Tibhar Robo Pro Junior - Small but fine!

Tibhar Robo Pro Junior - The small Tibhar table tennis robot

Tibhar Robo Pro Junior - This is a small and handy TT machine form the house of Tibhar. Its application and use is very versatile, which also includes your own home. Beginners, but also advanced players, will have much fun und success when learning and refining various techniques. The Tibhar Robo Pro Junior is THE MOST SOLD ROBOT FROM TIBHAR, and there are various reasons for this.

Tibhar Robo Pro Junior - A solid performance

The Robo Pro Junior is a table tennis ball machine made by Tibhar. This robot convinces with a fair price, its small and handy appearance, and its rotatable head. Hence, the Junior is very variable and may be placed on the table at any location so that any spot at the other half of the table can be targeted.

This ball machine may be operated via remote control, or by changing settings at the robot itself. The ball basket, which directs the balls toward the ejection device, comprises approx. 100 balls. A net collecting the balls is, however, not included in the scope of delivery.

The Tibhar Robo Pro Junior is ideal to learn, refine, and repeat basic techniques, but also to improve your leg work. For this, you can choose between topspin and backspin. Taking together these properties, the Robo Pro Junior is particularly suitable for beginners, but also for more advanced players. In addition to its use in a club, the Tibhar Robo Pro Junior is also nice for home use. You can place the robot in your garage, or in your cellar / basement.

Tibhar Robo Pro Junior - Strengths and weaknesses at a glance

Since the strengths of the Tibhar Robo Pro Junior outweigh the weaknesses, let us first start with the former. First of all we would like to mention its low and fair price despite a broad range of possible settings. Many basic settings can be adjusted directly at the robot, but also via remote control. The low weight of this TT machine makes it easy to transport it, and enables an universal place of usage (this is related to both, the position on top of the table, and the location: garage, club, ...). Furthermore, the Tibhar Robo Pro Junior serves the balls quite precisely (do not, however, overfill the ball basket too much).

The few weaknesses of the Robo Pro Junior can be explained by its low price. Still, we explicitly want to inform you about this. First, you need to separately buy the net (If desired. However, we highly recommend this.) as well as balls. It seems to be a pity that the balls are not collected automatically, however, this is no surprise considering the fair price of this TT robot.

During training it might be a bit disturbing that the robot is placed directly in the middle of the table. Particularly beginners might then hit the robot quite often, which may disturb/distract them. Regarding the robot itself, don´t worry: It is robust and stable enough to withstand these impacts.

Due to the good price-performance ratio, the Tibhar Robo Pro Junior is definitely worth a recommendation!

Tibhar Robo Pro Junior - A test report from Juergen (a table tennis trainer from Saxony, Germany)

My name is Juergen, every Friday I train kids aged 6-14. For this, I´m also using the Robo Pro Junior on a regular basis. The reasons for integrating a TT robot are easy. I´m the only trainer in our club. Hence, I cannot supervise the whole hall and all kids at once. Therefore, I always let some kids train on their own, using a table tennis robot.

Prior to this, I had two phone calls with Matthias from TT-Shop.com. I decided to buy the Tibhar Robo Pro Junior. The kids immediately accepted the robot, and trained with much enthusiasm. So I called Matthias again just to say thank you. He asked me to write a small test report, which I did :-)

Delivery and assembly

Directly after the order, I received an email telling me that the robot (as well as both packs of training balls which I also ordered) will be sent to me directly from the manufacturer. The delivery (within Germany) arrived already one day later. A faster way is simply not possible! This was the first point I remember very positively.

By the way: The Robo Pro Junior is delivered completely assembled. The carton also has a handle.

This makes it very easy to carry the robot. The delivery also includes the electrical cable for power supply, however, the length of this cable was not enough to reach the next power outlet. Hence, I had to buy an extension cable. The carton was ok and the robot arrived safely. The assembly is really simple, and now even the kids manage this on their own.

Prior to our first test run, I organized a net to collect the balls. Then I put the balls into the basket. It comprises approx. 100 balls, however, we usually put a few more into it :-) The included remote control is very handy since you can, for example, also attach the remote at the table.

Operation and training possibilities with the Tibhar Robo Pro Junior

I´m very confident with respect to the diversity of functions and settings. Via remote control, we can adjust speed, rotation, and trajectory of the balls. We can also adjust the frequency of the outgoing balls, and we can even limit the scattering angle. By changing the location of the Robo Pro Junior on top of the table we can set and reach many target spots. This is perfect to learn and acquire basic techniques!

Practical tip: Two training methods as an incentive

As trainer you often need creativity. Hence, I usually vary many exercises in order to motivate as many kids as possible:

Exercise 1:

• two kids play, 1 kid picks up the balls
• The kids who train serve 5 balls each, and get back in line after that. The kid picking up the balls puts them back into the basket.

Exercise 2:

• three kids are playing, 1 kid picks up the balls
• Each of the 3 kids serves a ball (e.g. forehand diagonal). After that, they have to leave the scene in direction rear right, via a side step passing a surround/border, and finally getting back in line.
• In the ideal case nobody has to wait, and has a task. So all participants can train effectively!

The only deficit from my point of view:

There are no different placements possible. As already mentioned, I do not necessarily need this feature for my training with kids. However, I really think about buying the Robo Pro Master, or the Robo Pro Genius. It is incredible, what these robots can do.

Conclusion

My personal conclusion is very positive. For a bit more than 200 Euro I now have a training device which helps me to effectively promote kids during their training. The assembly is really easy, and the motivation among the kids is huge. The only negative aspect: The robot can only target one single location (so one manually has to change its position).

I really can recommend the Tibhar Robo Pro Junior for all table tennis instructors who are working with beginners, and who - with only little effort - want to keep up a certain level of motivation for 3-4 kids.