Science behind TT

“

Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.

”

- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

The higher we climb, the shorter the rallies become. Once players reach 2300 and beyond, monsters start appearing. Monster attackers who finish rallies the moment the ball goes long. The only way to defend against such monsters is to either mainpulate them into hitting it into our palm, or preventing them from attacking altogether, which is arguably easier. It's like trying to put a monster on a leash after letting it out verses just putting it in a cage. The short game, despite many modern innovations, has remained a paramount skill in today's table tennis. Studies show that 40% of service returns are still the forehand short push, emphasizing the importance of the short game, maybe even more so now that our short pushes could be attacked or even killed by the opponent. Much of the modern, side spin and touch based short game can be accredited to olympic gold medalist Ma Lin. I call the short in game in table tennis "spin theory," much like theory in chess. Spin theory refers to a player's understanding of spin, especially the short game, and their ability to apply their understanding, in the form of controlled shots powered by a good touch. Table tennis theory is much like chess theory in that it requires a player to make a controlled opening, with intention (serve & first move in chess) to manipulate the game to their strengths. Then, the players must outmaneuver their opponent, to see who knows more theory. The one who has weaker theory makes a mistake first (putting the ball long, high, or predictably) and is prone to attack.

Usually above the 1900 level, especially for the men's game, no one serves long anymore. Above 2300, it is basically like suicide. So how do we return short serves, usually deceptive and loaded with spin? The main method is to return it short again, in hopes that our opponent will send it long for us to attack. The short game is incredibly flexible. With the addition of the backhand flick, we can even "loop" short balls, something previously impossible. However, the most basic method, and the one most preferred by most players even at the professional level, is to simply step into the table and then lightly touch the ball off the bounce. Do not be afraid of putting it long and touch the ball like it's hot, withdrawing immediately, a mistake I see many newer players making. This method of returning the ball short borrows the opponent's spin and the power of the ball off the bounce, and then adds a miniscule amount of energy, just enough for it to go back over the net. Previously, the goal was the make the ball as short as possible, so that opponents would have to work harder to get to the ball. However, with the addition of the backhand flick, which excels at attacking extremely short balls, it is now much more favorable to hit the ball half long or barely short, with two bounces, to make it hard for opponents to flick or loop the ball.

Dreadfully colorful variety can also be added to this basic short return, which is why I call it "spin theory." If someone dedicates their entire life to just having a decent forehand able to kill underspin balls and put the rest of their skill points into spin theory, it's possible to form a complete game. Ma Lin is a prime example of this type of player. People like Ma Lin no longer play the short game conventionally. They can put the ball short even at its highest point, or even if it is dropping, or even if the ball is long! This requires extreme touch and precision and extensive knowledge of spin theory. By mixing up tempo on short returns, it makes it harder for opponents to flick or give the ball back short. Usually, when a player waits for a short ball to reach its highest point, they are either flicking the ball or sending it long, but players with exceptional vision and control can still put the ball short. Additionally, it's possible to create balls nearly impossible to return short, by adding heavy amounts of sidespin or topspin to a short return, what I like to call "offensive control." Ma Lin excelled at this. At the highest level, players are constantly adding sidespin to their short returns so their opponent will "pop up" their ball or be forced to send it long, letting them attack. The longer a short rally goes on, the more confusing the sidespin will get, and the harder it will be to keep the ball low and short. Ma Lin could do this for the longest. These advanced aspects of the short game is difficult to train. Oftentimes, our innate talent can greatly determine whether we are able understand spin and have a touch good enough to control a ball short. Just playing the game, messing around, will make our touch better. Try to receive as many people's serves as possible, and play with as many people as possible.

Rallies overwhelmingly favor the first strike. The backhand flick has upheaved the modern short game greatly, even forcing veteran short game specialists like Ma Long to adapt. The backhand flick is a technique that leverages the ability of modern tensor rubbers to generate massive amounts of spin and power with tiny movements. In an almost screw like motion, a player uses their wrist and forearm to loop the ball in a flat and compact way inside the table, enabling them to attack a short ball. Previously, low, short shots were almost invulnerable to attacks. The only way to attack them was with a forehand flip or a backhand flip, which imparts very little spin to the ball and is extremely risky. However, with the addition of the backhand flick, even low, spinny sidespin returns can be flicked with deadly precision, making the "first ball attack" player viable in modern table tennis. Players like Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Koki Niwa, and especially Lin Yun-Ju have perfected their own version of the backhand flick matching their style, using it to dominate the modern table tennis landscape. Let's study their respective techniques to help aid our own backhand flick technique and blend it into our playstyle, as well as learning how to counter players who backhand flick. Fan Zhendong is possibly the most foundationally solid player in history, winning most topspin rallies. He developed his backhand flick according to his strong topspin game. Although often lacking point finishing power, Fan Zhendong's backhand flick was flexible and compact, able to be used anywhere on the table, extremely consistent, and precise. He deliberately waits for the opponent's counterloop and because of his compact flick, he has plenty of time to setup another counter, exploiting his powerful physique and strong foundation. Wang Chuqin coupled his backhand flick with his extremely fast tempo follow loop from both wings, employing massive amounts of sidespin to setup a powerful fourth ball attack off the bounce. He also used his flick in conjunction with his effective (albeit controversial) serve. Lin Yun-Ju is almost a completely backhand based player, and he developed a full table backhand flick with an extremely wide range of motion aimed at finishing the rally immediately or severely crippling his opponent in the rally, forcing them to lob or block. To do this, Lin Yun-Ju sacrificed control and uses quite possibly the fastest setup in the modern game, making his backhand flick have the highest single shot quality out of everyone. Koki Niwa also employed a full table backhand flick, which allowed him to enter the topspin rally favorably and take advantage of his world class loop placement.

Despite the dominance that backhand dominant flicking players have currently in table tennis, top players have developed a set of counter measures against them. Every high level player now has a strong long topspin serve. Because the flick requires so much setup, many players anticipate a short serve too early and are vulnerable to aces from an extremely fast long serve. Additionally, it's possible to control backhand dominant players by playing it short to their forehand instead, so that they cannot use their flick (although people like Lin Yun-Ju will do so anyways!). Many of these backhand dominant players also love to attack the first ball, which is the shot that we have the most control over, our serve. By adding sidespin to our serve and taking advantage of our opponent's attack patterns, we can accurately predict where they will flick after we serve, allowing us to setup a devastating counterattack. Finally, we need to mix up our spin and placement. Variation is key in almost every aspect of this sport. Mixing up spin and placement will increase the error rate of opponents' flicks and make it a much more risky move.

To sum:

1. At a certain level, it becomes too hard for us to defend well setup attacks, so we should prevent being attacked in the first place

2. To play a short ball short, hit it off the bounce and add very little energy, only adjusting the angle of your paddle

3. To setup your own attack with a short ball, try adding sidespin and mixing up your tempo

4. Learn how to backhand flick and develop it according to your strengths

5. To counter backhand dominant players, use surprise long serves, add variation, and recognize their attack patterns

What is placement? Placement in table tennis refers to where the ball lands on the table and also how your opponent will need to react to your placed shot. For example, will they have to play a forehand, a backhand, will they push, or will they loop? Control refers to a player's ability to place shots in different places on the table. A player with good control often has very good "touch." Being able to control where the ball lands precisely, not just landing it on the table, will directly affect the quality of one's shots. When control is coupled with strategy, "game sense," and integrated into someone's style, it creates a truly terrifying player that can manipulate their opponent, disrupt their rythm, and win even without power and spin. This article focuses on the long game, where the ball bounces only once on the table, usually when players have already entered into a topspin rally. Although many principles stay constant, the short, backspin game is an article for another time. This article is a deep dive into placement, how to incorporate it into one's game, and how to adjust one's placement depending on the opponent.

The three basic areas for placement would be the opponent's wide backhand, wide forehand, and elbow (middle). Shots on other parts of the table are usually easily received and not areas top players target. The wide backhand and forehand can change depending on if the player or their opponent is left handed. Otherwise, these two areas are pretty intuitive spots that even beginners know to target. They are good spots to hit the ball simply because they are the two most extreme spots on the table. Alternating between wide forehand and backhand shots can be extremely effective, especially if you mix up the rythm and if your opponent is slow. However, the elbow is a spot that I don't see many players under 2200 USATT targetting, much to their detriment! The elbow is the spot that causes the brain to "freeze" for a second when selecting a shot. It's the middleground between forehand and backhand, and a lot of the time, it's close to the center of the table, so players can hit to that spot without much worry for unforced errors. The only prerequisite to hit to the elbow is strong court awareness, and knowing where the opponent's elbow is/will be when the ball reaches them. It's difficult to hit to the elbow in the middle of a fast, intense back and forth rally unless a player has exceptional game instincts (I don't even see pros doing this!). However, something I think most people can start doing today is to try and open up (first attack) towards the elbow aggressively. Many pros do this. One person very good at this would be Lin Yun-Ju, who often backhand flicks or loops spinny at the opponent's elbow. This has led to a lot of success for him. An open up, even if it lacks power, when well placed, will make your opponent hesitate and give back a weak shot, which you can then attack more powerfully. It may even directly result in a point!

One very important factor to consider for wide forehand and backhand shots is angle. Angle refers to the angle that you hit the ball when you hit to one of these wings. For example, look at the figures below. Both shots are to the exact same spot. You could say that both shots have the same placement. However, it's clear which one would be likely harder to return. The figure on the right, of course. That is becuase the shot on the right has more angle. You may also notice that for the shot on the right, the ball is able to travel further, since it is going along the diagonal of the table. For these two reasons, hitting cross court, or diagonally, is generally preferred by most players. You get a bigger angle, and you also get more room, decreasing the likelihood of your shot going out. Angle opens up a shot that I suggest most players practice and try to make instinctual, depending on one's style. The super wide backhand shot (righty vs righty). When your opponent hits to your wide backhand, it opens up an extremely wide angle at which you can hit to their backhand. If you can execute a wide angle shot, it will often result in a point. A the very least, it will likely force your opponent to lose their center of gravity and also hit their backhand outside of their body, without core support. Unless at an extremely high level, most players cannot recover from this and will lose the point on the next shot. The same can be done on the forehand, although the forehand is hit on the outside of the body, and most players have their forehand covered pretty well. Despite what I just said however, the line shot still remains extremely important in making a player unpredictable. Looping down the line is a great skill that I think everyone should have.

One last factor that affects placement is sidespin. Players can add sidespin to create even more extreme angles when they attack. This doesn't apply to the vast majority of players, since angle and placement is already plenty to finish off even advanced level players. Only at the highest amateur levels and the professional levels might players need to start adding sidespin to create wider shots. I recommend players try to keep most of their loops "pure" spin, before they reach that level.

Finally, what happens when players have different hand dominance? If you are a righty facing a lefty, it will often be troubling, since you won't be used to them. Out of the top 100 players, ~40 are usually left handed (while only 11% of the population is left handed)! Against a lefty, you should take advantage of their wide forehand. Most lefties are forehand dominant anyways, and will try to cover as much of the table with their forehand as possible. In this case, don't be afraid to hit to their wide forehand. If they cover it and power loop it back, so be it. When you have to opportunity, take that chance and use your backhand to cretate that wide angle. On the backhand, the ball is usually contacted much earlier and it is easier to leverage your opponent's power and create a massive angle, powerful, shot striaght right off the bounce. Most of the time, it should have your lefty opponent scrambling to get the ball and win you a point. If you are a lefty facing a righty, you should be pretty used to doing that already. The same weakness applies for them. Hit to their wide forehand. 

There's a lot of different types of rubbers in table tennis. If you look at the brands and what they sell, then there's hundreds, perhaps thousands of pieces of equipment with even more combinations. Currently, the types of rubber in table tennis are inverted, long/medium/short pimples, and anti spin. The most common rubber in the modern game is inverted, and most people learn with the inverted rubber. Each type of rubber has vastly different properties and playstyles. The rubber in thumbnail is an extremely exaggerated joke long pimples rubber. Since inverted is so common nowadays, many players do not know how to play against pimples or anti spin. This is why a lot of players cannot break the 1700 barrier. There are so many push blockers that use pimples or anti spin at the 1700 barrier. At the 1900 level, these "weird" rubber players even start attacking, preventing people from going above 2000. In this article, I will explain about the different properties of each rubber and how to counter them. I also respect these "weird" rubber players. It is not cheating, and is a legit play style.

The long pimples rubber, often called long pips rubber, is probably one of the most common non inverted rubbers people struggle with. Many older players love to use long pimples to "push block" the ball. They do not have to worry about spin, properly lining up the shot, etc, so they can easily block the ball back almost every time. So how is this not cheating? They have it so easy, unlike us inverted players! However, long pimples rubbers cannot generate power or spin on its own. It has very little firepower, and as long as the inverted player doesn't miss or get confused by the spin, they can beat long pips players easily. Long pips rubbers do something called "spin reversal." If you give them topspin, it comes back backspin, and if you give backspin, it comes back no spin or a little topspin. NEVER give sidespin against long pips. It will come back with even weirder sidespin. To win against long pips, I live by Pingsunday's "KISS" acronym. Keep It Simple Spin. I will take this even a step further, and believe that below the 2150 level, you can keep EVERYTHING simple ("KISE" Keep It Simple Everything). In fact, if your forehand is good enough, you can keep everything simple even at the 2600 level (at least according to my coach, I'm not there yet). Usually, long pimples players use long pips on their backhand and inverted on their forehand. Rarely players will utilize pips on both sides, since it almost removes their ability to attack. To beat long pips players (push blocker, chopper, attacking long pips, doesn't matter), utilize two main serves. Long and fast to their pips side with light top/back spin, or short and no spin to their short non pips side. If you are a strong orthodox inverted attacker, these serves should setup a third ball attack. After the long and fast serve to their pips side, pips players will usually give back a weak, attackable long ball with little spin. Inverted players should loop this ball and continue to either loop or push, as consistently as possible. Do not try to end the point in one powerful shot unless you have absolute confidence. Continuously looping spin rich balls to the pips player's middle and backhand will eventually open up an opportunity for you to easily smash the ball or it will even result in an error from the pips player. Against stronger choppers or push blockers that don't miss so easily, loop spin rich balls to the middle or wide backhand, and when the opportunity arises, powerloop to their forehand, because their backhand is the stronger defensive side and the more power you give the pips, the more spin they will give back to you. Utilize a short drop shot to their forehand if needed, if the chopper has backed away far from the table. Long pips attackers are much more tricky, and if they are proficient at their craft, usually decently high rated. Attacks made with the long pips rubber feel very "heavy" due to the lack of topspin yet are still fast. Against these shots, inverted challengers should open up their racket face more and loop with a more upward motion. It is worth noting that there are two types of long pips, OX long pips without sponge, and normal long pips with sponge. I've found that if you learn how to play against one, you should know how to play against the other. Usually OX pips will have more spin reversal, but negligible attacking power.

Anti spin is similar to long pips in the sense that it is immune to spin and that it has spin reversal. Skilled anti spin users can manipulate the ball short and make it very uncomfortable. However, anti spin is also more predictable than long pips, has less spin reversal, and even less firepower. To play anti spin, utilize the two previously discussed serves, but now you can also serve short to their anti spin side (unlike against pips, which when playing against you should NEVER serve short to their pips side). Watch out for sudden short balls and stay on your toes, do not back up too far from the table. Again, utilize consistent, spin rich loops and wear down the anti spin player. Just by doing this, you should be able to easily beat most anti spin players below 2000. Ones above 2000 usually have more control and a much deadlier inverted side. Against these players, inverted challengers should try to target their anti spin side. One thing to keep in mind when playing against any weird rubber players is that they are using a weird rubber for a reason. Most players that use these weird rubbers usually switched from inverted because they couldn't develop a strong backhand, they were too slow to pivot for forehand, they can't attack from one side, etc. If a player can loop proficiently on both sides, then there's no reason for them to make the switch. Don't fear that weird rubber players will suddenly pivot and power loop you when you give to their weird rubber side. If they could do that, they probably would still be using inverted and playing a forehand dominant attacker style.

Short pips are much more challenging to play against (in my opinion) and there are even many top short pips players on the world stage, especially for women (such as Mima Ito, former WR #2). Short pips behave much like inverted rubbers and can generate spin and power on its own. The main difference is that it just generates less spin, but is also less sensitive to spin. Against short pips, one should utilize their main attacking strategy and treat it like playing against a normal attacking inverted player. Short pips defenders are rare, and if they are a short pips chopper, then just treat them like a long pips chopper. One main difference against short pips is that due to the less spin generated, it's often easy to block their short pips attacks, and as long as you get behind the ball, it should always be blocked back easily and be controlled relatively easily. Serve mostly to their pips side, since it is always a pip's players weaker side. When short pips players push, it will have far less spin than inverted rubber pushes, making it easier to attack. Medium pips are very tricky. There are medium pips defenders as well as medium pips attackers. Treat medium pips defenders just as normal defenders that use pips, and treat the attackers like short pips attackers, but with "heavier" more spin reversal shots.

Finally, I will move onto the most common type of rubber, the inverted rubber. Many types of inverted rubbers have been developed, and albeit they still behave as inverted rubbers, it is worthwhile to examine the different properties of each and how to counter each. "Chinese" inverted rubbers have two main traits. They are very "tacky" or sticky, and are very hard. Examples include the DHS Hurricane 3, Yinhe Big Dipper, etc. These rubbers do not utilize modern sponges and are not "tensor" rubbers. The tackiness of Chinese rubbers enable these rubbers to generate massive amounts of spin, making topspin loops "jump forward." The hard trait of these rubbers make it so that a player needs a very solid shot in order to fully hit through the rubber and utilize the sponge and blade. It also makes it so that players using Chinese rubbers can control the ball very short and very precisely, especially due to the lack of spring sponge. Serves made by Chinese rubbers are loaded with spin and deceptive. The second type of rubber is "European" or "tensor" rubbers. These rubbers have modern technology in them, and are much faster, They are softer, and the sponge has technologies such as Butterfly's flagship "spring sponge" technology that create a "catapult" effect on the ball, accelerating it rapidly and converting the energy put into the rubber much more effectively. Balls hit by tensor rubbers are often extremely powerful and players using these rubbers can generate massive amounts of power even with tiny form. However, due to the nature of the sponges, it makes it harder for players using these types of rubbers to control the ball or add massive amounts of spin. Examples of tensor rubbers include Butterfly's Tenergy series. Finally, there are also hybrid rubbers. These rubbers most often utilize the fast sponge of a tensor rubber and the tackiness of a Chinese rubber, trying to obtain both the spin of a Chinese rubber as well as the power of a tensor rubber. Examples include Butterfly's Dignics 09c, Glayzer, and Dignics 05 (kind of). Some hybrid rubbers are more like Chinese ones and are slower, while others are more like tensor rubbers and are softer and faster. Hybrid rubbers often create the most deadly topspin loops, but still suffer with control like tensor rubbers. 

Do not treat this article like a textbook, and develop your own strategies against each different types and sub types of rubber. Remember, if a player isn't using inverted, there's a reason. Perhaps they are too old to move quickly enough to get behind the ball and powerfully loop it. Perhaps they have arthritis and their joints can't handle the looping motion. If a younger player uses it, then there's even greater reasons. It's almost always to cover up a weakness. Maybe they always slapped the ball and struggled to generate spin. Switch to short pips. They are too patient and cannot finish points. Long pips, change to chopping. They are very strategical with their placement but have absolutely no spin and power. Anti spin. There's always a reason, and a weakness to exploit. Players using non inverted rubbers in the modern game always have holes. This is why no player not using inverted rubber has become WR #1 in a very long time. In the men's game, non inverted players even breaking the top 50 is extremely rare.

Originally, the service in table tennis was exactly what it was called. It was a service for the player and their opponent, the service of putting the ball into play. However, as table tennis rapidly evolved, newer, more spin rich rubbers were introduced to the game and top players continually improved service techniques and even inventing new serves. The service quickly evolved into a major component of any player's game. The serve can be a powerful tool for controlling your opponent or even be the first attack. In the modern game, with the widespread use of short control and especially the popularization of the backhand flick, able to attack any short ball, the serve has also become a weakness that opponents can easily exploit and turn into points.

At an advanced level, an average rally in table tennis lasts 3-4 shots. This makes the service 25-33% of the rally. Thus, many top level coaches believe that a third of a player is comprised of their serve. The serve also has a major impact of the other shots of the rally, and many coaches, including well known Pingsunday's Emratthich believes that the serve constitues over 40% of any player. What makes the serve even more important is that it is the only shot that a player has complete control over. This means that when a player serves, they get to control the first shot of the rally, and if they know what they're doing, ideally the entire rally. At a high level, serving is an advantage and players usually have a higher win rate when serving. Players don't practice or think about their serve nearly enough. If it makes up 40% of playing strength, then you are losing out on 40% potential improvement by neglecting the serve. If one wishes to improve beyond the 2000 level, they should be spending at least an hour a day practicing their service.

So what makes a good serve? There are 5 main elements, being spin, height, variety/placement, power, and deception, in no particular order. Spin is intuitive. The more spin on the ball, the harder it is for opponents to control the ball. It leads to a higher chance of the opponent making errors. When the level gap is large enough, stronger players can overwhelm and ace weaker players just by serving a spin rich ball. More spin on the ball also directly creates more variation. Having a larger range of spin will create much more powerful variety and more effective deception. Players love to disguise balls as no spin, but when their spin serve barely has any spin as well, the no spin serve has barely any effect (I used to struggle with this!). There are mainly 4 types of spin players impart onto the ball during service. Topspin, backspin, pendulum sidespin, and reverse pendulum sidespin. In the modern game, backspin has lost usage at the high level, with the main spin on balls being sidespin. Due to the previously discussed magnus effect, backspin has the opposite effect of topspin, "floating" the ball up higher. Above a certain level, players have become good enough to attack a ball regardless of the amount of backspin on the ball, as long as it is above the net or even slightly below the net. This makes putting heavy amounts of backspin onto a serve unideal, since it would make it easier to flick. This is also partially due to the adoption of increasingly larger balls for competition, which reduces the amount of spin on the ball, making spin serves overall less effective. Spin used to be most important aspect of the serve, but with the backhand flick in most high level players' arsenals as well as the ball being increasingly made bigger, it has become less important.

Height is now considered one of the most important aspects of the serve. When serving in the modern game, the ball has to be served as low as possible, as to not be flicked by the opponent, or to force a weak flick that is easily blocked or ideally, countered. Ideally, the ball should barely make it over the net on the serve. There isn't much more to say about height, just make your serve as low as possible. The lowest serves will create a "sliding" effect, where the ball is so low that it seems to slide on the table, bouncing twice rapidly (for short serves). Variety and placement can be deadly when mastered. In table tennis, the main attacking stroke is the loop (although an argument can be made for the backhand flick), which cannot be executed if the ball is short (bouncing twice on the table), because the player will not have enough room. This makes short serves the most popular type of serve used at even above an intermediate level, since long serves will almost always be attacked. Long serves in the modern game have become more important however, since they are great for surprising your opponents, especially ones that love to utilize the backhand flick. Most players do not realize that they serve to the same 3 or 4 spots each time. Even a little variation on the serve can be extremely powerful. Ma Long is perhaps one of the best placement servers in history. His opponents are always on their toes when he serves, as they almost never go to the same spot twice. When his serve is paired with one of the most flexible, powerful, and consistent forehands ever, it creates what many to consider the most effective third ball attack in history.

Power in the service is only relevant for long serves. Long serves should be made to go as fast as possible, giving the opponent the least time to react. A powerful long serve should be in every player's arsenal. Deception is what many consider to be the ultimate goal of serving, and is the culmination of every previously mentioned service elements. By using fake movements, good variety, and having the exact same form every time you serve until the last second (where you change up the spin, placement, everything), it becomes impossible for opponents to predict the where the serve is going and what spin is on the serve. In serve receive, these are the most key two pieces of information. Location, the type of spin, and the amount of spin. If any of these elements are misjudged, it could lead to an easily attacked free ball or even an error. The server's goal is to make sure the receiver does not receive accurate information by utilizing deception. Serves have become more and more borderline illegal as players often hide the contact point (which must be shown) on the serve with their body or head to make them harder to read. While many players like Schlager serve completely legally and standing up and can still win the world championship, I believe that it is now harder than ever. To play at a high level, unfortunately, one must develop a serve that doesn't break the rules, but pushes them. You should only reveal the contact point for a split second on your serve. Many top players are getting away with completely covering the contact point, like Wang Chuqin or Lin Shidong (WR #1 and #2 at the time of writing).

Every player's serve is unique, and there are countless ways to serve the ball in table tennis. Players even serve *overhand like with the tomahawk serve. However, every high level serve has these 5 things in common. Spin, height, variety/placement, power, and deception. When developing your own set or sets of serves, make sure that you are respecting all of these pillars of service.

Have you heard of the concept of being quick and agile, yet not fast? Rhythm/tempo is something that can be applied to almost anything at life. It's not only used in music, and is paramount to sports. The same applies to Table Tennis. Your tempo dictates how fast you prepare your shot, execute the shot, move your feet, and then prepare again. Going too fast may mean swinging before the ball has come to the optimal spot, and going to slow may mean letting the ball get past you, leading to a weak shot or a miss. Rhythm is what sets apart a lot of high level players. Without it, you cannot find the ball, and it is impossible to hit the previously discussed "solid shot," because you will not have the correct timing. Without rythm, practice is also impossible, since drills will be sporadic and random, making cooperation between players hard and making the drill very low reptition, thus defeating the point of the drill. In matches, rhythm is even more important. I believe it is what sets apart players usually considered "fast," from those that are much "slower." 

So how does this apply to being fast? Efficiency is everything in Table Tennis, the higher the efficiency, the less effort the player needs to make to lead to more results. Rythm directly dictates footwork efficiency. I'm an athletic and explosive athlete. I play a variety of sports, from basketball, to volleyball, to table tennis. I run a fast time in track and field. I have very good endurance, since I do both short and long distance track and field. There is no question that I am quick and explosive, something I am very grateful for. Yet somehow, I am always worn out quickly, and am always slower than the ball, needing to chase it everywhere. Have you seen those bigger players who always seem to be on top the ball, and just there to swat it right past you? It feels like they're barely moving, yet somehow still fast. If you watch pongfinity, Otto is a good example. On the other hand, there are much skinnier, quicker players, like Mikka from Pongfinity, or me (a much worse example), who feel so much faster, so how do they still lose? The answer lies in footwork efficiency and rythm.

In drills, two players must keep a similar, repeating rythm so they can get as many reptitions of the drill as possible. How do I find this rythm? In one full cycle of hitting, there are 4 sounds. Let's say we are doing a forehand loop drill, where one person blocks and the other person loops. After serving the ball, you loop the ball. One sound of the ball hitting the racket. The ball lands on my table. Another sound. The ball hits my racket. Another sound. The ball hits your side of the table. Another sound. 4 sounds in total before it goes back to you looping it again. Ideally, the amount of time between these 4 sounds should be the same. If you listen the sounds of high level players doing drills, there is a very obvious rythm. Players can directly execute different parts of their shot at each sound. For example, many players like to split step (a small adjustment hop) right when they contact the ball and right when the opponent contacts the ball. I could talk for hours about applying the concept of rythm in drills, but it might not help you. It would be best to try and listen for the sound and try to find a feeling of your own.

In match situations, rythm is much more complicated. The one thing to remember is to never get sucked into your opponent's rythm, and always hit shots at your own pace. This is a complicated concept for a lot of people, including me. The main concept is to not rush. Let's say the opponent has looped a high and spinny shot. An example of being sucked into their rythm is trying to block it or counter loop it off the bounce. Instead, a better option most of the time would be wait for the ball to reach its highest point, and then neutralize the spin by blocking somewhat sideways at the ball or driving a hard counter loop right back at your opponent. A lot of people can counter loop, the only thing stopping them is their rythm. When in doubt, slow down. You have a lot more time in a ralley than you think you do. Instead of blocking, what if you wait for the ball to drop a little more, give yourself a little more time to prepare, and then attack instead? As an offensive player, you should always be trying to take the initiative or take it back if your opponent has taken it from you. I can't say much about choppers and other defensive players, but I would think that similar concepts apply. If a chopper is sucked into an attacker's rythm, then they'll only be slowly suffocated to death by an onslaught of loops. By varying the timing and tempo of their chops, they give themselves more adequate time to prepare, place the ball better, or even vary the spin. Maybe even counter loop!

Finally, rythm also applies to the mental game. Sometimes it is impossible to break free from an opponent's rythm. This is when you should take a time out. Rythm can also lead to huge upsets. When I was around 2000, I beat a 2350 rated player 3-0, advancing to the open semi finals. I completely sucked him into my rythm, and I was taking the initiatve every time. The contrary has also happened. I have lost to 1600s as a 2000 because I was sucked into their rythm. Analyzing post game footage is a great way to learn more and perfect your rythm and shot selection. I should have slowed down the game here. Here, I should have gone for the counter. Why did I push here? Every shot should have intention. Asking yourself these questions will lead to explosive improvement.

Contrary to popular belief, Table Tennis is a sport that requires high dexterity, strength, and athleticism when performed at the highest level. Top players like Fan Zhendong, Harimoto, all follow intense physical conditioning routines that guarantees consistent top performance and reduces injuries. Maintaining good form is impossible when you get tired from just two swings. While we're not necessarily trying to become Fan Zhendong here, physical conditioning is something that every serious Table Tennis player should do to reduce injury and improve performance drastically. Good physical conditioning can also improve muscle imbalances that are caused by the sport. Table Tennis players' dominant arms and legs are often much thicker than the other from the thousands of forehand and backhand repetitions done throughout years of training.

So what muscles and what factors are most important for a Table Tennis player? The main muscles that a physical conditioning routine designed for Table Tennis should focus on are the legs. At high levels, players maintain an athletic stance for almost the entire duration of the match, and power from both the forehand and backhand come mainly from the legs. Power is also generated mostly by the legs. Also important will be core muscles, including the abs, back muscles, and obliques. This improves torque (power from "twisting") and also stabilizes your form drastically. If you look at high level players, it feels like their movements are so compact and they are so fast. A strong core makes you lighter on your feet by improving balance overall and balance when moving at higher speeds and also makes it easier for you to execute your form since you are able to keep what needs to stay rigid rigid. Thirdly, we also put emphasis on endurance. Tournaments usually last a very long time. Just playing two events at the Westchester Open would be a minimum of 8 matches, most likely more. To maintain top form throughout, one needs good muscular and cardiovascular endurance. For multi day tournaments like the Joola NA teams, endurance is a MUST since you are playing almost 20+ matches. Some work can be done with the arms, but it's not necessary as most power doesn't come from there anyways. However, it's still good to have strong arms since it can enhance power a little bit and make your form more stable. The chest can definitely be worked on since it does contribute a somewhat good amount to power. Finally, agility and coordination should be included in every physical conditioning routine. If you don't do anything else, at least do agility.

Exercises below are put from most importance to least importance. Alternatives included.

1. Agility Ladder: The agility ladder directly translates to better footwork and a more agile player. It's hard to describe a specific routine using words, but some searches on Youtube should yield results. Here's an example video (doesn't matter if it says it's for football). What if you don't have an agility ladder? Simple. Just use tape or any other marker and make one. ~15x15cm squares, make around 15-20 of them.

2. Squat Jumps (Weight optional): This is simple. Squat jumps improve explosiveness and strength of the legs. I recommend using weights for this exercise. It should be around 40-60% of your 1 rep max if you are doing weighted squat jumps.

Alternative/Variation to squat jumps: Tuck jumps (no weight, look up how to do them if you don't know)

3. Jump Rope + Variations: Jump rope is a GREAT exercise for table tennis. It improves explosive strength, plyometrics, stability, hand eye coordination, agility, EVERYTHING. Especially it helps with endurance. When you get better, you can do double unders. Triples are optional and not really needed, but you can do them as well. Be careful not to overdo too much though.

4. Side Lunges + Lunges (Again, weight optional, but recommended): Side lunges should be done as quickly as possible with as much explosive force upwards as possible. Side lunges also work the adductors, a muscle that I have somehow injured MULTIPLE times while playing table tennis, so it should definitely be strengthened. These exercises also greatly improve explosiveness and strength in the legs. They are also great at preventing injury.

5. Running: Running is great for improving cardiovascular and leg endurance. Try to run at least once a week. I don't recommend running more than 8km to train endurance. Don't run too much though, since you will be too exhausted for training and it could also hurt your knees (table tennis is already pretty tough on the knees).

6. Circular Crunches + Leg Circles: These two exercises cover the upper and lower abs, as well as the obliques. They will greatly improve general stability for your shots.

7. Ab Roller (optional, but helpful): Helpful for strengthening the core further. Many top players use this.

8. Medicine ball throws: A lot of helpful exercises with the medicine ball can be done by a table tennis player. You can literally just throw it as hard as you can against a wall, and rep that out for 3x10.

9. Pushups + Variations: Pushups are pretty good for table tennis. It strengths the core, works the chest, and other parts of the upper body. Once you get better, you can do explosive, clapping, or archer pushups. Don't overdo this one either.

10 + 11 should not be done often, since it involves weights, meaning a lengthened recovery time

10. Benchpress/Chest Press: This exercise requires weights, but again it's very helpful. It should be done rather explosively. Stronger chest muscles will greatly help the forehand shot.

11. Forearm curls: This exercise also requires weights. It's helpful to do the full version and let the weight drop down to your fingers, to also improve grip strength.

12. Bicep + Hammer curls: These exercises are also nice. Can enhance your power a little bit, and increases stability.

Make sure you warmup and stretch properly before conditioning! Also stretch afterwards as well! Flexibility is actually very important for table tennis. You should be pretty flexible.

You can try to create your own workout plan, or find one and incorporate some of these exercises into it. Below is a sample workout plan that I have created.

Day 1: Agility Ladder, Squat Jumps, Side Lunges

Day 2: Agility Ladder, Running, Circular Crunches, Leg Circles

Day 3: Agility Ladder, Jump Rope, Pushups

Day 4: Agility Ladder

Day 5: Agility Ladder, Medicine ball throws, replace with pushups if you don't have them

Day 6: Agility Ladder, Squat Jumps, Lunges

Day 7: Agility Ladder

This is just a sample workout plan, follow it if you want to, it's quite effective. You can increase the number of days you do legs if you want. If you notice, there are two days of rest. You can change it to just one day if you would like. Another thing to keep in mind is to start small, with less reps, then gradually work your way up to a lot of reps and heavier weights (if you're doing weights).

Finally, it is worth noting that if you want to take your explosiveness to the next level, plyometrics are a great way to do it. I'm not sure if top players do plyometrics. Plyometrics are often done to improve explosiveness for other exercises like basketball or volleyball. If you don't know what plyometrics are, they are basically bodyweight exercises that involve a lot of jumping. There are a lot of plyometric exercises out there that can improve explosiveness greatly from the legs. If I were to write about plyometrics now, this already long article would be another 2000 words longer. So do some research. Just make sure to go easy on plyometrics, once a week especially if you are training a lot.

Biomechanics is the study of how the body works together. In the context of table tennis, it is the most opitmal form to hit the ball to generate as much power as possible. Form is widely considered to be the most important thing in almost any sport. Correct form is not a natural movement for most people, and one needs good flexibility, athleticism, and a lot of practice in order to execute correct form. Good form also directly affects power efficiency, as discussed in the previous article. Bad form leads to slow shots, increased risk of injury, and is overall undesirable. In this article, I will discuss the correct method to execute the forehand loop (also called forehand drive, forehand attack) in table tennis. Form is slightly different for everybody. Some people are shorter, some are stronger, and form differs between men and women. However, the general framework of the form remains the same, and the principles also remain the same. One exception though, might be for physical limited people, maybe seniors or people with arthritis. They may not be strong enough. For the purposes of this article, I will assume that you have the physical capabilities of at least an un-athletic person. As it is very difficult to break down the full forehand loop form into words (it would make this already long article longer), I will discuss the general principles and provide some guiding ideas for developing a highly effective form, and leave the rest up to the player.

The main principle for the forehand is that almost all the power comes from your legs and trunk. Very little comes from the arms and shoulder, which is only responsible for holding the paddle and transferring the power, not generating it. This is, in my opinion, the most common mistake players make when executing the forehand loop. Most of their power comes from their arm and shoulder, resulting in greatly decreased power and efficiency. Your legs and torso are much thicker and more powerful than your arm. It can generate massively more power and is a much more stable platform, especially if you are trying to accelerate the ball to high speeds. Even if you do not take away anything else from this article, I hope you grasp this concept. Most of the power is generated from your legs, it is then transferred to your torso, and finally to your arm. Some people might generate more power from the torso, maybe others more from their legs. Very few top level players generate most of their power from their shoulder or arm.

The core also plays a pivotal role in the forehand, and almost every shot in table tennis. The core is like the power line of the body. Incorrect usage and engagement from the core will lead to loss of power. Even if you don't realize it, you probably do tighten your core when you hit the ball. The core stabilizes the entire body, and it makes sure that what needs to stay rigid stays rigid. It also can directly generate power when you twist your torso. Next time you train your forehand, pay attention to your core and how you are using it. Try tightening it more and engaging it. Many players also often have a weak core, which leads to their shots being unstable. This brings up the topic of physical conditioning, which, in my opinion, is extremely important if you want to truly excel at this sport. A weak body cannot generate strong shots. I will discuss physical conditioning in the next article.

Finally, if the arm doesn't generate power, then what does it do? When people first look at the arms of top players, it seems like they are using their arms a lot. That is actually not true. The actual movement that comes purely from the arms is very little. Almost all the movement is from the legs and rotation of the torso, which in turn, moves the arm because it is attached to their body. The role of the arm is to transfer power to the ball. The paddle can be considered a part of your arm. In order for the arm to do its role, it has to be extremely relaxed, only just barely tense enough to maintain form and hold the paddle. If the arm is tense, then it will be rigid, and thus it cannot make the "whipping" motion at the end and generate power. Power will be absorbed by the overly tense arm. At first, the arm should be as relaxed as possible. It should start moving at a very slightly later timing than the torso, since it is not generating power on its own. This difference in timing is very slight however, and you should not deliberately try to make your arm swing later. Finally, right before contact with the ball, the arm can be more tense and accelerate into the ball, contributing just a little more power. It should feel like you're "grabbing" the ball. The shoulder plays a very small role in the forehand. The little bit of the movement that the arm does perform comes from mostly the forearm. The last part of the arm is the wrist. Many people debate about whether the wrist should be incorporated into the forehand or not. Many top players do indeed engage their wrist when executing a forehand loop, but it is a very slight movement. For players who have not yet gotten the hang of the forehand loop, I do not recommend trying to incorporate the wrist, unless it comes very naturally to them. Except for penholders. Penholders can and should utilize their wrists in the forehand.

Nevertheless, there are still exceptions to the principles I discussed in this article. The table tennis legend, Zhang Jike, is a great example. His forehand incorporates a lot of shoulder and arm, and a lot of his power comes from his arm. Despite this, he is still considered one of the greatest players of all time. How? Isn't he breaking the principles? When he first entered the national team, the national team coach wanted him to change his forehand form. However, Zhang Jike's personal coach at that time convinced the national team to allow Zhang Jike to continue training with his original form. Zhang Jike then went on to complete a grand slam. Despite his success, I believe that players should not attempt to replicate his form on the forehand. Zhang Jike is an incredibly, incredibly gifted athlete. Very few people's shoulders can handle this kind of rotation and repeatedly execute forehands at the top level. To do this also requires an extreme amount time spent on injury prevention in the form of lifting, stretching, and other forms of conditioning. Moreover, Zhang's career was painful and littered with injuries, suggesting that even he could not maintain such a form. Most professional players' forehands do not look like Zhang Jike's. Another exception might be certain European players who utilize a lot more shoulder and arm than most professionals. However, I mainly focus on the Chinese philosophy for table tennis, since the Chinese have been the most dominant in this sport for the past decades. These European players, and Zhang Jike included, despite incorporating a lot of shoulder, still use a ton of leg and torso, much more than what I see most amateur players using.

Unfortunately, fixing this habit is difficult since players instinctively want to hit the ball in the most intuitive and direct way, by using their arm. It takes years of practice. Despite understanding much of the principles, even I have not fixed my old habits.

One of the most important concepts in Table Tennis is power efficiency. Power efficiency is how much power actually ends up in the ball compared to how much power is used. The best players have very high power efficiency and can use a small movement and very little effort to generate large amounts of power. Almost all the power they use ends up in the ball. Their shot looks effortless. Meanwhile, lower level players may struggle with power efficiency. They might put 100% power into the ball, and due to bad form, maybe 5% gets absorbed in the shoulder, 5% gets jammed into the arm, and another 20% is only released after contact with the ball is already finished. In this scenario, only 70% of the power used ended up in the ball. Low power efficiency hinders a player's ability to develop. They constantly feel like they have to muscle the ball to get power, and in turn, due to trying to hit the ball hard, they will have much lower consistency. In the worst scenarios, even table tennis players can develop tennis elbow due to constantly muscling the ball. One member from my club took a two year break from the game due to a worsening tennis elbow. So, how do we increase our power efficiency?

The easiest method to increase power efficiency quickly is make solid contact with the ball, combining your power with the power already in the ball. This lets the ball sink into the rubber, thus utilizing the strength of the wooden blade, resulting in a longer dwell time and massively increased power efficiency. The sound from a solid contact is crisp and sweet. You will also know you have made solid contact when you feel the vibration of the blade through your hand. To make a solid contact, one must understand that not all power comes from the player itself. A lot of the power in fact, comes from the ball that hits your paddle, from your opponent's shot. A great way to find this feeling is by serving topspin multiball (Look up "multiball table tennis" if you don't know what that is). In China, coaches have kids constantly serve multiball, even when not training with others. Serving good multiball is not easy. When serving multiball, the power does not come from your right hand. It comes from your left hand that hits the ball against your paddle that you are holding with your right hand. Multiball is not tossing the ball and then smacking it with the paddle in your right hand. I recommend players to serve some multiball when they have time, and really let the feeling of the ball hitting your paddle generating power sink in. However, remember that this is still a supplemental exercise and the best way to get better is still to practice with another player. Listen and feel for that sweet, crisp sound. When you feel like a shot is good, try to replicate it. One huge mistake people often make is they try to make solid contact by adding more power. This is not the way. Even weak shots can be solid. Trying to add more power on purpose only adds more muscle, decreasing power efficiency. Even when you think you've heard a solid contact from muscling the ball, it is not the sweet crisp sound a true solid contact creates. A muscled power shot sounds sharp. The only time players should muscle a ball is killing high balls.

A solid shot is not the only way to achieve higher power efficiency, however. Working on a perfect form and perfecting your biomechanics will also lead to a higher power efficiency, but that is something that takes years, even decades, of training and is likely something you are already working on. Meanwhile, going for a solid shot is something you will be able to hopefully apply in your next training session. The journey to making your shot truly solid is still long and arduous. Gaining higher power efficiency is not easy, but the rewards are well worth it. In the end, practice makes perfect.

To apply many of the things I discussed in this article correctly, I highly recommend watching a few videos of Ma Long's forehand (or backhand) and just listening for the sound of his shot and remembering it, to distinguish the difference between a muscle shot and a solid shot.

Table Tennis and the Magnus Effect

February 7th, 2025

by Jerry Zeng, Joyous TTC, NVOT

High level players can spin a table tennis ball 10 times faster than the wheels of your car going 60 mph (look it up!). Table tennis balls can spin at around 150 rotations per second, 9000 rotations per minute.

The basis upon which competitive TT is built is spin. Specifically, the magnus effect. Without spin, competitive TT is basically impossible. It’s surprising how many high level players I’ve met before didn’t know this, but used the principle of the magnus effect in almost all of their matches. Think, when your opponent gives you a hard shot, but you must attack it, what do you do? Add a whole lot of topspin? Why? Well, it usually goes on the table that way, doesn’t it? In Chinese terminology, adding spin is literally called adding “safety” (bao xian) in a direct translation, since it makes the shot so much safer.

The diagram above is of a table tennis ball spinning forward, in a topspin motion. Fluids, such as air, like to stick to the surface of things. The same applies for a table tennis ball. The air likes to stick to it as it goes through the air. However, when the ball begins spinning, the air sticks to the ball, and the ball “pulls” and releases the air above it, increasing the air pressure above and decreasing the air pressure below, causing the ball to dive downwards.

In your game, this would translate to you looping a spinny high arc ball, and then diving down back onto the table. The stronger the spin, the stronger the magnus effect, and the less likely your ball is to go long. The ball won’t go into the net because you have added so much height to the ball, and it already has so much forward momentum. It also applies to every other shot you do. If your topspin shot is fast, spin is the reason why it even goes on the table. If you look at some higher level players, like Xu Xin, they often even loop the ball from way underneath the table, and it looks like there’s an invisible force pressing the ball back down on the table. Of course, gravity plays a role, but without the magnus effect, that ball would be going to the moon. This principle is applied to many other shots as well. Sidespin would make the ball go sideways, and backspin makes the ball float upwards! That’s why when you push too hard, the ball will go up. It is also why high level players prefer serving strong sidespin over strong backspin, since backspin will lead the ball to “float” higher and make the ball sometimes easier to receive (of course there are exceptions and variations). The magnus effect applies in many other sports as well. For example, curveballs in baseball. Next time you play, keep this in mind, and remember the importance of spin!