I’ve played ping pong occasionally ever since I was a kid, with all kind of improvisations throughout the years if no bat, net or table tennis was available. But, I never played “profesionally” and with time passing less and less. Now I have decided this year will be the year when I play more of my favourite sport and take my play to the next level. I intend to join a table tennis club and practice more, maybe play in one the swiss regional leagues.
First things first - start with some theory. Therefore, as with volleyball, ski or skating, I put up a video list with drills and skills to practice in table tennis, from body posture, foot work, serving, attack, chop and so on.
A special thanks to all the guys making these videos - your hard work is really appreciated.
Table of contents
- Body posture
- Spin
- Top spin
- Backspin
- Sidespin
- Block
- Push
- Flick
- Serving
- Serve Placement | PingSkills - 7min
- 5 ways to make your serves much stronger (with Craig Bryant) - 8min
- Sidespin (pendulum) serve - tips and tactics - 8min
- 3 Steps to master the backspin GHOST SERVE | TableTennisDaily - 9min
- Hook serve
- How to do top quality BACKHAND serves (with Craig Bryant) - 8min
- How to get more spin on your serves (with Craig Bryant) - 7min
- 4 killer serves to destroy your opponents (with Craig Bryant) - 12min
- 5 Steps To Master The Reverse Pendulum Serve | Table Tennis - 8min
- Serve + 3rd ball attack (with Craig Bryant) - 10min
- Timo Boll super slow motion. Services which side spin, reverse pendulum, backspin
- Receiving / return
- Match
- Next steps
- Bonus
- Super Slow Motion 🏓 Cámara lenta. 2015 Men’s World Cup. MA Long, Fan Zhendong & OVTCHAROV
- Matches
- Ma long Fan Zhendong 2019 slow motion (Match Highlights + Slow motions), You dont need to forward.
- FULL MATCH - Tomokazu Harimoto vs Ma Long (2018) | BEST of Japan Open
- Ma Long vs Xu Xin | 2020 ITTF German Open Highlights (Final)
- Timo Boll vs Darko Jorgic | MS-FINAL | 2020 - Europe Top 16
- Fan Zhendong vs Liam Pitchford | 2020 ITTF Qatar Open Highlights (Final)
- Ma Long vs Fan Zhendong | 2019 ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup (Final)
- Dimitrij Ovtcharov vs Fan Zhendong | 2020 ITTF German Open Highlights (1/4)
- Ma Long vs Dimitrij Ovtcharov | 2020 ITTF German Open Highlights (1/2)
Body posture
Like with every sport the right body posture is crucial for extended effort and more pleasure?!!!
Ready Position for Table Tennis - 5min
- Feet wide apart
- Bend Knees
- Body compact
- How far across from the table? - Where your bat touches the middle line
- How far from the table? - Where your bat can just touch the end of the table when you are in ready position.
- Receiving serve - consider where they are serving from
- In the rally - think about the position you have played the ball to
Basic footwork in table tennis - 4min
Learn the basics in Table Tennis footwork.
Footwork and recovery for short balls (with Mark Mitchell) - 9min
In this video, pro coach Mark Mitchell explains how to improve your footwork and recovery for short balls. Many players at the amateur level struggle with short balls, either by overreaching or getting jammed at the table. Mark demonstrates his footwork both in and out of the table for balls short to the backhand and balls short to the forehand.
Key takeaway - notice the little jump when recovery to make you ready to go again.
Spin
5 Tips to produce killer spin (Table Tennis Daily) - 8min
- Legs and body (nice & low)
- Brushing the ball (two drills)
- Feeling and control
- Bat angle
- Acceleration
Top spin
Advanced Forehand Topspin (Loop) PingSkills - 8min
Once you’ve mastered the start and finish position of the forehand topspin, you can start to focus on finer details. In this video we talk about the position of your legs, weight transfer, varying the finish position, incorporating footwork, the use of your wrist, and the angle of your bat for the stroke.
Advanced Backhand Topspin | PingSkills - 5min
In this video we discuss how you can take your backhand topspin to the next level by incorporating more wrist and forearm into your shot, whilst still maintaining a nice low balanced position with your legs.
Counter Topspin | PingSkills - 3min
If you are an aggressive player you still will have times when your opponent attacks first. In these situations you can try to counter attack and this is easier if you are a step back from the table. In this video we teach you how to recognise when to take that step back and how to do it. Hopefully this will get you into a good position to make that counter topspin.
Backspin
How to read the amount of spin (with Mark Mitchell) - 7min
In this video, pro coach Mark Mitchell explains how to read the amount of spin when playing table tennis. Most players are able to see when an opponent plays a push or topspin stroke. But do you know how much spin your opponent is actually putting on the ball? Mark explains how to read heavy backspin, light backspin and float. He also explains how to read heavy topspin, medium topspin and light topspin.
Backhand Topspin Against Backspin | PingSkills - 7min
- Stand square on
- Start with your bat low
- Brush the ball
- Finish above eye level
- Follow through past elbow
Sidespin
Sidespin Forehand Topspin | PingSkills - 5min
Learn to curve the ball past your opponent with the sidespin forehand topspin. The sidespin not only causes the ball to curve but also makes it very difficult for your opponent to block. It is less reliable than the regular forehand topspin since there is less topspin but it is a fun stroke to play!
- Drop your writst for a hook shot
- Lift your wrist for a face shot
- Drag your opponent out wide
- Sidespin makes it harder to block
How to Return SIDE SPIN Serve’s | eBaTT - Tutorial #30 - 7min
Tips
- Understanding the contact point and aiming to hit the ball where the opponent initially connects with the ball. Once you see where the opposing player has connected with the ball, your aim is to contact the ball in the same zone/area. This generally will be a position that goes against the spin that’s currently on the ball.
- Acceleration, it’s not enough just going against the spin, you must accelerate just before the point of contact. This gives you control over the oncoming ball and effectively will override the spin currently on the ball. if you do not accelerate, then the spin on the ball will take effect at the point of contact and spin-off your bat in a sideways motion.
- You can also use other strokes to return sidespin as you develop and the most effective return would be a flick stroke. but again you will need to pay attention to which sidespin you’re receiving. this is in order to direct the ball in the opposite direction of where the spin would like to carry the ball.
Block
Blocking tactics to mess up your opponents | Tom Lodziak - 9min
- Switch Block @ 0:55
- Fast Block @ 2:43
- Slow Block @ 4:03
- Chop Block @ 5:35
Brilliant blocking skills | Pro tips from PAUL DRINKHALL - 8min
In this video, pro player Paul Drinkhall, shows off his brilliant blocking skills.
Blocking is great for returning your opponent’s topspin shots, and turning defence into attack.
In the video, Paul shares his blocking tips, discussing technique, placement and gaining a psychological advantage over your opponent.
I also take Paul on in a match. I’m allowed to attack, but Paul is only allowed to block. Who will win?
Learning UNBEATABLE Block - Technique, Tactics | MLFM Table Tennis Tutorial - 10min
How to do a CHOP BLOCK (with Craig Bryant) - 7min
Push
Forehand Push | Table Tennis | PingSkills - 4min
Learn how to play the forehand push in Table Tennis
5 backhand push tactics to beat your opponent - 11min
In this video, I show 5 different ways you can use your backhand push to beat your opponent. Don’t think of a backhand push as a passive shot which just keeps the ball in play. You can use your backhand push in a variety of ways to put your opponent under pressure, play weak shots or make mistakes. The 5 different backhand push tactics I show are…
- The quick push
- The long push
- The short push
- The sidespin push
- The hack
Try them all out and see which options work best for you!
How to do an EVIL attacking push (with Craig Bryant) - 7min
In this video, top coach Craig Bryant, explains how to do an attacking push.
A push shot is usually considered to be a defensive shot. Too often it is used as a passive way to return a backspin serve.
But you can be much more aggressive with your push. By using extra speed, spin and depth, you can transform your basic push shot into something a bit evil. Something which can really mess your opponent up.
In the video, Craig explains and demonstrates how to do an attacking push. Plus there is lots of footage of me really struggling to cope with his push!
Flick
Forehand Flick - PingSkills - 7min
When your opponent plays a short ball to your forehand, you can play an attacking stroke by using the flick. This stroke is also known as the flip. In this video we teach you everything you need to know to be able to play the forehand flick.
- Contact the ball at the peak of the bounce
- Get your wrist back to start the stroke
- Hit the ball flat like a mini smash
- Adjust the angle of your bat depending on the spin
- Move your right foot under the table (left foot if left handed)
Backhand Flick - PingSkills - 7min
In this table tennis turorial we teach you how to play the backhand flick. This shot is particularly useful against a short push or a short serve.
Serving
Serve Placement | PingSkills - 7min
This video teaching you about the good areas and bad areas to serve the ball
5 ways to make your serves much stronger (with Craig Bryant) - 8min
- Keep your serves low
- Serve with more spin
- Vary the spin and placement
- Recover quickly
- Practice and experiment
Sidespin (pendulum) serve - tips and tactics - 8min
- In this video, I show you how to do a forehand sidespin serve (also known as a pendulum serve).
- This is one of my favourite serves. I like it because you can do lots of different spin and placement variations to put your opponent under pressure.
- In the video, I explain how to do the serve, how to get lots of spin, how to vary spin and how to use the serve to set up a 3rd ball attack.
3 Steps to master the backspin GHOST SERVE | TableTennisDaily - 9min
The heavy backspin serve that spins back to the net is one that players often want to learn and you may have heard called the ghost serve. This serve can help you understand the process of creating spin on all your other serves too so is fantastic to learn and understand! We’ve created this step by step guide so you can master it too!
Hook serve
Learning Incredible Hook Serve (Super Topspin) - 15min
Return Hook serve extremely easy (Part1) | Tutorial - 5min
Detailed instructions on how to return Hook serve very simple and easy.
Attack your opponent’s Hook Service is extremely Easy (Part 2) | Tutorial - 6min
Detailed instructions on how to return Hook serve very simple and easy.
How to do top quality BACKHAND serves (with Craig Bryant) - 8min
In this video, top coach and service expert, Craig Bryant, explains how to do very effective backhand serves. Most players serve with their forehand. But backhand serves can be very tricky to return too. You can generate lots of spin, get different angles and do lots of subtle spin variations. In the video, Craig explains the basic backhand service motion. He demonstrates how to generate backspin, sidespin and topspin. And he explains how to use backhand serves effectively in matches.
How to get more spin on your serves (with Craig Bryant) - 7min
In this video, top coach and service expert, Craig Bryant, explains how to get more spin on your serves.
Having spinny serves will help you put your opponent under more pressure, make mistakes or give weaker return of serves.
In the video, Craig shows how to generate spin using your forearm and wrist. He demonstrates how to generate backspin, sidespin and topspin and crucially how to generate MORE backspin, sidespin and topspin.
Brush + wrist + racket speed = SPIN
4 killer serves to destroy your opponents (with Craig Bryant) - 12min
In this video, top coach and service expert, Craig Bryant, explains how to do four of his best serves.
These include…
- The kicker
- Fast down the line
- Super wide sidespin
- The ghost serve
5 Steps To Master The Reverse Pendulum Serve | Table Tennis - 8min
The reverse serve is one that many players want to learn and add to their game, when executed correctly you can create deadly amounts of spin and it can be very hard to return. Many professional players such as Timo Boll and Fan Zhendong use this serve to devastating effect, so we’ve created this step by step guide so you can master it too!
Serve + 3rd ball attack (with Craig Bryant) - 10min
In this video, top coach and service expert, Craig Bryant, explains how to use your serves to set up 3rd ball attacks. This is where you serve, your opponent returns your serve and you take advantage of any weak or predictable balls with a strong 3rd ball attack.
In the video Craig explains…
- the importance of expecting your serve to be returned
- anticipating how your serve will be returned
- recovery position after your serve
- serving to suit your style of play
- ball placement of your 3rd ball attack
Timo Boll super slow motion. Services which side spin, reverse pendulum, backspin
🏓 This video shows various services of Timo Boll in slow motion and HD. In these you can see in more detail the gestures and positions, the grip of the shovel and other details for each of the services performed by this extraordinary and already legendary German tennis player.
Receiving / return
Receiving options - 2min
Do you struggle to know how to return serves? In this video Alois explains the options you have against various types of serve
Push or flick (short serves) - 2min
Should you push or flick when receiving a short serve in table tennis? That is the question we answer in this video, and it depends on a number of factors including the spin on the ball and what type of game you like to play.
How to ATTACK short backspin serves - 8min
In this video I show you how to attack short backspin serves using a backhand flick and a forehand flick. Of course, it is fine to push or touch short backspin serves, but if you can learn to attack these serves, you have more options to put your opponents under pressure.
Pendulum serve
How can I return a short pendulum serve? - 13min
Read Spin of Forehand Pendulum Serve - 7min
Great tips!!!
How to return different types of sidespin serve - 12min
In the video I show you how do you deal with these different variations - how to read the spin and which strokes to play. In particular, I explain how to return…
- Short sidespin with backspin
- Long sidespin with backspin
- Short sidespin with topspin
- Long sidespin with topspin
Many players, especially at beginner and intermediate level, find it difficult to return sidespin serves, but if you follow my approach you will find it much easier to return these tricky sidespin serves.
Match
5 Most Effective Strategies To Win At Table Tennis! (Table Tennis Daily)- 11min
In this video we show you 5 effective match winning strategies that will help you improve your game and results. We demonstrate and explain how to implement these strategies as well as showing real life match examples of them in action.
- Play to elbow
- Don’t force it
- Quality of spin
- Awareness of the opponent
- Make your serve count
Next steps
Practice, practice, practice!!!
Bonus
Super Slow Motion 🏓 Cámara lenta. 2015 Men’s World Cup. MA Long, Fan Zhendong & OVTCHAROV
Matches
Best watched in slow motion.
