Beating someone much better than yourself

Magic Unknown Asked 15 years ago

is there like some easy move that can beat an experienced player?

I'm 15, been playing for around a year and reguarly play with players much better than myself. I get on the table. Score a few points , but generally get beaten and then have to wait in line again -.-. Got any tips for me? I wana at least beat ONE of them now and again LOL.

Alois Rosario Answered 15 years ago

Hi Magic,

Work on your serves and return of serve. This is the easiest way to win cheap points. If you can develop a really good serve they will have difficulty getting into the rally where they may still be stronger.

With your return try to few low percentage shots. Force the pace a little and try to hit the ball close to the lines.

How you win some points!!

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Ji-Soo Woo Posted 15 years ago

With all due respect, I would differ from Alois on playing lower-percentage shots against better players.

Of course, it depends on HOW much better the opponent is than you. And if you are playing Timo Boll, you perhaps might as well go for a miracle shot because you'll lose on his next shot anyway.

Usually, I find however, the main mistake that weaker players make against stronger players is to change their game too much and to play low percentage shots that is not part of their natural game. I remember when I first started playing table tennis again, I was in division 4. At the beginning, because I had no name or reputation, everyone played me normally and I had to play hard to win. Towards the end, as I moved to the top of the table, I found I was winning games much more easily and often with no effort besides keeping the ball in play. This was not because I was so much better but because I now had a reputation as one of the better players and I found opponents were trying to end points too quickly and doing a lot of unforced errors. I find this myself when I play people much better than myself and is a hard habit to break out of. Key thing when you play better players is to play your normal game...you will still lose but you learn a lot more and improve faster.

Nagaraj Hegde Posted 8 years ago

If it's a match, then all you can do is score as many points as you can in each set. This question reminded me of German open 2016 finals, where Samsonov was up against Ma Long. He managed to win one set, which probably made him feel like he's on top of the world.

Michael Song Posted 8 years ago

All do respect jisoo, i definitely see where you're coming from, but if you don't keep the pressure on your opponent to try to make more difficult shots, your opponent can easily use his or her consistency with no fear at all. Going for those shots shows that you have the mindset to take that risk, even if you don't make the shot. You can discourage the stronger player from using a specific serve if you go for a strong flip, for example. Stronger shots, even if they don't go in, can help to establish a serious nature in a match, and can change momentum by discouraging an opponent in fear of the shot actually coming in. It isn't much, but honestly, if you're facing someone that is much better than you, you don't have anything to lose, but they do! So go for it with everything you've got, that's my thinking at least.