When you push (backspin vs. backspin), you don't think of yourself as "going for a shot." It's just an easy shot that you can normally do over and Over and OVER, with few mistakes. But when you learn to loop (topspin vs. backspin, forehand or backhand), at first it's a tricky and erratic shot. Why is this? If you loop relatively slow, the shot isn't that much faster than a push. Just as with a push, you are brushing the ball to create spin. There are few reasons why it should be any less consistent than a push. And yet, players often loop with the mentality that they are "going for a shot," and so it's acceptable to miss a lot of them.

Yes, there are certain aspects that make looping trickier than pushing, and I could write extensively about the differences. But that would be counter-productive - the point here is that many players, at least subconsciously, way over-estimate the difficulty of looping consistently against a push (or any other ball for that matter), and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. Instead, why not tell yourself how easy it is, that it's no harder than pushing? When you drop the "going for a shot" mentality and instead think of it as just another shot you can do over and Over and OVER, your consistently will go up quite a bit. The reality is that unless you are going for a huge loop kill, or have completely misread the spin, or are out of position, looping a push should be EASY and nearly 100% consistent. Think of it that way, and while you might not get to 100% consistency, we'll settle for 90% and a huge increase in your level of play.

Is there a certain score or situation where you play best? Some players play better when they are behind; others play better when ahead. Some play best when they are way down, say, 4-10, and figure they have nothing to lose and so play relaxed. Others play better when up 10-4, since they are confident. Others play better under pressure, and might play better when up 10-8 or down 8-10, or maybe some other score, like 3-7. Some play better in big matches, others do better in less important ones. Which type are you? Perhaps, next time you play, imagine the score or situation is whatever makes you play your best. Perhaps imagine you are up or down 10-4, 10-8, or 7-3, or it's the men's or women's final at the Worlds, or it's just another match at the club. Imagine the psychology that allows you to play best at that score or situation. Then, after a time, you might learn to match that psychology no matter what the score or situation is.

The quickest way to learn to beat a stronger player is by losing to him, but understanding why you lost. This way you know what to work on so as to increase your chances of winning next time, or at some time in the future. It's a continuous learning process, and players who improve rapidly are constantly learning. For example, if you had trouble with a specific serve, or a spinny loop, or a heavy push, don't just complain about it - find a top player or coach who can mimic that serve or technique and practice against it and turn that weakness into a strength. If you realize there's a serve or technique you need to develop to win, then develop that serve or technique. If there are tactics that you think you need to develop to win, then try them out in matches and see what works. But it all starts with learning from your matches, and especially your losses, so you can identify what you need to work on. All these bits and pieces learned here and there add up to a savvy player.

Returning serves is everyone's biggest weakness - or at least it seems that way. To learn to read spin, try focusing just on the contact period - ignore the rest of the motion before and after contact. Imagine taking a mini-video of the split second of contact. If you do this regularly, pretty soon you'll be able to isolate in your mind the actual direction of the racket at contact. From that, you can read the type of spin. (You also have to read the amount of spin, which comes from racket speed and acceleration, grazing contact, and grippiness of the surface.)

However, you can also read spin by the way the ball comes off the paddle, travels through the air, and from both bounces on the table. You can't do this the first time you try it - it takes practice. Ideally, have a coach or player with good serves let you practice against their serves, where you focus on all of these aspects until you begin to be able to read the spin multiple ways. Imagine how the spin will affect the ball, and figure out what to watch for.

• A backspin ball goes down slightly at contact during the serve (relative to the racket), slows down when it hits the table, and floats as it moves through the air.
• A topspin ball goes up slightly at contact during the serve (relative to the racket), takes a low, fast hop when it hits the table, and drops as it moves through the air.
• A sidespin ball goes sideways in each of these steps.
• A no-spin ball does none of these things.

The receiver also needs to read the amount of spin. Against a somewhat grippy inverted rubber, this is roughly done by a simple formula: racket speed - ball speed = ball spin. What this means is that a server's racket speed at contact will convert to ball speed and ball spin; if the racket moves fast, but the ball comes out slowly, then most of the energy has been converted to spin. (It's actually a bit more complicated than this. You get more spin if you accelerate into the ball rather than moving the racket at a constant speed, but it's close enough. Plus you have to take into consideration the grippiness of the rubber, as a non-grippy surface will have less spin.) 

There's nothing an experienced player likes better than facing a player with big shots . . . but little else. On the other hand, there are few things scarier than an opponent with big shots . . . and little else, i.e. without the "little" shots to set the big shots up and to withstand an opponent's attacks. If you are one of those players with big shots, and feel you dominate many matches - and still lose - perhaps it's time to stop thinking about these big shots and develop the "little" shots. Here are a few of these "little" shots and tactics that you might want to develop. Even if you are not a "power player," these are things you should develop to set up your own attacks, and to look for when playing a power player - if he can't do one of these things, take advantage of it.  

• Short, low serves. It's difficult getting your shots into play if your opponent is attacking your serve. Long serves get looped, slightly high short serves get flipped or pushed aggressively.
• Backspin/no-spin serves. A no-spin serve is just as effective – often more effective – than a spin serve, if the opponent isn't sure it is no-spin and it's very low. Mixing up backspin serves and no-spin serves (with other serves thrown in for surprise and variation) is a great way to set up your big shots. Both tend to get pushed back deep, and the no-spin serves tend to be popped up slightly, and with less backspin.
• Short Receive. A short backspin serve is relatively easy to return short; if you push it long, your opponent can attack, taking away your big shots. Meet the ball right off the bounce, with a light grazing motion.
• Well-placed flip. You don't need to flip every serve or short push for a winner; instead, learn to flip to all three locations - wide forehand, wide backhand, and to the middle (roughly the opponent's playing elbow). Placement and consistency are key. The placement will often set up your follow-up attack.
• Quick, aggressive push. If not overused, it'll catch opponents off guard, and set up your big shots.
• Blocking. The single most effective way of beating power players is to loop first with a steady loop, forcing them into many mistakes. If the power player makes one good block against the opening loop, he'll often get a shot he can go after on the next shot. You can also counterloop these opening loops, but if you try to force the counterloop too often and too predictably, an experienced opponent will force you into mistakes by varying his loop's speed and placement.
• Judgement. This might be the biggest one of all. Know when to play a set-up shot and when to unleash the big shot.