Slams!

Adam Unknown Asked 17 years ago

I found your training videos on youtube today. They are great. I've been playing (badly) for years and by following your techniques I've noticed an immediate improvement.

My question is around slams. The people I play with often return lazy lobs that should be easy to slam, but I'd say most of the time I wind up sending the ball right into the net (or wide of the table).

What's the proper technique for slamming (forehand/backhand)?
What are the common mistakes people make when slamming?
Are you planning to produce any videos on this topic?

Thanks!

Jeff Plumb Answered 17 years ago

Hi Adam,

Slams or smashes always look like they should be very easy but the shot does take some time to master. So don't worry if you are finding it difficult to master

Firstly as the ball has been lobbed up you should nearly always have time to move around and play a forehand smash. You need to get into good position early so you can transfer your weight forward as you play the shot. You need to think of the stroke as a modified forehand counterhit. The start position is obviously higher as the ball will be bouncing very high from a lob and the finishing position will be lower as you need to hit the ball down. Try to maintain good form with your swing and don't try to swing the arm too much across your body. You still want to hit the ball with a bit of topspin. The key to generating power is to transfer your weight forward as you execute the shot.

A common mistake from beginners is to try and hit the smash more like a tennis smash or tennis serve. This can be inconsistent and hard to do if the lob is deep. It is much better to play it more like a modified forehand counterhit as described above.

We have got the smash on our list of videos to make so keep a look out over the coming months. Let us know if you have any more questions about the smash.

And thanks for the feedback on our existing videos. I'm glad they have helped you improve.