Don’t Hit to Pass, Hit to Weaken
The object of table tennis is to hit the ball away from your opponent.
Wrong.
The object is to hit the ball so your opponent can’t return it, or can’t return it well.
If you’re playing a good player the chance of getting a winner in normal back and forth play is slim. The opponent would have to make a mistake that you could pounce on, striking it hard enough to hit a passing shot.
Unless you want to wait for your opponent to screw up, you need to be able to hit shots that put your opponent at a disadvantage.
This all may seem obvious, but many players get in the habit of hitting the ball hard, or with lots of spin, or with a huge angle, and think that’s all you need to do.
Mixing your play up is certainly an important aspect of the game. However, reacting to your opponent’s game, and changing it to combat your opponent is most important.
If you rely heavily on a hard angle shot off your forehand but the other player handles it well, you can’t just stop using it because it’s not working, you have to think about why it’s not working.
Just like your opponent can set you up for a smash, you can set your opponent up to set you up for a smash.
If they’re handling the angle well, chances are they have positioned themselves in a way to comfortably return the hard angle.
If you see this to be the case, send a shot right down the middle to jam them.
If nothing else you are forcing them to make some kind of move that is out of their comfort zone. That is the key.
Notice what shots make them uncomfortable, and set them up for those shots. Then, you’ll see some nice floaters come your way.
Related Articles:
