May 26, 2025

Tip of the Week
If You Step Around Your Backhand to Play a Forehand, Go All the Way.

Weekend Coaching and Balticon and Cataracts, Oh My!
I coached two junior group sessions on Saturday morning. Call it Footwork Always in Saturday Training (FAST) as I spent much of the session making sure feet were lively. I also fed a lot of multiball – same thing, footwork, Footwork, and More FOOTWORK!!! Note that when I say lively, that means the habit of moving the feet – i.e., lively feet – which isn’t the same as foot speed. But lively feet lead to maximizing your footspeed. A slower player with lively feet will always cover more ground than a faster player without lively feet. It’s like running a five-foot sprint where one group gets a three-foot head-start.

Then I drove out to Baltimore for the Baltimore Science Fiction Convention, which is Fri-Mon (ending today), but I was only there for the weekend. One of the funny things there is how many people there know me as “Mr. Ping Pong”! One author even told me he has friends who are USATT members, and wanted a signed copy of one of my books to give them as a present. I had copies of Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers in my car, and so traded a signed copy for one of his science fiction books, also signed. I was on two panels, one on giving and receiving critiques of stories, and one on where writers get their ideas – I chaired the latter. Alas, no pictures, but be assured we left huge audiences staring in awe at our awesome words . . . or at least I hope so!

After the highly successful cataract surgery on my right eye a couple months ago, I’m having the same on my left eye this Wednesday, May 28. The right eye went from 20-150 to 20-15; I’m hoping for similar success on the left, which was 20-70, though it’s gotten somewhat better on its own via special eyedrops. I’ll have to take about ten days off from table tennis, then I can go back to training for the Nationals around June 7. Then I leave for the Nationals on June 28 where I will conquer all or I want my money back for the cataract surgeries.

World Championships
They were held in Doha, Qatar, May 17-25. Here are the results! News coverage is in links below.

World Championships - Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

World Championships - ITTF News

HUGOOO!!! How Did Calderano Beat LJK At The WTTC? (MA EP. 09)
Here’s the video (13:23) from Olav Kosolosky.

My Match Analysis against Truls Moregard | World Championship Finals Doha 2025 
Here’s the video (15:38) from Andreas Levenko.

Butterfly Training Tips and Highlights

New from Matt Hetherington

How to Improve at Table Tennis Without a Coach
Here’s the article from Tom Lodziak.

New from the Ma Long Fanmade Channel

New from Ti Long

New from PongSpace

New from Pingispågarna

Lin Gaoyuan Drop Shot Against Simon Gauzy
Here’s the video (78 sec) from Drupe Pong.

The Man Who Made an Entire Generation Fall in Love with Table Tennis
Here’s the video (5 min) about Xu Xin from Taco Backhand.

Benyamin Faraji: The 14-Year-Old Who Beat the World Champ
Here’s the video (3:14) from Beyond the Podium.

The Best Of Leszek Kucharski | Polish Table Tennis Legend
Here’s the video (3:04) from Table Tennis Media.

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action! (Here are news items over the last month.)

New from NCTTA

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly
(Also see his articles on the Worlds in the second on the Worlds above.)

ITTF News – Non-Worlds

New Table Tennis Song!
Here’s the video (1:37). I don’t know who the singer is, but she’s obviously a table tennis player – otherwise she wouldn’t have the ball control to keep bouncing the ball in tune to the music.

Ping Pong Purr-fection!
Here’s the video (8 sec)!

Skeleton Pong
Here’s the picture!

Guard Pong
Here’s the cartoon!

Coaching Godzilla
Here’s the cartoon!

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