Have you ever had an opponent who you just can’t seem to beat? Someone who irritates you, pre-empts your every move, and leaves you with simply no idea of how to win points at all?

Losing multiple times to the same opponent creates a psychological disadvantage in your future showdowns. I will give you a personal example…

Losing 14 Times In A Row

In 2010, I lived with another table tennis player. We were good friends. We trained together. And we travelled to many tournaments together.

But… during 2010 he beat me 14 times in a row at various tournaments! It’s safe to say he was my table tennis nemesis.

After about the 5th or 6th time I was utterly defeated. Each time we played my mind was blank. I gave up before I even began. I was frustrated just for the mere fact I had been drawn to play him again and again. He had robbed me of all my chances of winning events. Even if I beat the top seeds, I would lose to him, and he would win the title.

So what did I do? Losing 14 times was at least 13 times too many. I realised I had not spent anywhere near enough time reflecting on my matches with him.

What was I doing wrong? What was he doing to beat me?

Time For Some Analysis

The answer was simple. He was a very good blocker. Very consistent. He would just stand at the other end of the table and place the ball, move me around, waiting until I was off-balance to counter-attack.

My solution up until that point had been to try and overpower him with winners. But that was his game and I was playing right into his hand. I needed to focus on what wasn’t his game. What he didn’t do well. I found two chinks in his armour…

1. His attack was nowhere near up to standard with his blocking.
2. His backhand opening was not so great.

I spent some time watching my friend play against other players who would consistently beat him. What were they doing to win points? Simple, they were pushing hard into his backhand and crossover.

• Either his weak first attack would give them a genuine opportunity to hit a winner.
• Or, if he returned the backspin ball with his own push, they cut out mistakes by focusing on consistency and controlled spin.

Focusing on consistency felt a bit counter-intuitive. After all, he was Mr Consistency. Wasn’t I just playing his game? But, in fact, consistent players outperform against wild, aggressive players because they win off their opponents mistakes.

To have a chance of winning, and finally defeating my table tennis nemesis, I would have to hit more balls on the table and take my time. Something I had been seriously failing to do.

So, after some frustration, I took a short break of a couple of weeks and prepared for the upcoming tournament.

Our 15th Encounter

I met my friend in the men’s singles final. I took off to a great start, did everything right, and lead 3-1 in games (it was a best of seven). In the 5th set, I started to revert to my old ways – trying too hard to hit winners. He won it 20-18. Well fought.

It went all the way to the 7th set. I was continuing to make the same mistakes I had before and again my mindset changed to, “OK, great. He’s going to beat me AGAIN”. He led 4-2 in the 7th set and I called a timeout.

I sat down and closed my eyes. This had to count. I had to stop and return to my game plan. I got up and went back to the table with a renewed sense of confidence. I stuck to my game plan of consistent looping and controlled spin, and I won the final set 11-5 (a 9-1 point ratio in my favour, post-timeout).

I had finally ended a 14-match losing streak by simply taking the time to watch my opponent and think about how I could win points against him. My mentality was, in the end, the big winner. Changing my mindset helped me to take my time and stick to my pre-conceived game plan.

So, I encourage you all to think deeply about the people who continue to frustrate you. Who is your table tennis nemesis? What can you do to defeat them? What do others do to succeed against them? And then make it work by having complete confidence in your assessment.

I hope this post helps you to rise up and take out someone who’s had a hold over you!

Enroll TODAY!

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!

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.

It’s time to turbocharge your table tennis. Click here to enroll TODAY!

The post How To Defeat Your Table Tennis Nemesis appeared first on Table Tennis University.

I’m going to talk about the importance of taking breaks today. This is not so much for social players but for regularly competing and training players. Breaking from table tennis is sometimes necessary to keep a fresh mind and also to avoid getting tired of playing.

The main purpose of a break is to come back with a renewed passion and hunger to develop and succeed. I have two examples.

Example #1 – Negativity

In 2011, after returning from the Australian Open and having acquired a shoulder injury (and a broken carbon sheet – unknown to me for a while), I continued to soldier on.

I was hoping to continue achieving even better results. But the result was essentially catastrophic and I nosedived like there is no tomorrow.

I began losing matches against players I would never even consider having difficulty with. Still, I kept competing. More tournaments. Weekend after weekend. And the same results occurred. It was building a strong pattern of negativity over my game.

After a month or so, I had absolutely unseated my ranking position and was generally unhappy with myself for my performance.

Finally, I decided to take a break.

There was no sense in continuing to get bad results or wondering what was going on in my game. I took some time away from table tennis. Just a couple of weeks.

Having such a passion for table tennis, my withdrawal symptoms from being away fed my desire to come back better and stronger. The result was that I returned back to training, we replaced my blade (upon discovering it was broken) and I returned to simple training to make my basics watertight.

The string of results that followed were perfectly satisfactory and that helped my positive attitude to return so that I could continue moving forward.

Example #2 – Routine

When I worked in Christchurch (New Zealand) as a Table Tennis Development Officer I spent all of my time around table tennis. I worked at the stadium, out in schools, and in other venues. I did private and group coaching and I also had my own training sessions in a group and with a coach/partners.

My tournament results were great, but the Interclub League competition was starting to get the better of me. By the time it got to the evening and we had to compete in that I was simply sick of being at the stadium and I wanted to go home.

That started the illness.

After some time, I just couldn’t stand being so immersed in table tennis. I needed to get away from it.

The end result was that I finished my contract and left Christchurch, vowing not to take on a similar role while I was still concentrating on my own training. Before that, I had reduced my own training to just once per week and had tried to spend as little additional time as possible time at the stadium.

Final Thoughts

So, as you can see, sometimes taking a break is important. Important to make you realise your goals and your passion.

Personally, I can’t stay away from table tennis for long So, whenever I take a break, I always hit the ground running when I come back to it.

I believe that breaks of around two weeks are ideal. Not too long, but enough to refresh you.

Enroll TODAY!

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!

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.

It’s time to turbocharge your table tennis. Click here to enroll TODAY!

The post Table Tennis Burnout and When to Take a Break appeared first on Table Tennis University.

It’s pretty impressive to be able to pull it off on the world stage. It’s even more impressive to do it during deuce in the sixth game!

But Liam is far from the first professional player to make use of this trick shot in matches. In fact, it was all the way back in 2013 we at Table Tennis University first covered how to do the “behind-the-back” shot. That was after Quentin Robinot’s shot against Kiril Barabanov during the Kuwait Open went viral!

So, you’d be wrong to think that the behind-the-back shot is a new thing. The ‘trick shot’ has been around for years and we’ve found a number of great past videos on YouTube to prove it.

• Rosskopf (vs Guoliang) in the 90’s – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H41Y0-4UReo
• Fejer-Konnerth (vs Schlager) in 2009 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3w8JNAI7ew
• Suss (vs Saive) in 2010 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RCEC4sMy0E
• Bradley Evans (our personal favourite) in 2010 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_T59Kbu2jI

The Bradley Evans one is great because of the surprise, celebration and the fact that it won him the match! And the Rosskopf one is the earliest we could find.

How to play the shot

If you would like to have a go at playing the “behind-the-back” shot then here are a few tips.

1. Practice it in training – It may seem like these players have just pulled this off as an instinct (which is partly true) but they’ve all also spent time perfecting the shot in the training hall. The fact that it went on is not a complete fluke. Also, you’ll never react in that way in a match unless you have some degree of muscle memory for the shot and your brain has it stored away somewhere as an option.
2. Keep your bat angle closed – The natural angle of your arm as you reach behind our back will give you an open bat angle. You will realise this after the first few practice attempts. We all know that hitting the ball flat with an open bat angle is going to send it flying off the end of the table so you will need to make an effort to close the bat angle in order to keep the shot on the table.
3. Rotate your body to the right – Unless the ball is played really close to your left hip (I’m writing for a right-handed player) you are going to need to rotate your body in order to reach the bat. By rotating/twisting your body to the right you bring your right shoulder left and give yourself an extra 20cm of reach.

We’ll leave you with some stills from the Robinot video.

Enroll TODAY!

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!

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.

It’s time to turbocharge your table tennis. Click here to enroll TODAY!

The post How to do the “Behind-the-Back” Shot like Liam Pitchford appeared first on Table Tennis University.

We always try and ask players what their strengths are. This serves two purposes;

• Firstly it allows us to better understand their game and design drills/training around it.
• Secondly, it encourages players to think more about their own style of play and ways they can use that knowledge to their advantage.

Often players (especially young players) will reply with, “I don’t know”. Some, when pushed, will be able to hesitantly identify some strengths correctly, while others genuinely don’t know.

What are your strengths?

So, we encourage you now to think about your game and in particular your strengths. If you can’t think of anything then ask your coach or another player you play with. Remember, you don’t need to be perfect at something to call it a strength. A strength is simply an area of your game that you feel comfortable and confident performing.

Here are some examples of potential strengths to get you thinking;

• Your serves
• Your footwork
• Your power/aggressiveness
• Your touch-play
• Your 3rd ball attack
• Your reading of spin
• Your block
• Your accuracy/consistency
• Your backhand or forehand

Your strengths might be particular shots (such as your block or topspin), your style of play (aggressive or very consistent), or a game-skill specific to table tennis (such as your feeling for the ball or your ability to read spin).

What to do with this information?

Once you’ve identified your ‘weapons’, here are some things to think about;

1. Remember them, visualise them, and use them to build self-confidence.
2. Practice them in the lead up to a tournament as these are your ‘point winning’ plays.
3. Adjust your training to incorporate your strengths but also bring on your weaker areas.

When thinking about our strengths, the key message to drive home is that they should build self-confidence and help you perform better. If you’re nervous, picture your strengths. In the days before a tournament, practice your strengths and start feeling good (there’s no time to work on your weaknesses now and it’ll only knock your confidence). When you visualise yourself playing, zone in on your strongest areas.

We all have weapons! It’s your job as a serious player to make sure you know what they are.

Enroll TODAY!

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!

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.

It’s time to turbocharge your table tennis. Click here to enroll TODAY!

The post What Are Your Weapons? – Identifying Your Table Tennis Strengths appeared first on Table Tennis University.

But does this “game face” we put on before playing a match actually help us play any better, or could it actually be a hindrance to our performance? In this post, we’ll be looking at the benefits of relaxing before an important game.

Before we start, we should thank Daniel Coyle, author of ‘The Talent Code’ for the inspiration for this post. We can recommend his article ‘Why Putting on Your “Game Face” is a Bad Idea’ and everything else on his blog.

Why to Relax

In the moments leading up to a big game, we really have one of two options;

1. We can relax, chat to friends, listen to music, play video games etc.
2. Or, we can visualize, focus on table tennis and hype ourselves up.

Daniel Coyle explains that practice is the time for intensity and focus, whereas competition is the time to relax and be at ease. He believes that practice is the place where we should push ourselves, fail, get frustrated, but keep fighting. It’s this kind of frustrated effort that will see us improve in the long run.

Competition, on the other hand, is not the place to be creating and improving but employing and reacting. In these situations, we don’t want tunnel vision – focussed on one part of the game. We also don’t want to be getting frustrated as we make mistakes. Instead, our mindset needs to be light, clear, broad and attentive. We need to be able to take in information from a number of sources and quickly make decisions. The last thing we need are emotions, such as frustration, distracting us.

In table tennis especially, this is really important. How often do you see players treating games as if they are practice? Trying to be perfect, getting upset and annoyed at their mistakes, and ultimately not performing to their best.

How to Relax

We imagine that in the dressing room before a big event the players are all performing secret rituals; chanting, dancing, praying etc. It might be true that some athletes like to do a certain routine and some may even have some weird and wacky superstitions but the vast majority are probably just relaxing.

We can relax in a number of different ways;

• Listening to music is an obvious one. And I don’t mean ‘Eye of the Tiger’ or other such songs, simply listening to some music that you like and chilling out.
• Chatting to friends. We could be doing this in person, on the phone, or even by text but this can be enough to take your mind off things and relax.
• Smiling instead of scowling. It’s been proven that smiling, even when we don’t feel like smiling, makes us feel happier. Try it out.
• Having a nap. Perhaps not advisable if you’re worried you might be scratched from the competition but the 10-minute nap is set to take over the business world and increase productivity. Why not before a table tennis match?

The key really is trying to take the pressure out of the situation. Most of us will admit that we perform worse under pressure. A small number of us may actually perform better under pressure, or at least have the confidence to say we do! However, I doubt many of us actually need pressure to play well. We could probably all play just as well, and in many case better, without the pressure.

Our #1 Table Tennis Relaxation Tip

So, after looking into all of this, here is our #1 tip…

How about watching your favourite table tennis player in a match on your phone before you play?

And, we don’t mean watching it, analysing it, visualizing yourself playing the strokes, and trying to pick up tips before you start. No. Instead, simply watch it.

Enjoy it as a spectator. Let the game wash over you and enjoy the atmosphere. Follow the score instead of the technique/tactics. You get what we mean. Perhaps even watch it with the sound off and chill out with some of your favourite music over the top.

Why not give that a try before your next competition and see if relaxing helps you to perform better than pumping yourself up.

Enroll TODAY!

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!

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.

It’s time to turbocharge your table tennis. Click here to enroll TODAY!

The post Relax… And Win More Table Tennis Matches appeared first on Table Tennis University.

Frequently mentioned by table tennis coaches around the world as the ‘entry’ to each and every point, they are:

1. Service
2. Receive
3. First attack
4. First block

These four skills create a core of the ‘entry’ standard to each point whereby the server aims to serve and attack and the receiver aims to receive and either block or attack.

As a player, it is vital that you build a high standard in these key areas to create a good solid grounding for your development.

1. Service

The important thing to learn when mastering the basics of matchplay service is the ability to serve well and execute under pressure. This is achieved through experience and also with the right training.

What that means is that you need to simulate a pressure environment in service practice and in training matches. This could be something as simple as using physical punishments for fault serving (i.e. press-ups) or, as we saw recently in the Chinese National Team training, getting your teammates to watch you as you execute a serve. This piles on the pressure of not wanting to make an error and forces you to execute perfectly.

On top of this specific matchplay element, you must also work on service variation, efficient service practice, and certain serves for set plays.

Remember, your service is your entry to the point for half of the match and it is crucial to structure your every move from that starting point.

2. Receive

Receive training is often built into matchplay exercises, however, if you wish to practice receiving more frequently you can do one of two things.

1. Pair up with someone doing service practice and practice receiving their serves.
2. Structure your drills so that your training partner always serves.

Often we feel it necessary to always start our own drills with a serve. Don’t! If you wish to work on your receiving then dedicate some time to drills where your training partner serves and you focus on making a tight receive.

3. First Attack

Opening balls and looping are base elements of table tennis. The real key is to open with firmness and confidence and commit to the shot you have chosen to play. In order to do this, it’s important that you understand shot selection, bat angles, and forehand techniques.

If well executed and well placed, a solid first attack gives you a firm foothold on the point. Combined with a good first serve, you are already on your way to winning the point.

One of the key things to remember, which I mention frequently in my articles, is that your first opening ball does not have to be hard and fast, it needs to be on the table. In saying that, you don’t want to give your opponent an easy ball. So, aim for spin, placement and table depth.

A good solid deep-table loop can cause problems, as the topspin will cause the ball to kick up. This makes the shot more difficult to play against. A more shallow placement presents more opportunities for your opponent to counter attack.

A good way to practice table depth shots is to do multiball and place a towel over all but the back 20% of the table. Your aim is to get the ball to land in that back 20%. To achieve this you need to maximize the transition of power from your legs, through your core, and into your stroke. Achieving table depth is much harder to master than simply hitting the ball hard!

4. First Block

The ability to block is often overshadowed by attacking techniques in training but rest assured, having the ability to block can often give you a strong advantage over attacking players. It is a very sustainable technique and has an uncanny ability to disrupt rhythm.

When faced with an opponent making their first attack, the first block is a vital shot in your game and it’s all about blocking consistency. Blocking consistently not only makes you a well-rounded player but also a much more valuable training partner – which can be very important in some training environments. After all, everyone wants to practice with a good blocker!

Final thoughts

No matter what other areas of the game you bring your focus to, these four key areas should always form the core of your training and development. Without them, you disadvantage yourself against other players.

Put simply, you cannot afford to have significant weakness in any of these four areas or it will be exploited and you will pay the price for it in your matches. So think to yourself, of these four elements, are there any areas in which you need improve? If so, put in the time and effort to do so.

As many coaches say, your ability to counterloop, rally, and play big shots is irrelevant if you can’t execute in these four simple areas of the game.

Enroll TODAY!

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!

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.

It’s time to turbocharge your table tennis. Click here to enroll TODAY!

The post 4 Key Skills You Need to Become a Match Winner appeared first on Table Tennis University.

Often we find ourselves losing sight of the bigger picture and training just becomes the status quo; we go to training, do some drills, and hope to improve. It’s usually only with hindsight, looking back over the year, that we realise we could have done better, committed more, and worked harder.

Matt’s Story

I remember when I (Matt Hetherington) was in my third year of university. I was quite a wild card table tennis player back then – on a good day I could potentially beat anyone, but on a bad day I had some awful losses. I’d been working on narrowing that gap and trying to eliminate the bad losses.

The opportunity arose to trial for the World University Games team. There was a squad of six players of which four would be picked. Naturally, as I had never made a team selection before, I wrote myself off as a wild card and continued training as usual.

Now, again in hindsight, that was an error. I had a good enough chance of making the team, but I didn’t. Why? Because I never set my mind to the task. I never trained with the purpose of achieving that goal.

I knew what I had to do to improve my chances of going…

1. I needed to step up the intensity of my training
2. I needed to tighten up the weak areas in my game
3. I needed to make sure that by selection day I would be ready to prove my worth

My status quo training produced some good results, possibly some of my better ones, but it wasn’t enough to make the team. I was outdone by four players who prepared much more strongly.

So, what is training with a purpose?

It’s simple. It’s setting goals for your training.

Create some long-term goals, break them down into short-term goals, and then break those down into a clear training plan. What do you want to achieve from every training session? Make everything measurable!

For example, you want to execute a set piece where you serve and follow it up with a pivot forehand to win the point.

How many successful executions did you make? What percentage ratio? A successful set piece in a pressure situation should have an 80% plus success ratio. Perhaps even above 90%. Once you have attained that level of consistency, via a structured training plan, you have a reliable move in your game which you can be confident using. Nerves eliminated.

Perhaps you are a beginner, you wish to go out to the table and get some forehands and backhands on the table? Measure everything! Analyse your strokes. What can be improved? Track anything that can help you get closer to your long-term goals. Make the training count!

Perhaps there is a player you are aiming to beat. Set the purpose. Analyse their style and actions. Train against their weaknesses. And try to learn how to shut down their strengths. That’s purposeful and effective training!

For example, if you are aiming to beat a player ranked above you who is commonly known for having good short touch receives and pushing… work on your flicking and perhaps masked short topspin or no spin serves.

Evaluation

It is important to evaluate your success in training and more importantly, what needs to be worked on in the future. Measure your success against your goals and training plan. What did you achieve? Is it something that needs to be worked on more in detail or just maintained?

Are you now closer to your long-term goal? If not, why not? What more can you do?

• Train more
• Train with more focus
• Train with greater intensity
• Select more relevant drills based on your goals

I guess the important thing is, make training count, but more importantly, make it count for you. Training is not just a monotonous process of hitting balls and setting drills. To be truly successful you need to tailor it to your individual needs.

Enroll TODAY!

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!

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.

It’s time to turbocharge your table tennis. Click here to enroll TODAY!

The post Table Tennis Training With a Purpose – Make It Count! appeared first on Table Tennis University.

Footwork, placement and consistency drills should make up the majority of your training, but none of them will help you if your opening topspin is inconsistent, or doesn’t exist. If that’s the case, your opponent will be able to attack first, or you will get stuck in backspin rallies.

So, let’s look at some of the ways your training may be lacking in this area…

1. Serving with more than one ball in your hand

Players often grab a handful of balls from a bucket or their pocket and simply begin serving them. Stop! Third-ball attack is a match situation practice, so you should do everything possible to simulate real match conditions.

If you have more than one ball in your hand, your ball toss will be slightly different. Practicing this way could lead to errors when are using only one ball – in a match!

Linked to this, is having objects on or around the table when practicing, such as nets, ball buckets or trays etc. All of these things scream “training environment” to your subconscious mind, and will not help train your focus for match situations. Keep these things far from the table, or at least under the table and out of sight.

2. Serving differently than you would in a match

Some players use different serves, or don’t try for the same amount of spin on their serves, when practicing third-ball. Maybe because they don’t want to serve faults.

But, as long as your practice partner is of a similar standard, think of third-ball practice as an opportunity to hone your serves as well – and get used to the types of return that will come from them. You’ll also be doing a good service to your partner as well, allowing them to improve their service return.

3. Not using your best return

Somewhat linked to the above… if it’s your turn to return serve, you should be using the opportunity to practice your best, fast and long push returns. This can be difficult if your training partner is not using their best serves.

A specific example is when the server is serving little or no backspin. It becomes very difficult to push effectively. So, if you know your partner can serve better, encourage them to do so!

4. Pushing serves you really shouldn’t

This is a more advanced tip: If both partners are proficient at serving short most of the time, they should encourage each other to attack instead of push if a serve goes long or high, or has weak spin.

This encourages the server to serve better and really watch the receiver’s intentions. It also prevents the receiver from practicing passive shots against attack-able balls.

5. Not practicing different placements

It’s important not only to practice cross-court attacks from the forehand and backhand corners, but also down the line from both corners, and to the center.

And what about when the ball comes to your middle? Will you move to attack with your forehand? And where will you attack to?

Remember, by telling your partner where you’ll be attacking to, there’s a higher chance they’ll get the ball back, which is better for both of you. Also, once you get used to attacking from one place, tell your partner to vary their push placement between two or three different places, or anywhere on the table.

In summary, think about the places where you have difficulty in a match making the first attack from and to and you’ll know where to focus your training time.

6. Not thinking about the fifth-ball

After making a good third-ball attack, your fifth-ball should be at least as strong again. Don’t get caught off guard by a good block. This is an excellent time to combine your footwork drills with your fifth-ball attack drills.

Say you have been practicing forehand side-to-side footwork. Why not tell your partner you’ll be making the first attack crosscourt from the forehand corner and ask them to block the next ball to your middle, to which you must also play a forehand? If you’re ready for a real challenge, tell them they can block anywhere!

As the attacker, it’s important to practice being the one who makes the first free placement in a rally, but it’s equally as important to allow the blocker to take that role sometimes too, to improve the attacker’s reaction speed and footwork, and allow the receiver to practice better blocking.

Once again, think about the situations where you have difficulty in a match after making the first attack and you’ll know where to focus your training time.

We hope these tips bring more intensity to your third-ball attack practice, and with it more rapid improvement!

Enroll TODAY!

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!

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.

It’s time to turbocharge your table tennis. Click here to enroll TODAY!

The post 6 Mistakes You Probably Make When Practicing Third-Ball Attack appeared first on Table Tennis University.

Many psychologists believe that the self-fulfilling prophecy is a very powerful tool that can create many positive benefits if used correctly. However, it’s equally as powerful if used negatively – which has lead to the creation of this short article.

Self-fulfilling prophecies are used in table tennis by coaches and players all the time. The problem is… it’s nearly always being used in a negative context, rather than a positive one.

What not to say…

You will have heard players use this negatively in sayings such as;

• I can’t play a backhand
• I have no touch
• I can’t beat this player
• I can’t get a shot on
• I can’t serve short
• My forehand is rubbish
• I always bottle
• I have no talent.

So, the theory is, if you are a player telling yourself you are a bottler (a very common problem), then you will become a bottler. If you spend all your time telling yourself you have a rubbish forehand, then you will end up with a rubbish forehand.

Positive self-talk

However, this theory can also work in the opposite direction creating a very powerful tool for players and coaches. Used correctly, it can increase a player’s confidence, self esteem, self belief, and ability.

We must all be very careful not to cause this negative self-fulfilling prophecy in ourselves or others. In the training hall or at a tournament, we should say hardly anything in a negative context.

It’s not so much about what we say, as how we say it. Instead of saying in despair, “I always lose when it gets to deuce!” We should say, “I lost again in deuce. That will never happen again!”

And here’s another tip… You must believe you can win even when on paper the odds of winning are close to zero. You’re never going to win if you don’t believe you can win!

You need to use positive self-talk so that when you miss or fail you seek answers to the questions you ask yourself. An example would be if you miss a forehand. Rather than saying, “My forehand is rubbish!” You need to say, “I have a good forehand, so what do I need to do to get it working again?”

These questions and affirmations will bring up positive visions of what you should and could be doing.

Copy Muhammad Ali

Probably the greatest example of the self-fulfilling prophecy in action was Muhammed Ali. He created this incredible self-belief but to make sure it happened he told everyone he was the greatest, he was the champ, even when he wasn’t.

He even predicted the rounds he would knockout his opponents… And he did! Why? Because the self-fulfilling prophecy was at work. Such was the conviction in his belief. He truly believed it and so did his opponents.

Even to this day, almost everyone would say Ali was the greatest boxer ever. Yet, there are several boxers that have had much better records. Such is the strength of this theory.

The self-fulfilling prophecy is not a new theory and it plays a major part in psychology and in everyday life, as well as sport. Understand it properly and you will be able to use it to your advantage, and stop sabotaging your progress!

Enroll TODAY!

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!

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.

It’s time to turbocharge your table tennis. Click here to enroll TODAY!

The post Harnessing the Power of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Table Tennis appeared first on Table Tennis University.

In doubles, as with everything in table tennis, there are specific strategies, training, and little secrets that you need to know in order to perform well. This post will share some of the most helpful.

1. Find the “perfect” partner

Some players immediately work well together. For others, it takes a bit more time. It’s a matter of two players “clicking”.

Even the most unusual combination can produce a great doubles team. And that doesn’t just apply to the playing style but also to the players’ level combination. A pair made up of two very strong players can be a worst team than a team with a top player and a lower level player, for example.

The combinations are unlimited and the outcome not always predictable.

Lefties and Righties

One thing that is almost 100% definite is that a lefty/righty doubles team has advantages to a two right-handed player team. The reason is that you don’t have to cover such a great distance in order to leave room for your partner to play, and you always have the whole table open to you.

In a lefty/righty team you can just move slightly to the back and side and your partner has the whole table covered with his forehand facing you. Then he can step back and you come in and play.

When playing in a same-hand doubles team you have to run to the back and around the other player. This can cause confusion and makes it easier for your opponents to tie you up in knots.

Whoever your partner, the key to being a strong doubles pairing is to play a lot of practice games together and get used to being alongside each other. This is why it’s not always the two highest ranked singles players who win the doubles event!

2. Use simple serves

When playing doubles, keep your serves simple.

Alternating under spin and no spin with the same motion is very effective. Then use a long surprise serve once in a while. Make sure you partner knows which serve you are going to make otherwise they are going to have a tricky time selecting the appropriate third ball attack.

Placement of the serve is most important. When serving to a right-handed player, serve as close to the middle line as possible, to pull him into the table thus leaving no space for his partner to step in and play.

When serving to a lefty you don’t have a great advantage so instead you should focus on serving from the edge of the table and getting out of your partners way as fast as possible. That way they’ll have more time to deal with the return.

3. Make the first attack

It’s very important that your team initiates an attack as soon as possible. In doubles it is even more difficult to react to an incoming attack than in singles. A strong attack, into a tricky position on the table, will usually lead to winning the point.

• When you are serving make sure your serve is convenient for your partner to attack. That means communicating the type of serve (probably via a hand signal under the table) and then getting out of the way so that your partner has space to cover the table and attack.
• When you are receiving your priority should be to try and attack the serve, if you can. If that isn’t possible, make sure you return in a way that prevents the other team from attacking – or at least forces them into a soft attack.
• When your partner is serving you must be thinking about the likely returns, based on their serve, and getting yourself in a good position to quickly move in and attack. Make sure you are down in a good ready position when they are serving.
• When your partner is receiving you have a little more time before you will need to make contact with the ball. However, don’t get caught on your heels!

And don’t forget to have fun. Playing doubles can be a lot more enjoyable and relaxed than playing singles – so make the most of it!

Enroll TODAY!

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!

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.

It’s time to turbocharge your table tennis. Click here to enroll TODAY!

The post 3 Tips to Improve Your Doubles in Table Tennis appeared first on Table Tennis University.