Articles

The dark arts of serving

08/04/202408/04/2024 by Tom Lodziak

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

Do you practise returning serves? If not, why not?

05/04/202428/02/2024 by Tom Lodziak

How important is it to practise returning serves? Well, look at it this way … 50% of points in a table tennis match begin with your opponent serving. You have to read your opponent’s serve, get the ball back on the table and hopefully put your opponent under pressure. In a game up to 11, if you miss 3, 4 or 5 of your opponent’s serves, you are at a massive disadvantage. From this perspective it would be crazy not to practise returning serves. Keep reading

Top 20 most popular table tennis rubbers in 2024

05/04/202415/02/2024 by Tom Lodziak

What table tennis rubbers are most popular with amateur table tennis players? To answer this question, I conducted a survey, asking players what rubbers they currently use for their forehand and backhand. I sent the survey to subscribers of my mailing list and YouTube channel, various table tennis Facebook groups and users of the Table … Keep reading

Choosing the right tactics

30/01/2024 by Tom Lodziak

In a recent video, I asked viewers to give me some suggestions of tactics I should try against Jarek – a player who goes back from the table and returns all my hard attacks. I had a fantastic response with over 100 suggestions of tactics to try. Now, I am left with another problem. I have a long list of tactics, but which ones should I choose? Keep reading

How to add a new shot to your game

17/01/202417/01/2024 by Tom Lodziak

Have you ever tried developing a new shot (e.g. a backhand flick), but found it difficult to actually use it in a competitive match? You can play the shot easily in training drills – and even in a practice match – but when it comes to a league or tournament match, you dare not use it. Why can it be so hard to add a new shot to our game? And what can we do about it? Keep reading

How to look after your table tennis bat

05/04/202409/01/2024 by Tom Lodziak

I spend more money than I should on table tennis rubbers, so I really try to look after them. I want them to last as long as possible and retain their grippiness, so I can get lots of spin on my shots. Taking care of my table tennis bat doesn’t take much effort or cost much money. In this blog post, I explain what I do (and what you should do too). Keep reading

Patience, placement and pressure

06/12/202306/12/2023 by Tom Lodziak

A player I coach, Paul, had a frustrating experience in his league matches last week. Paul is in his early 60s and is very competitive – maybe a little too competitive – and this can often result in him rushing his shots, playing too aggressively and making too many errors. He is so eager to win, he often defeats himself. And this is what happened last week. Keep reading

Don’t neglect your defence

15/11/2023 by Tom Lodziak

Modern table tennis is all about attack. Topspin, flick, smash. Attack this. Attack that. Don’t push! Attack, attack attack. When players train, they almost always focus on their attacking shots. A pushing drill? Nah, that’s for wimps. A blocking drill? Pfft, waste of time. Is defence important any more? Is there any benefit in practising our pushes, blocks, chops and lobs? Well, yes, I believe there is a huge benefit. Let me explain why… Keep reading

35 losses / 1 win – The inspirational tale of Uma

01/11/2023 by Tom Lodziak

Imagine you had played 35 matches and lost all of them. What would you do? Most people would quit table tennis and find another activity to do. But not Uma. Here’s a inspirational tale of a player I coach who keeps picking herself up after defeats and has finally achieved her first ever league win. Keep reading

JOIN NOW – Tom’s TT Academy

18/10/2023 by Tom Lodziak

I am delighted to announce that my new online academy – Tom’s TT Academy – is now live! In Tom’s TT Academy you will get access to exclusive coaching content, including the following… Training drill library – There is a mixture of drills focusing on different aspects of table tennis. Each drill includes and video … Keep reading