paddle needs to have decent grip on it to generate topspin.  You can test this easily by dragging a ball across the surface and seeing that it has some grip.  Do the same thing across the surface of the wally rebounder as a reference since the rubber we use has very good grip.  If your paddle's rubber is slippery compared to the rebounder it is probably time to replace it or upgrade your paddle. 

Setup Related Issues - First, let's make sure your Wally is set up properly.  Sometimes the angle of the board is tilted down too far for that player’s stroke.  Advanced players with very strong topspin and/or strong strokes require more tilt.  Beginner or Intermediate strokes often need very little board tilt at all

Our advice is to:

1. Place the tripods very close to the back of the table.
2. Start with the board almost straight up and down with very little to no tilt toward the table. 
3. If you get to the point where the rebounded balls are flying off your side of the table then it is usually a good sign that you are ready to add more tilt to your board.

Stroke related issues - Once you have the board adjusted, if you are still finding that the balls are still going into the net, then it usually means that you are not generating much or any topspin in your current stroke.  This is actually one of the areas where the Wally Rebounder can very much improve your table tennis stroke, but it takes a little work and some patience as you learn.

Our advice is to watch some online training videos on forehand drive and forehand topspin.

Watch this video from Ping Skills on the basic topspin vs. block stroke.  We find that the Wally Rebounder responds very much like the blocking partner in this video.  It doesn't take a lot of topspin, or a particularly heavy hit, but we believe you will see a difference pretty quickly in the speed and trajectory of the rebounds.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpVAPPzj3ZI

First ball related issues -   The first hit is normally the most challenging for new customers so we usually encourage them to focus on a good first hit before we have them worry too much about how many balls in a row they can hit.  Don't worry, things tend to progress very quickly once you can get a consistent first hit with a little topspin on the ball.  It helps to have a small bucket of balls close by when starting out.

Our advice is:

1. Stand on the left side of the table between the front edge of the table and the net (assuming right handed) 

2. Drop the ball from moderate height to get a nice medium bounce

3. Make a simple forward stroke with a bit of topspin.  The paddle should be tilted slightly toward the rebounder and your goal is to brush the top of the ball driving it into the table a foot or two in front of the Wally.

4. Work on finding the stroke position and speed that will result in having the ball land in a nice hittable spot on your side of the table.  As you improve, work your way back toward the front of the table and start following up your shots.

We're confident that with a few of these tips and a little work on your forehand drive and forehand topspin strokes that you will start seeing good progress after only a few sessions.  We have seen many people significantly improve their game using their Wally, tool so we want you to have a successful experience and we are happy to help!  Please send us a note if you have additional questions..

Ok, if your returns are not coming back straight then it is a very good indicator that your stroke is producing some form of side-spin on the ball.   While spin is great and is an important part of the game, it is something you want to control.  If you are seeing side-spin on your normal forehand or backhand drive strokes it is almost certainly an indication that you need to work on your positioning, your form,  and/or on the basic stroke itself.  Don't worry - This is one of the best reasons to own a Wally and many customers have greatly improved the quality and consistency of their stroke since it is very easy to see what is happening and work on improvements.

We suggest:  Watch online videos on forehand and backhand drive.  Practice these strokes on your Wally but focus on the quality of the return and not so much on how many in a row you can hit.  The idea is to master the stroke first and grow from there.  Master the basics and then start adding spin into your game on purpose!

Some Beginner and Intermediate players can benefit by removing the net during the "getting acquainted" phase right after receiving their Wally Rebounder. 

Hitting the first ball and getting a clean rebound can be tricky at first and takes a little practice.  By removing the net, you can remove one more variable in the learning process. 

Perhaps the best kept secret of owning a Wally Rebounder return board is just how awesome of a tool it is for working on your serves.  That's right - It's super useful!

Let's face it, everyone wants a great serve but you have to work at it.  If it's more fun, you will practice more.  If you get feedback, you will improve faster.  Most successful servers use similar looking strokes to deliver large variations on speed and spin.   Wally helps you on all of these accounts.

We Recommend:

1. Place your Wally right at the back of the table with the board perfectly vertical and the bottom of the board right at table level.
2. Serve into the Wally and you will get a very clear indication of spin of your serves. 
   
3. Left and right sidespin will angle off in the opposite direction. 
   
4. Underspin will bounce right back into the table
5. Topspin will leap up off the board
6. The difference in weaker spin and very strong spin is pretty dramatic.
7. Try to keep the motion of your serve consistent but produce large variation on speed and spin.

With Wally being so easy to set up and use, many of our customers have told us that they just use it a few minutes a day to keep the "feel" of their serves sharp.

Wally Rebounder is almost always played with a standard inverted rubber on the paddle (this is the most common).   In the normal configuration, the Board requires some topspin to rebound properly.  Pips-out rubber generally doesn't produce much if any topspin.  We do not recommend practicing on the Wally Rebounder using pips out rubber on your paddle.

If you are unhappy with the Wally or are having problems getting started, please contact us first.  In most cases we can help you figure out any issues you may be having, but you are welcome to return it in its original packaging without any damage.  You will need to get a return authorization from us and pay return shipping and will not be refunded your original shipping expenses.  Please see our Return and Warranty Policy at the menu on the bottom of this page for more details.