Playing against dead chinese rubber

Korey Wong Asked 7 years ago

I'm a penhold looper and am having trouble getting the ball over the net on my returns. My opponent often attacks, has good placement limiting the time I have to get to the ball. I'm having trouble generating enough pace on the ball which usually falls short of the net. Any advice on attacking against dead Chinese rubber? Korey

Alois Rosario Answered 7 years ago

Hi Korey,

It sounds like you might need to open the angle of your racket slightly. When playing against dead rubber the ball will sometimes reverse in spin so the more topspin you put on your shot the more backspin comes back to you. Even if it doesn't reverse, it will come back very flat so it will feel like it has backspin. Therefore opening the angle of yoru racket or lifting the ball more will work.

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Benzene Chiral Posted 7 years ago

It'll be good to train yourself to track the ball throughout so there's more reaction time.

I presume, since your opponent is using a dead rubber, that he or she is a hitter. Firstly, when your opponent strikes, open your racket angle and get the ball on the table, block if you need (don't get too upright on attacking every single ball). Then, attack next ball or when you're in a better position. Don't attack when you're not in a position to, or you'll end up hitting the ball into the net, or over the end of the table.