Why Red and Black?

What is the reason that you have to have one red side and one black side rubber? And do you have to use black for forehand and red for backhand or can it be vice versa.

Hi Andrew,

You need to have one side red and one side black because you can use lots of different types of rubber on either side of your bat.  The Red and Black colours makes it easier for your opponent to tell which side you have hit the ball with.

Imagine your opponent has one very fast spinny rubber on one side and a slow dead rubber on the other.  He can easily switch sides by twiddling his bat in his hand.  This makes it difficult for you to tell which side he has hit it with and whether the ball is going to stop or shoot through fast.

You can choose which side you want to use with which colour.