Watching the Point of Contact on my Own Racket

Stephen Anderson Asked 6 years ago

Hello PingSkills,

I have been playing for 20+ years and it was just recently brought to my attention that I do not watch the point of contact on my own racket. I tend to look where I want to hit the ball on the opponent's side of the table. I have been struggling to break this bad habit. When I deeply focus, I can watch the ball for a few hits but if the rally goes for more than a 4 or 5 hits, I quickly go back to my old habits.

Do you have any training ideas or thoughts to keep in my head to break this bad habit?

Thanks,

smanders

Alois Rosario Answered 6 years ago

Hi Stephen,

I think it is very difficult to impossible to actually see the contact on your own racket because of the speed on the ball.

Watching the ball as much as you can is a good thing to aim for. In training you can put a marking on the ball that will keep your attention on the ball a bit easier. Do this for a little while and then go back to the normal ball and see if your attention remains the same.

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Rohan Keogh Posted 6 years ago

Hi Stephen. Your realisation is one that I also went through recently. My post on this Ping Skills blog (scroll down 'til you find my 'handle') may give you a few ideas: https://www.pingskills.com/blog/starting-out-in-table-tennis

Cheers

thomas mcnamara Posted 6 years ago

Hi Stephen, I had success in tennis by watching the point of contact with a very still, very relaxed head. I'm trying to do the same thing with table tennis. When I do, good things happen.