At local league level players use a lot of long serves. These are serves which land very deep on your side of the table. These serves are usually topspin or sidespin, but can be backspin too. What’s the best way of returning these long serves? There are some common errors players make, but also some very simple adjustments. Follow the tips in this article and you’ll find it much easier. Keep reading
It has been a rocky few months for Chinese table tennis. I’ve been following the professional game for the past twenty years and I don’t recall a time when Chinese players have been beaten so regularly. By China’s phenomenally high standard – near complete domination for 25 years – these recent losses are a little concerning. So what’s going on? Keep reading
Some players seem to have absurdly quick reactions. You probably know the sort of player. He is always in position. He seems to know what shot you are going to play before you do. But we shouldn’t accept that this is a fixed skill. All players can improve their reaction speed. Here are three tips which will help… Keep reading
Every now and then, I get the itch to try new equipment. It’s the same for many of us. We get settled on our rubbers and blade, and then a thought starts to flicker inside our brain – what if there is something better? This summer, I got the itch big time. It started with a speculative email from a custom blade maker. Keep reading
I don’t mind admitting that I am completely fascinated with Truls Moregardh. He has had a sensational Olympics in Paris, reaching the singles final and helping Sweden to the team final. Is there anything we mere mortals can do to play more like Truls, other than buy a STIGA Cybershape blade? Keep reading
If you want to develop into a decent table tennis player, you need to have good foundations. You need consistent strokes. You need to understand topspin. You need to understand backspin. You have to be confident when serving. You need to have confidence returning serves. You need a range of shots which can help you … Keep reading
In previous articles I have explained why it’s not necessary for local league players to have ‘perfect’ technique. To build on this discussion, I want to talk about a concept I use in my coaching sessions called ‘useable technique’. The idea is to develop technique – which might not be world class – but is highly consistent and useable in match situations. Keep reading
Sometimes you hear people call an attacking shot a ‘topspin’. Other times you hear people call an attacking shot a ‘loop’. Are they different? If so, how? Essentially we are talking about this same thing. Almost all attacking shots will have an element of topspin. Some will have lots of topspin, others will have just … Keep reading
Here’s a simple tactic you can use when returning serves in doubles matches. Try to aim your receive very wide on the side the server has just served from… The width is important. You want the ball to come off the side of the table. This makes it very difficult for player B to get … Keep reading
There are multiple aspects to service – technical, tactical, mental and psychological. We often talk about the first three – how to serve, serve tactics, mental preparation – but we don’t often discuss the fourth part – how to psychologically unsettle your opponent. Or what I call “the dark arts of serving”. In this article I share some of the psychological tactics which players use when serving. All of these are entirely legal to do. They are not guaranteed to unsettle your opponent, but they often do… Keep reading