Third ball strategy

Vikramadithya Shivaram Asked 13 years ago

hey guys,im a competitive tt player from bangalore, india .first of all,i'd like to tell you that you're doing one hell of a job promoting table tennis not only at a professional level but also to the common man.here in india as you may know,its just cricket cricket and more cricket and its hard for a fantastic sport like table tennis to get more recognition.though it is slowly improving,its hard for most people here to take table tennis seriously.

now for my question,

this is a common problem faced by me,i dont know whether it is due to my style or whether its become a big habit.im primarily a keep the ball on the table kind of guy.what happens is that once i serve inside to my opponents backhand,im generally greeted by a push(with a lot of chop or loose)and i reply with a forehand or backhand loop.the next ball if returned to my backhand,makes me turn and hit a topspin to my opponents backhand and that one's returned down the line.now for the problem...after finishing my stroke i run diagonally to retrieve the ball sending it my opponent's backhand or forehand.this converts the rally into either a topspin-topspin rally(which is okay sometimes) or if sent to his backhand makes it very easy for him to dictate the point and make me move.though fitness comes into play here and i manage to retrieve the ball most of the time,it just remains a rally where im retrieving the ball and not coming back into the point.this may sound silly but its just like sending one here and one there and making me run.this happens mainly off my service causing me to lose many crucial points.please give me some tips on correcting this as its really affecting my game.

thanking you,

p.s:keep up the great work and hope u get some kind of recognition for your work.take care :) 

Alois Rosario Answered 13 years ago

Hi Vikramadithya,

The problem seems to lie in the first topspin and next ball.

If you pivot and hit a forehand from your backhand side you are leaving yourself exposed wide on your forehand.

It could be as simple as improving your backhand topspin so that you are not out of position.  The you need to ensure you are a little more square on to the table so that when the ball goes out to your forehand side you don't turn sideways.  By turning sideways to then will find it very difficult to get back for the next ball.  That is why they start you running.

So use your backhand to topspin.  Then stay square to the table.  When moving out to your forehand side make sure you are leading with your right foot and not using a crossover step.

This will solve a lot of your problems.

Thanks also for your encouragement.  It really is appreciated.