Learn How To Play Table Tennis

Transform yourself into an elite table tennis player in just 52 weeks with Coach Tao Li’s revolutionary online curriculum. Table Tennis University gives you a world-class table tennis education. Whether you want to turn pro or just beat your mates, we’ll help you get there.

Our Courses

Table Tennis University is a revolutionary online training program created by Coach Tao Li. Tao played table tennis professionally in China and even won a gold medal at the Chinese National Junior Championships!

Level 1

$

0

/ forever

  • “Starter Skills”
  • 2 Short Courses
  • Grip, Stance & Footwork
  • Basic Serves & Strokes
  • 3 Hours of Footage

Level 2

$

297

/ forever

  • “Core Curriculum”
  • 52 Weekly Lessons
  • 148 Drill Demos
  • 60 Q&A Videos
  • 20+ Hours Of Footage

Level 3

$

197

/ forever

  • “Mastery Modules”
  • 6 Advanced Modules
  • Secret Techniques
  • Physical Conditioning
  • 10 Hours of Footage
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Active Students

Our online coaching platform has over 13,000 active students learning table tennis from home.

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Lectures Completed

Our students have completed over 125,000 lectures coving everything from serves to smashes.

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YouTube Views

Our free videos on YouTube have clocked up over 8 million views in 182 countries around the world.

How To Play Table Tennis

Want to learn to play table tennis? You’ve come to the right place!
Allow us to teach you the fundamentals of table tennis in twelve simple steps.

Buy a racket

Your table tennis racket is your most important piece of kit. You don’t really need specialist table tennis shoes, or clothes, or bags, or towels, or water bottles. But you do need a proper racket that can generate spin.

Grip

Once you’re bought your racket, you need to learn how to hold it properly. It’s really important to get this right. Lots of players develop a sub-optimal grip and it comes back to haunt them later on.

Stance

How you stand is super important. Remember, table tennis is a sport. You need to stand like an athlete in a “ready position” not like a commuter waiting at a bus stop. That means weight on the balls of your feet.

Footwork

Now you’ve mastered your stance, you need to figure out the most efficient movement technique to help you get around the table. Footwork is simple but you’d be surprised how many players do it wrong.

Forehand drive

The forehand drive is the first of four basic strokes that you absolutely need to master. Initially, it’s your primary attacking stroke. Later on, you can develop your drive into a loop by brushing instead of hitting.

Backhand drive

The backhand drive can be slightly more tricky to learn as it involves a little bit of wrist. It’s essential to get your backhand drive technique perfect as it’ll go on to form the basis of your backhand loop.

Backhand push

The backhand push is typically considered the easiest stroke to master. However, it’s vital to overlearn simple skills like the backhand push as a reliable push can be the difference between winning and losing.

Forehand push

The forehand push is quite a bit more awkward to learn than the backhand push. It’s common for beginners to really struggle with it. But you must push through the pain with repetition and patience.

Serve

Without a doubt, the serve is the most important element of table tennis. It’s the only time you have complete control over the ball. You need to have a selection of high quality serves with a variety of spins.

Return of serve

Learning how to return your opponent’s spinny serves is one of the most difficult elements of table tennis. Again, you’ll need plenty of patience. Try and practice your return of serve every time you play.

The rules

You’d be surprised how many intermediate and competitive table tennis players don’t know all the rules of the game. Don’t get caught out! Learn the rules and then nobody can cheat you out of a point.

Start winning

If you follow these twelve simple steps and put in plenty of practice, you should be able to easily beat all of your friends and family members at table tennis. And that’s why you’re here, right?

Equipment Advice

Whether you call it a racket, a bat or a paddle, selecting your ideal playing set-up is super confusing.
Fortunately, we’re here to help! Read our expert guides below.

Table Tennis Rackets

Most beginners and intermediate-level players are better off buying a ready-made table tennis racket. Here are some of our favourites.

Table Tennis Rubbers

Did you know, there are well over 1,000 ITTF approved table tennis rubbers! We’ll help you pick a forehand and backhand rubber that works for you.

Table Tennis Blades

Table tennis blades can be quite expensive, but they usually last for many years. Therefore, you want to make sure you get one you like.

Table Tennis Tables

If you’re looking for an indoor table, we recommend a minimum thickness of 18mm. Outdoor tables are completely different as they’re metal.

Table Tennis Robots

In today’s crazy lockdown world, table tennis robots are becoming more and more necessary. Let us help you compare your options.

Table Tennis Balls

Back in 2014, table tennis balls changed from celluloid to poly/plastic. They also increased in size from 40mm to 40+. Make sure you buy the new ones.

Student Testimonials

Thanks to your amazing training videos, my brother has progressed tremendously and is currently 9th in England in the U13s. We always recommend Table Tennis University. We firmly believe you are the best service available on the net!

Best On The NetAndrew & Matthew Daish (UK)

I am very pleased with the classes. I don’t have much time to do all the practice they recommend, but now I can mentally analyze the game and other players – how they serve, how to receive, how to beat them, and how to have ball control in rallies.

Very PleasedRoldan Rivera (Panama)

I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am right now. I just finished smacking around this guy at my club who until now has always left me in complete disarray. I crushed him 11-3! Your course has given me an unfair advantage. I love it!

An Unfair AdvantageSimon Cheng (Australia)