Hard time getting spin

Table Tennis Strokes and Technique

Last updated 9 years ago

Anthony Capasso

Anthony Capasso Asked 9 years ago

Hi guys, 

I am still a forehand loop away from becoming a very solid player. I have been getting coaching for the last month, and fortunately for me, I have a good grasp on both the technique of the stroke and the footwork. However, when looping, especially off of a low backspin ball, I will hit the ball off the end of the table. I am doing the stoke almost perfectly every time. I can feel that the ball is being hit flat. I watch the ball and it does not spin down at all; it just keeps traveling fast and straight. I do the loop stoke without generating any spin. The weird thing is when I try and loop slower, I get spin but can't put my opponent away. It really is discouraging because I see the top players in person hitting the same ball that I miss hard with spin. I know they are better than me, but with more spin, I can get more consistent and gradually add speed. How can I make sure to hit the ball correctly every time for spin? Thank you.


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario Answered 9 years ago

Hi Anthony,

The thing I like to focus on is the finish position of the topspin stroke and also the contact being a brushing contact to generate the spin.  Sometimes when we hit the ball faster we lose the shape of our stroke and also forget about the brushing contact that you get with the slower stroke.


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Ilia Minkin

Ilia Minkin Posted 9 years ago

I also have this problem -- I've been struggling for weeks with aggressive 3rd ball attacks but they just don't happen. Either net, or off the table, the margin for error seems to be som tiny. But I can play slow follow ups with very high consistency. I feel that for my level missing an aggressive open up is not a big deal, so maybe I should give up and concentrate on something else (follow up after the open up, backhand open up)?


Ilia Minkin

Ilia Minkin Posted 9 years ago

An update -- it seems that I can generate topspin, but it is always a few centimeters off the table. When I close the angle of my bat -- it is in the net. I became so desperate so I bought a tripod to film myself, going to try it next time.


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 9 years ago

Having a look at yourself will help you to see what your stroke looks like.  Do some slow and fast shots and see what they look like.


Ilia Minkin

Ilia Minkin Posted 9 years ago

Yeah, I'll try that. But I wonder how often one should use aggressive open ups? I see that often even top players play opening shots not that fast but with placement. So Alois, when play (or played) competetively, how often do you use aggressive open ups?


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 9 years ago

If you are in a good position then you can try to play the ball faster.  It is OK to vary the pace with some slower balls as well.  The number of times yo play slow and fast will depend on your opponent.


Ilia Minkin

Ilia Minkin Posted 9 years ago

It seems that I found the culprit -- I used DHS Hurricane 3 NEO on my FH, and one month ago it was awesome. When I first played with it, I was happy as a kid, the spin was tremendous whenever I played it slow or fast. But Hurricane is a factory-tuned rubber and it seems that the factory applied booster wore off. I have a XIOM Vega Europe on my BH and today I tried to use it on my FH -- everything was great, I was able to spin aggressively both blocks and backspins. Now I understand why some people say that Hurricane-like rubbers become unplayable without booster. Once tuning is gone, it is very easy to play a slow and spinny ball (thanks to tacky topsheet), but when you apply power, you get a flat hit going in the outer space. Maybe my experience will be helpful to others.


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 9 years ago

Thanks Ilia.



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