Opponent doesn’t attack much

elias kreidy Asked 10 years ago

hello im a beginner in table tennis ( been playing for about 10 months in total) i usually play a bit at school and I've been having issues playing with 1 particular person who just plays Forehand with a very weak and rare backhand also he doesn’t attack the ball much and when he does he rarely succeeds as it mostly goes into the net if the ball came to him a bit low, also he leans into the table a lot and he hits the ball fast on the 2 different corners he has a good shakehand grip for control as he puts his finger a bit high on the racket.

On the other hand,  personally i enjoy doing hard serves and attacking all types of strokes/serves, also I’m a bit more comfortable using my backhand as i used not to play forehand until recently. but i always win everyone exept that particular person as I don’t feel like i have control on the table against him, I always tend to drop the ball on the net every time I attack as well as I find myself losing balance with him playing on my very backhand corner then on the opposite corner.

I would be  very thankful if you could tell me what that kind of players's weeknesses are ? / or whatever things i should know.

Thanks in advance for your time :)

Alois Rosario Answered 10 years ago

Hi Elias,

This type of player can be frustrating to play but they do help us to learn to attack better.

The key is to make the attack on one of the early balls in the rally before they have time to get settled into their defensive mode.

Work on playing serves that will set you up for the third ball attack.  Then work on your Forehand Topspin Off Backspin stroke.  This is an absolutely crucial stroke to overcome these types of players.

In the rally then target his backhand if you feel that is his weak side.

You could even try to serve some long and fast serves to different places on the table so that you can get a more open rally that will help you attack.