A clever good friend of mine as soon as remarked that “desk tennis is like real-time chess”. He was proper. The primary battles we’ve got when taking part in desk tennis are within the thoughts.
Loads of gamers have unimaginable approach however wrestle in aggressive matches, while event winners at all times have the identical capacity to leverage their skillset when it issues (even when taking part in towards higher gamers).
With lots of of tournaments below our belts, our crew has devised 8 psychological and tactical ideas that, if utilized appropriately, will prepare you for your next tournament and assist you to win extra desk tennis matches.
You continue to want to coach laborious and develop your abilities, however the following pointers will assist you to beat gamers extra technically expert than you. They gained’t know what occurred.
1. Know your sport
Step one you could take to be efficient in desk tennis is to know your self.
Socrates stated that you need to know yourself to live according to your nature.
This phrase applies to our on a regular basis lives, but it surely additionally interprets completely to desk tennis. You need to know your self as a participant to play in accordance with your fashion.
This introspective step is significant for any desk tennis participant. When you don’t know your self, you gained’t know what to do in a sport. The concept of creating a mode additionally depends on pondering of ways to profit from your skillset.
Ryu Seung Min didn’t have a dependable offensive backhand stroke in his arsenal and he gained an Olympic gold medal.
He was capable of obtain such a feat as a result of he crafted his ways in a approach that made his sturdy forehand much more related than his weak backhand, and he performed each single level with the intent of enabling his prodigious forehand loop.
I invite you to do the next train:
If you play a desk tennis match, analyze the explanations for all of your factors gained and misplaced.
Do you might have lots of unforced errors from hitting it lengthy? Do you win lots of factors with a spinny open-up? What number of factors do you earn while you’re pressured into the back-foot? Are you higher together with your forehand or your backhand? How do you cope with your opponent’s spin?
Along with this, take heed to the opinion of your coach and different gamers.
After this, write or consider an entire listing of your strengths and weaknesses.
Plan your matches so that you simply play to your strengths whereas avoiding your weaknesses. That is the primary takeaway from the train we simply did.
When you constantly play to your strengths, your successful proportion goes to shoot up drastically. You might be taking part in with a transparent intention in thoughts, going out to play your individual sport.
It’s necessary that, when taking part in, you serve and obtain with the intent of taking part in out your fashion.
2. Strategy matches with the fitting mindset
On the whole, I’d say that many of the gamers that I see in beginner tournaments should not have the fitting mindset to win matches.
It is vitally tough to have the fitting mindset from the get-go, and for that reason, we should additionally work on our psychological sport. It’s also possible to try our top psychological tips for the mental side of table tennis.
Setting targets in your event
What I like to recommend when going to play a event is to not set any result-oriented targets.
Don’t go to a event pondering “my aim for this event is to position first”. In my view, that is the worst factor you are able to do.
Not solely will you are feeling pissed off later in the event you don’t obtain your aim, however you’ll put extra strain on your self to realize a self-imposed goal.
As an alternative, I like to recommend setting a process-oriented aim.
Your aim when going to play a event must be to play effectively.
When you go right into a event with the concept that you wish to play effectively, you’re going to shift your focus from one thing you’ll be able to’t absolutely management, which is inserting excessive within the event, to one thing you’ll be able to management, which is taking part in effectively or not.
In desk tennis, event matches are usually 5 video games lengthy. In virtually all eventualities, the one who performs higher of the 2 wins. When you focus on taking part in effectively, your possibilities will clearly enhance.
Don’t take into consideration outcomes, take into consideration your individual sport and what you’ll be able to regulate to play higher.
The Fireplace and Ice technique, by Roger Federer
Like many gamers, I’ve at all times confronted challenges with my psychological sport.
I used to play each sport with a really sturdy want to win, which might translate into anxiousness and adverse feelings when the sport wasn’t going to plan.
This led to plenty of dangerous experiences and frustration. Everybody performs desk tennis for enjoyable, so in the event you aren’t having fun with event matches, then you definately’re doing one thing unsuitable.
Having acknowledged the issue, I attempted to dial it again a notch and play with much less want to win. Nonetheless, I additionally wasn’t proud of this answer, for the reason that want to win made competing attention-grabbing for me.
From my earlier viewpoint, I might by no means strike the steadiness between desirous to win and controlling my feelings. That’s the place studying from Roger Federer might help.
If we have a look at Federer’s matches, we see that he at all times stays calm and that he’s superb on the factors that matter probably the most. On the identical time, Roger has an unimaginable preventing spirit.
What Roger Federer says is that he has a hearth and ice technique.
“It took me nearly three years, a great three years to determine myself out on a court docket. How am I pleased, I at all times name it the hearth and ice scenario. The hearth desirous to win, being excited after a great level and the ice coolness of accepting losses, accepting dangerous pictures (…)”
Roger Federer
This interprets completely to desk tennis. I imagine there are numerous issues to study from sporting legends, whatever the sport they play.
You need to have hearth in your coronary heart and ice in your veins. It’s essential to wish to win and combat for each level, staying calm and sleek when defeat inevitably comes. Even Ma Lengthy (our best participant of all time) can’t win each match.
Desirous to win and staying calm while you’re shedding aren’t opposites, despite the fact that they might appear to be it. When you lose, hold your head up and congratulate your opponent on their win. You gave it your all however they had been higher.
Go into your matches with the intention of merely taking part in effectively and preventing for each level, whereas serious about your ways and the event of the match in a relaxed approach.
Additionally, attempt to bear in mind why you’re taking part in. Desk tennis is the game we love. Chances are you’ll really feel tense or nervous however the thought of taking part in in a event is having enjoyable whereas experiencing the joys of competing.
There’s no downside in the event you lose a simple level. So long as you keep calm, there may be at all times an opportunity of victory. In desk tennis, in the event you’re nonetheless taking part in, it means you haven’t misplaced.
3. Heat up correctly
A quite common mistake I see gamers make when taking part in a event is to heat up incorrectly or not even heat up in any respect.
You probably have sufficient time, we advocate that you simply do our ideal warm-up for table tennis, however in the event you don’t, go straight to the desk.
When you’re warming up, take a while to hit some constant forehands and backhands.
All the time go away at the least 5-10 minutes for practising open-ups and sport conditions.
After I was a newbie, if I had 20 minutes to heat up, I’d do 10 minutes of forehand loops and 10 minutes of backhand loops.
If I now have 20 minutes to heat up, I assign 5 minutes for forehands, 5 for backhands, 5 for open-ups, and 5 for match conditions.
It’s essential that you simply heat up your serves, the brief sport, and your open-ups.
These pictures are far more necessary than getting an ideal static forehand loop, which you’re nearly by no means going to do in a match scenario.
Earlier than every match, you’ll even have one other brief heat up. Typically simply 2 brief minutes.
It is vitally necessary that you simply use these 2 minutes to the utmost. By this time, it is best to have already warmed up, so an important factor in these 2 minutes is to collect details about your opponent.
4. Analyze your opponent’s sport
Initially, it is best to check out what gear your opponent has.
Do they play with two inverted rubbers or have they got brief pips, long pips, or antispin on one facet of their racket?
Secondly, take note of their pictures. Are they quick and with heavy spin, or are you comfy blocking them?
When you really feel comfy blocking, you’ll be able to play with a decrease urgency to assault. In case your opponent hits too laborious, then you could have to regulate your ways.
Along with this, what’s the trajectory of your opponent’s pictures? Do they flat hit the ball? Do they hit excessive arching pictures or are they low to the online?
All that is important data that can allow you to time your pictures appropriately.
In case your opponent hits with a excessive arc, it’s normally as a result of they put lots of topspin on the ball, so you need to shut your racket angle to dam their pictures.
If their arc is low, it normally implies that your opponent is hitting with extra velocity than spin, so you need to be very targeted if you wish to have an opportunity at returning their quick pictures.
One other primary factor that it is best to analyze is the pressure with which they play on each side.
Most gamers have a extra highly effective forehand compared to their backhand, however this isn’t at all times the case.
You also needs to verify in case your opponent is nice with their footwork and transitioning between their strokes. Some gamers are nice with their transitions however their pictures aren’t that sturdy, whereas others hit very laborious however they aren’t as environment friendly.
Additionally, listen when your opponent is obstructing for you. Hit some spinny loops and see if they’ve bother dealing with them. In the event that they do, you may get some simple factors within the match with spin-heavy pictures.
5. Alter Your Tempo
That is an important a part of this text. These ideas took me years to grasp, and they’re extraordinarily necessary within the improvement of any desk tennis match.
These are new ideas for a lot of, however we’re going to clarify them in nice element.
First, let’s speak about your fashion as a participant. As an example this idea, we’re going to use the velocity classes of desk tennis blades.
All gamers fall inside this spectrum. Every of us has a spread that we’re significantly good at.
Utilizing myself for instance, I’m a great participant within the OFF- to OFF+ vary. I can exit each level attempting to execute third ball powerloops (OFF+), however I may keep near the desk doing spinny open-ups and brief offensive strokes (OFF-).
This idea is proportional to the concept of taking part in tempo.
We outline tempo because the urgency of a participant to assault first and to be on the entrance foot.
You’ll discover gamers who do something to assault and take dangerous pictures steadily to attempt to be the one on the offensive, whereas others simply concede the assault to their opponents.
To the left of the spectrum, gamers let their opponents assault first.
A DEF- participant is a traditional defender who by no means assaults. This participant provides the precedence to assault to their opponent and drops again to defend their assaults. They could have barely completely different, extra defensive match strategies.
To the fitting of the spectrum, gamers attempt to assault first by any means attainable.
An OFF+ participant doesn’t let any alternative cross. Any ball is honest sport to them. If the ball is brief, they assault with flicks. If it goes lengthy, they assault with loops. They at all times wish to assault first and hate being on the again foot.
If you concentrate on it, on the left of the spectrum there are a lot fewer unforced errors than on the fitting of the spectrum.
It’s a lot simpler to only return the ball with pushes or blocks than it’s to attempt to flick and energy loop each ball.
It is vitally necessary that you already know your base tempo as a participant and that you could rapidly assess your opponent’s tempo for two important causes:
Figuring out your opponent’s tempo will largely dictate your individual tempo.
In desk tennis, there’s a nice dichotomy.
You should have individuals who will let you know: “In desk tennis, the most constant participant at all times wins.”
Others by no means get uninterested in saying that “In desk tennis, the one who assaults first wins”.
Who’s proper? To some extent, each. The query lies in discovering the candy spot.
Would you be capable to hold the ball on the desk your opponent attacked first each level? Certainly not, and the identical is true the opposite approach spherical.
Due to this, you need to discover the purpose the place you assault first and put the ball on the desk or let your opponent assault first so long as you’ll be able to return the ball correctly.
This is the reason they are saying that desk tennis is like chess. You need to discover the tactic that means that you can defeat your rival since all of the gamers are completely different “puzzles to unravel”.
Let’s say you’re going to play towards a traditional defending participant. Is it a good suggestion to do third ball assaults that hit the desk 3 out of 4 occasions? In all probability not.
It is because 1 out of 4 factors shall be misplaced to the unforced mistake on the third ball assault, and on high of that, the traditional defender will return most of these assaults.
This can be a clear mistake that comes from not understanding the opponent’s tempo.
Time and time once more I’ve seen inexperienced persons getting determined attempting to assault lengthy pip gamers with an increasing number of energy.
What occurs on this scenario is the next:
Bear in mind how we stated that to the left of the spectrum there are much less unforced errors?
An offensive participant who tries to assault an extended pips participant desperately will nearly actually lose.
The defender gained’t assault the offensive participant. The offensive participant will at all times have assault precedence, so they need to decide the simplest ball and assault that one.
Defenders win from their opponent’s errors. In the event that they don’t have any errors, they’ll win simply.
That’s the reason why coaches will inform the offensive participant to push the ball and wait for his or her probability to assault. If offensive gamers solely assault once they have a simple probability, then they are going to beat the lengthy pips participant simply.
Now, let’s have a look at the alternative case. Let’s say you’re taking part in towards an extremely offensive participant. Is it a good suggestion to do third ball assaults that hit the desk 3 out of 4 occasions?
In all probability, sure. It is because in the event you don’t assault them, they are going to assault you, so it’s preferable to make some unforced errors to have the primary assault and set the final tempo of the sport.
That is additionally why factors between offensive gamers are only some pictures lengthy. They’re each doing every thing of their energy to dictate the tempo of the sport and be the one on the entrance foot.
One other factor to bear in mind is whether or not you’ll be able to block the assaults of a given offensive participant. In that case, you’ll be able to feed off of their errors and assault solely when you might have an opportunity.
The primary takeaway at this level is that understanding your individual fashion and understanding how a lot your opponent desires to assault you is what will dictate which balls you need to assault and which balls you shouldn’t.
Tinkering with your individual tempo will allow you to handle your unforced errors.
Let’s say you’re an offensive participant. Within the first sport of your match, you attempt to try third ball assaults and get 3 out of 6 on the desk. You lose that sport 11-8.
It’s common to wrestle together with your rhythm and move initially of a match, so I’d advocate taking a small step again in your tempo.
Now, you would possibly strive solely 3 third ball assaults on the balls which are most comfy for you. In any other case, you contact brief or block your opponent’s assaults. Because of this, you set all of your open-ups on the desk and win the sport.
Within the subsequent sport, you are feeling that you’re already warmed up and that you could play a extra offensive sport. You strive once more with extra third-ball assaults and hit 5 of 6.
On this instance, we see how the difficulty of unforced errors and first assault is dealt with.
Within the first sport, the participant went out to play an OFF+ sport, however they made lots of unforced errors and misplaced.
Due to this, they went out to play an OFF- sport within the second sport and minimized their errors. Within the third sport, they felt extra assured and stepped the tempo up a notch.
When you’re attacking first and it’s not working (both you’re making unforced errors or your opponent is dealing with your pictures simply), then it’s crucial that you simply change the sport plan accordingly.
It’s important that you simply discover a successful sport state.
This leads me to my subsequent level.
6. Don’t stick with a shedding tactic (variation)
If you’re shedding, it is best to by no means proceed to play the sport on the identical phrases. The end result shall be inevitable.
All the time search for methods to show the match round. Even in the event you gained a sport, analyze the rationale for the factors that you simply misplaced.
For instance, in the event you win a sport 11-8, there have been 8 factors that you simply misplaced. When you can perceive why you misplaced these 8 factors and counter it, the subsequent sport will swing even additional in your favor.
When you misplaced the sport, there are going to be lots of issues to vary. Take into consideration your opponent’s serves which are inflicting you issues, the rationale in your pressured and unforced errors, and in addition take into consideration the factors you gained.
In case your opponent is transferring you with backhand blocks, play both to their elbow or forehand. In case your opponent is successful all of the factors from you with spinny open-ups, contact brief, flick, or open up first.
Even in the event you don’t have a great flick, having your opponent cope with a very completely different obtain goes to make them hesitate and make errors.
It’s a lot better to strive the entire attainable options than to easily lose by repeating the identical tactic again and again. Typically, you will see that that in the event you hold altering your placement or your strokes, there shall be one or two variants that will work for you.
Then, your opponent will probably reply with one other tactical change, and so the match will develop with a tactical battle to see who can play finest to their strengths.
If there isn’t any tactical combat, it ought to be since you modified your sport and your opponent didn’t know reply. By no means stick with a shedding tactic.
7. Be vigilant firstly of each sport and decisive ultimately.
It will be significant that every sport you enter with the mentality of adapting as rapidly as attainable to the match.
All video games are going to begin in numerous methods. Let’s say you’ve gained the primary sport 11-5. A really favorable outcome for you.
Nonetheless, since you’ve gained by such a big margin, it is best to go into the subsequent sport much more targeted. Your opponent, seeing that they misplaced the primary sport, goes to come back out and play with a completely different sport plan.
In case you are not cautious, you can begin the sport shedding a number of simple factors and struggling to discover a foothold.
On the finish of every sport, we advocate that you simply stick with what has been incomes you factors all through the match, or execute set performs that you’ve got pre-planned in coaching.
For instance, I actually wish to serve half-long no-spin at decisive factors, disguising it as backspin. That is my important tactic for decisive factors.
Your opponent goes to see a backspin serve that doesn’t go lengthy, they usually in all probability wish to make sure that they play the purpose. More often than not, they are going to push the serve and it’ll pop up, resulting in a simple probability.
8. Handle your feelings and mess around timeouts
Managing feelings is an important a part of desk tennis.
When you miss a simple assault, strive to consider the subsequent level, and don’t dwell in your mistake.
That is referred to as the subsequent level mentality. When you’re at all times serious about profit from your subsequent level, there’s no room for emotion. Keep poised, serious about profit from your subsequent level.
When you get upset about one thing or in case your opponent is successful plenty of factors in succession, use your day out to loosen up and suppose issues by way of.
An excellent rule of thumb is to at all times name a timeout except you’re successful the match simply.
When you lose a match and didn’t name a timeout, you missed a chance the place you would relax and rethink issues to show the match round (that is additionally associated to not sticking to a shedding tactic).
Additionally, the timeout has a psychological affect in your opponent, so it’s at all times price utilizing. It’s one in every of our key strategies for winning close matches.
In case your match/league doesn’t enable time-outs, decelerate the sport and take just a few seconds between every level to consider your technique and calm your feelings down.
Alvaro’s been taking part in Desk Tennis since he was 15 and is now ranked inside the high 100 in his native Argentina. He likes to compete in provincial tournaments and is at all times on the lookout for methods to enhance. Alvaro made his favorite reminiscences with a racket in hand, and he joined the RacketInsight crew to share his ardour with different gamers!
Blade: Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC | Forehand: Butterfly Dignics 05 | Backhand: Butterfly Rozena
Playstyle: The Controller
David’s been taking part in Desk Tennis since he was 12, incomes his first teaching license in 2012. He is performed in nationwide crew & particular person competitions, though he prefers the extra relaxed nature of an area league match! After incomes his umpiring qualification in England, David moved to Australia and began Racket Perception to share details about the game he loves.
Blade: Stiga WRB Offensive Basic | Forehand: Calibra LT | Backhand: Xiom Musa
Playstyle: All-Spherical Attacker
