We’ve all had those matches where the opponent was just quicker, and we felt rushed in every rally. So, what can you do in such a match? Here are some tips.

1. Observe opponent’s stroke so you can see as early as possible where his shot is going.
2. Shorten your strokes.
3. Take half a step back. That’s not so far that you’ve given up the table, but it gives you that extra split second needed to react.
4. Cover the middle with the backhand.
5. Play more backhand if you are at the table, more forehand if you are off the table.
6. Put the ball in the middle of the table to cut off extreme angles.
7. Keep the ball deep.
8. Slow play down with soft, deep topspins (depth is again key).
9. Play more backspin.
10. Serve and receive long.
11. Use opponent’s own speed against him by simply rebounding his shots back with your racket – be a backboard.  

Stand up and walk across the room. Now look down at your knees and feet. They point forward, right? That’s how the human body evolved for walking. Alas, this doesn’t work for table tennis. If you stand with your knees and feet pointing forward, you’ll struggle to rotate the body properly on both forehand and backhand shots. This is especially true on forehand shots, where the body rotates more to the side. (It’s also true on backhand loops, especially at higher levels.)

Instead, point both the feet and knees slightly out to the side. This gives a much more natural swing. Not doing this is one of the biggest problems for new players – fortunately, most coaches (not all) correct it quickly.

But the forehand isn’t a static shot, and neither are your feet and knees. The knees especially rotate with your forehand shots. Watch how top players do this. The best way of looking at it is that the whole body needs to move together. But to do so, you need to make sure the feet and knees start out properly. And the rest will likely come naturally.

Nearly all players reflexively set up to cover against the crosscourt shot. They are ready for down the line shots as well, but players tend to play more crosscourt, and crosscourt gives opponents a bigger angle you have to guard against. And so players guard that side more.

You could just go down the line. It’s slightly riskier since there’s less table, and it gives your opponent a potential wide crosscourt angle. So it can be a gamble if you aren’t careful. But there’s a simple way to make it pay off almost every time.

Since opponents are already inclined to cover against the crosscourt shot, give it to them – or at least fake it. Set up for that shot, even aim your racket that way. You don’t have to wait and see if the opponent is moving to cover against that– he is. If you wait to verify, it’s too late. Instead, at the instant you expect him to be moving to cover against your crosscourt shot, that’s when you change directions and go the other way. Then watch your opponent lunge and flail at your shot!

You can do this with both forehand and backhand. There’s a simple way to learn how to do these shots, where you set up one way, and then, at the last second go the other way. It’s an ancient secret, but I’ll give it to you – practice! If you practice it in drills or in practice matches, it’ll be there for you in the big matches.

The thumb is a key part of the backhand. It gives the shot the backing and stability to drive the racket into the ball. However, the perfect placement of the thumb on the backhand often handicaps the forehand. I’ve written about this before, but it’s one of those things that might need reminders. It’s also one of those things where the paradigm has changed – coaches when I started out used to say that players didn’t have time to change their grip between forehand and backhand. But if you have time to move side to side to cover the wide forehand and backhand, you have time to make a small, subtle change in your grip.

The key thing is that you should generally have a slightly different grip on the backhand then on the forehand, which allows your thumb to more naturally drive the racket into the ball. How do you do this? It’s rather simple.

First, find the perfect grip for your forehand. Experiment, and see how top players do it. (Ask them or a coach.) In general, if you hold the racket out in front of you, you might want to rotate the top of the racket a little to the left (for right-handers), which slightly closes it on the forehand side.

For the backhand, put more pressure on the racket with the thumb, which moves the top of the racket slightly to the right, which slightly closes it on the backhand side. This gives a perfect backhand grip, with the thumb in perfect position to drive the racket through the ball. The actual grip change is small, but the result can be major in improving your backhand. (Or your forehand if you were playing it with a backhand grip.)

Here’s the even bigger key – you must practice this. That means first away from the table (shadow-practice), and then at the table. It has to become reflexive, so that you switch to the proper grip as you move to the ball and start your backswing. When that happens, you’ll find yourself smacking shots from both sides with far greater ease than before - and with the thumb behind the backhand, it'll have more thump.

Don’t be that guy who spends years smacking shots but also missing over and over, putting balls all over the table, or off or into the net, and never putting it together consistently. If you are swinging wildly in practice, even if you are making most shots, you are just practicing being erratic. To hone your shots, you need to be able to do the same shot over and Over and OVER, and against all sorts of incoming balls. If you are even a bit erratic in practice, in the uncertainty and pressure of a match that means missing a LOT. (In practice, you often get the same balls over and over. Not so in a match.) That means practicing at a speed where you are consistent, and then building it up. Eventually, with practice and good form, you’ll be able to essentially relax into any shot, even power shots, and make them with ease.

Watch the top players and notice how little they strain on each shot. That’s good form. Try to do the same thing. Just remember, if you are doing a drill and are hitting shots all over the place, you are practicing being a poor player. If you are inconsistent with your shots, then you are practicing inconsistency in your shots. Be that guy who IS consistent, even if it means at a slower pace, and watch your game improve. Added bonus – if you are a consistent player, stronger players will want to practice with you. Who wants to practice with someone who smacks balls all over the place?