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This lesson appears on PingSkills Coaching Lessons Volume 2 available as a DVD or download.
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The Backhand Topspin Against Block
The Starting Position
Your feet need to be facing towards where you want the ball to go. You start your swing with the bat in front of you or a little towards your left hip. The bat starts a little below where you want to contact the ball, around table high or a little below.
The Contact
The crucial part of putting topspin on the ball however is the contact of the ball on the bat. The contact needs to be a brushing action to generate the topspin.
The Finishing Position
Your swing should finish at eye or head height and on the right hand side of your body. For more power twist your body back a little on the backswing.
Spin versus Speed
For more spin your swing is more low to high or vertical. For more speed your swing is more forward or horizontal and starts more towards your left side. For a really powerful backhand topspin stroke, you start with your bat outside you left hip. The starting and finishing height will vary depending on the amount of spin vs speed you want to put on the ball. The more spin the lower the start and the higher the finish position. The faster the shot you want the higher the start and the lower the finish position. To make this a little easier to understand you should watch the Video lesson on the backhand topspin above.
Consistency
Practice your backhand topspin using the Consistency Chart. Make sure to hit the ball slowly at first until you have really mastered the stroke. That means you can easily hit around 100 shots in a row without a mistake. If you can spend just 10 minutes of your Table Tennis training session doing this you will be amazed at your improvement.