How to deal with fast balls

Hi Alois and Jeff,

Last friday I played with my teacher. He countered my topspin with just block the ball, but the ball was coming to me very fast and I couldn't saw it well. So I missed the ball. When he used the topspin strokes, I tried to block the ball but it didn't work because the ball didn't hit my bat well. So, how to deal with them? What practices should I do?

Thanks a lot,
Regards, Archel

Hi Archel,

See if you can practice with your teacher and get him to play topspin to you.  The best stroke to start with when dealing with a topspin is the Backhand Block.  Don't try to do too much with the stroke, just adjust the angle of your racket to deal with the spin and speed of the ball.

It sounds like your teachers is a good player.