Beating an easy opponent

Luke Styles Asked 10 years ago

Hi Alois and Jeff, I have a school tournament coming up and I know I am capable of winning every point (I'm not being cocky, he's new to table tennis) I was wondering should I dominate the game or would it be more respectable to go easy?

Alois Rosario Answered 10 years ago

Hi Luke,

It depends on the opponent you are playing.

I know if I am playing someone that is really good I would rather they beat me as easily as possible so that I know where I stand. Others though may prefer for their opponent to go a bit easy on them.

When you are playing a weaker opponent it is often a good opportunity to practice something that you have been working on in your training. For example you may be working on a new serve that you can try out in match conditions.

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Luke Styles Posted 10 years ago

That's a great idea!! I'm going to attempt several serves I have seen in your videos.

Dieter Verhofstadt Posted 10 years ago

What I'm often doing in easy games (well, not that they occur so often) is restricting myself to something without showing it overtly to the opponent. For example, I might do the same serve all the time. They'll adapt to it, and I'll train what happens when good players return my serves. Or I might play every ball diagonally (or down the line for that matter). Or play forehand as much as possible, pivoting even when it seems difficult ...

Playing an easier opponent is a great time to focus on the basics: return to neutral position after every shot, proper footwork, strike ball at top of peak ... all those fundamentals which may go into oblivion in a tight match, you may find time to cultivate in an easy match.