Developing My Loop

Hi Alois,

I have a habit of chopping backspin balls during a game and this is very negative as rallies become defensive and I usually lose the point. I have a poor loop but I need to become more aggressive both backhand and forehand. By the way, when I try to loop the backspin I nearly always hit the net.

John.

Hi John,

It's great that you are looking to improve your loop. It can be difficult at first because the backspin drags the ball down off your bat.

Take a good look at our video of the Forehand Topspin Off Backspin. Take note of the start and finish positions. Get a really good image of this in your mind and even practice it away from the table.

Then see if you can get a practice partner to push balls to your forehand. As you are having problems hitting the ball into the net, start by trying to hit the ball way above the net. Don't worry at all if the ball goes on the table to start with. A common mistake when doing this is to just open up the angle of the bat and hit the ball flat off the table. Instead of this you need to play a vertical stroke to lift the ball up by brushing the ball. This will generate the topspin you need to get the ball to dip and land on the table.

Give this a try and let me know if it helps you out. Good luck! Once you start improving your loops you'll love table tennis even more!