By Larry Hodges

Some of us remember the incredible topspins of U.S. Team Member Rick Seemiller (brother of Dan) back in the 1980s. He didn't have great power on his loops. What he did have was more topspin than anyone in the U.S., and probably in the world. Even world-class players commented on this. When faced with this very slow, arcing ball that exploded off your racket, invariably going off, many an opponent called it "unreturnable." 

The game has evolved since then, with faster sponges and speed glues, and players tend to go for as much speed as spin. But there's nothing like a very slow but incredibly spinny loop to mess up an opponent's block and/or counterloop!

Another big advantage of the slow loop is it gives you time to get back into position after the shot. You can do a slow forehand loop from the backhand side, and move back into position before the opponent can quick-block to the wide forehand. Also, the slowness of the shot means that most block returns will tend to come back more slowly, since the opponent can't use your own speed against you. This gives you even more time for the next shot, as well as a softer ball to attack.

To do this shot, you will need two things:

1.      A very sticky inverted racket surface;

2.      Strong legs; if you have serious knee problems or just weak leg muscles, the shot will be more difficult, though you can still get pretty good spin if done properly.

The shot is usually done against backspin, so you can use backspin in creating your own topspin. To execute the shot, let the ball drop much farther down than usual, all the way to around your knees. Bend your knees more than usual, and drop your playing shoulder and playing racket very low, with the racket tip pointing to the ground. Then push upwards with the legs, and drive the racket upwards. Contact the ball by just barely skimming it. Arc the ball a little higher than usual, making it go deep on the table.

Note that there's a world of difference between a spinny loop that lands short (easy to attack) and one that lands deep (very tricky to do anything with). Keep the ball deep!

Done properly, your opponent will face a very spinny ball, coming at him relatively slowly (so he can't use your own speed against you), and deep on the table. If he blocks, he has to punch the ball from deep on the court against a lot more topspin than he's used to. And heaven help the player who tries to counterloop against this shot! Sure it can be done, but it's not easy.

Happy Topspinning!

By Larry Hodges

By Larry Hodges

If you want to maximize the effectiveness of your service game, take some time to really think about it. Analyze your current serves, and what you want to do with your serves – what shots you want to set up. Then analyze how to best connect these two.

Here are a few pointers. Good luck!

1.      Use serves that set up your game. For example:

By Larry Hodges

Suppose you have a tricky serve that gives your opponent all sorts of problems. But suppose it's also one of those serves that he can get used to, and only works by either surprise or by the opponent's not being used to it. Should you hold back on this serve for key points in the match?

By Larry Hodges

In the this modern game of topspin, many players battle to see who can get more topspin on the ball, with more speed and more consistency. After all, isn't that what tends to win games?

Yet you might want to consider whether you want to join in this escalating topspin battle every single point. Why not throw a changeup at them - a "dummy loop" - and watch them mess up? Go for less spin, and mess up your opponent's consistency!

By Larry Hodges

Ratings can be a cancer on junior table tennis. They change the focus from improvement to immediate results and leave juniors nervous and defensive in their matches. They also take much of the fun out of the game for juniors who become obsessed with fear of blowing their rating.

By Larry Hodges

A common problem for players at all levels of table tennis is being backhand oriented. Backhand orientation (B.O. for short) means that you favor your backhand over your forehand, trying to cover too much of the table with the backhand. Once developed, the forehand is the more powerful shot, so this is a mistake.

B.O. is a disease. It infiltrates your game, multiplies and divides, and takes over your entire playing style. Left untreated, you may find yourself blocking lobs with your backhand! But treated properly, there is hope.

By Larry Hodges

No matter what your level is, at some point you've had to go up against some up-and-coming junior player. If he was your average up-and-coming junior, and you are an average adult, and the two of you were roughly equal in level, then the following was probably true:

1. The junior was faster and quicker than you.
2. You spent much of the match on the defensive, trying to withstand a barrage of all-out attacks from the junior player – much of which would hit, much of which would miss.

By Larry Hodges

Many players who want to improve make the mistake of trying to play mostly stronger players. The result is the opponent controls play, and all the player can do is react to the stronger player's shots, or go for wild shots. A player may develop some shots this way, but it'll be hard to develop new shots or to learn how to use them in a game situation.

By Larry Hodges

From November of 1999 until August of 2003 I did a weekly "Tip of the Week" for the USATT home page. You could read them there, but do you really want to look up all 171 of them, one by one? Besides, you can't really curl up with a computer screen in bed, or take it to the table tennis club. And so, organized by type (serving, receiving, rallying, tactics, psychology, equipment, general), here they are! (A few have been expanded into regular articles.)