Men vs Woman Table tennis

bertus bertus Asked 12 years ago

Hi,

Why do women play TT the way they do, with fast counterhits rather then topspins?

I've seen Chinese women like Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen do strong loops so they can do it as well as the men but why don't they use it much?

Cheers!

Alois Rosario Answered 12 years ago

Hi Bertus,

It is just the different nature of men and women. Because in general men have more muscle mass they tend to use more strength and power away from the table. Women on the other hand in general play faster and closer to the table. There are variations and scales of this of course but that is just a general idea.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

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Ji-Soo Woo Posted 12 years ago

I heard that European women players played more like men (a bit further from the table, and more looping) while Asian women players played the close-to-the-table fast counter-hitting game.

bertus bertus Posted 12 years ago

Thx for your anwer Alios! I somewhat understand what you mean by man and women are different in nature, they sure are :) But the power thing... I don't really get that. It does'nt take a very strong person to bang the ball a cross the table from some distance? The play style of women makes them no match for the men's type of game. (Saw a match between Persson and DingNing, and I found it a bit embarrassing for Ding)

Cheers

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago

The men use the power in the legs more by standing a little further away and using the legs in the strokes.

Ilia Minkin Posted 9 years ago

After I watched Japan Open this question also puzzles me. Maybe, women do not have enough endurance to make power shots in series in a rally and go for them only for a clean winner to avoid preliminary exhaustion...

I have another question, though. Women play very tactically and rely on consistent game with placement and spin. At the same time, many intermediate players are not consistent enough to play with power, even if they are physically capable. So does it make sense for them to try to follow a style that is similar to women game, i.e. very close to the table, with focus on consistency?

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 9 years ago

I think that is a good concept to start with Ilia.