Forehand topspin in a game

Dear coach,

When i practice the forehand & backhand topspin and smash, we do ok. In the game, sometime we smash or topspin, they go out ( off) the table.Why?

We think that our footwork is not good , so we can not move to the right spot to hit the ball?!!!

Please give us some advice. Thanks.

Regards.

Phuc Nguyen.

Hi Phuc,

Footwork can certainly be one area that will help with consistency in a game. 

During practice you should practice doing the topspin strokes with movement.  You can then build this up to doing topspin when your practice partner is hitting the ball anywhere.

The other thing that can happen in a game is that you may try too hard and lose the shape of your stroke.  It is important to keep the stroke the same in a game situation.

Try these two things out and let me know how it goes.