how to counter on really heavy backspin (chop)?
Table Tennis Strokes and Technique
Last updated 13 years ago
thijs gruwez Asked 13 years ago
I played a match this week and the other team's players were all players who used lots of backspin (mostly chop, sidespin serves). I lost 1 match of 3 where I had the feeling that I could/should have done more or something else to beat my opponent.
I posted a message a couple of weeks ago because the push was really not working for me because I hadn't played with decent rubbers yet. Meanwhile, this is starting to work better bit by bit but I have trouble with the heavy backspin, especially the weird spinny effects some players use, especially the chop and sidespin.
1st situation: the ball comes quite short over the net. it seems easy to smash but goes into the low part of the net every time. I start trying to push it but also this only worked less than 2/10. should I just hold the bat completely horizontal?
2nd situation: the chopped ball lands on the end of the table. seems weird to counter with a push of topspin. topspin worked now and then (my technique isn't fast enough to brush the ball effectively I think). should I also try to chop against a chop? In my experience it's always the most easy to hit the same stroke as you opponent did to get the ball on the table.
PS: bought your serving skills dvd: awesome dvd. I've looked at it 10 times already and trying more and more of your tips and tricks. thumbs up!
Alois Rosario Answered 13 years ago
Hi Thijs,
In the first situation, you should persevere with th epush. You need to experiment with your bat angle to see which works. This stroke look seasy but is one of the hardest, because it depends on the subtle changes in the spin. The more spin they put, the more you need to hold your bat horizontal.
In the second situation, you should work on your loop against chop. This is an important stroke and one that separates, a medium level player with a more advanced player.
This may take some time to get right, but it is something you can do to improve your game overall so is worthwhile.
Thanks fo rthe words abou t our DVD. We did take a lot of pride in putting it together and comments like yours are always nice to hear.
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thijs gruwez Posted 13 years ago
The only annoying thing is sometimes when the ball is landing in the middle part of the table. it seems to be possible to topspin it just behind the table but this feels rather weird because the table gets in the way to stand in the correct position. In stead of holding my arm next to my body and topspin, I have to bring it forward and pull the bat upwards. It works but doenst seem really consistent.
I play for the TT-club of my work and I'm trying to convince them to buy a robot to practice because playing against your team mates over and over all the time doensn't really help improving your skills. you just learn how to beat them or their kind of play. It looks like lots of fun but is it worth the money? I especially like the idea of the robots like the smartpong that can shoot balls with several kinds of spin within 1 drill. The newgy doesn't have this option but costs half. Do you guys use it as training?
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 13 years ago
The important part is with your feet position for this ball. Get your left leg right under the table so that you are getting into a better position with your body. Once you get this position you will feel more comfortable making this stroke.
Robots are good if you don't have anyone else to practice with, but they are not ideal as the only form of practice.