Strokes & technique

How to deal with too much conflicting table tennis advice

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Last week I received a panicked email from a player I coach. In her own words, she was “completely muddled with all the different pieces of advice from different people”. She was beginning to doubt if her fast, attacking topspin game was the right way to play. An experienced player had told her she should play slow and spinny. A coach said she should flat hit rather than spin the ball. Another coach gave her some tactical advice which was the opposite to the advice she had received from a completely different coach. How was she supposed to make sense of all this? Read on to find out my advice… Keep reading

7 step plan to improve your forehand topspin

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A lot of players at the intermediate level struggle to attack backspin balls. It’s one of the key skills which prevent them from playing at a higher level. I’ve faced many opponents who are great at attacking a topspin or a blocked ball, but give them some backspin and their attacking game falls apart. If only they could learn to attack these backspin balls too, they would be quite formidable. In this blog post, I share my seven step plan for getting much better at attacking backspin balls. Keep reading

How to play great forehand attacks from the backhand corner

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Most professional table tennis players love to attack with their forehand from all areas of the table, including the backhand corner. They have the ability to step around the backhand corner, attack with their forehand and then effortlessly recover to play a forehand attack from the opposite corner. They make it look so easy. So what can we learn from the professionals? In this blog post, I explain how to play strong forehand attacks from the backhand corner, highlight common mistakes to avoid and share two simple training drills to help you improve. Keep reading

Put your opponents under serious pressure with short, long and wide pushes

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Hands up if you regularly practise playing pushes? I’m guessing there aren’t many hands in the air right now. I can partly understand why players avoid practising their pushes. They find it boring. They think a push is defensive, safe and passive. But rather than seeing a push as a passive shot, you should approach pushing as an opportunity to put your opponent under some serious pressure. In this blog post, I reveal how you can become a pushing master and win lots more points. Keep reading

Frustrate your opponents with steady blocks, aggressive blocks and trick blocks

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One of my favourite shots in table tennis is the block. In many ways, it’s a very simple shot. Little physical effort is required, you just need to get your body and bat in the right position and work with the speed and spin already on the ball. The other player does all the hard work, whilst you use all their speed and spin against them, putting them under lots of pressure to keep the rally going. In this blog post I look at different types of block shots you can use to frustrate your opponents. Keep reading

What should beginner table tennis players learn first?

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I recently started coaching two complete beginners, both adults. One had never played table tennis before, the other played a little bit for fun when a kid, but nothing for the next 30 years. Both have a similar goal – to be good enough at table tennis to join a club and possibly play competitively in a local league. This is a great goal to have, but it’s not easy. There is a lot to learn. And when there is so much to learn, what should you focus on first? Keep reading

Benefits of an unconventional playing style

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Table tennis coaches (myself included) often favour teaching a modern topspin game – service from the backhand corner, playing forehands on ¾ of the table, playing topspin strokes as often as possible, attack, attack attack! But this isn’t the only way of playing table tennis. In this blog post I explore the benefits of unconventional playing styles. Keep reading