You already spend a lot of money to buy ping pong table and quality table tennis bat but still now you not able to reach your desired skills. then this article just for you. So you’re reading this and probably wondering why you still are at the same level at table tennis, knowing that you reached your max and asking your subconscious what to do to break that barrier. If this is your case, then welcome to this very common feeling you are experiencing while practicing this. In this article, we talk about how to improve table tennis skills by avoiding your weakness and where you need to give more focus.
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Unique sport
I will further describe now, what you need to do and what you need to focus in to improve your table tennis skills; and no, I’m not going to talk about things you’ve read before or about what you’ve already heard by teachers, I’m going to tell you the actual things you need to pay attention to, to go to your next level, all by yourself. It doesn’t matter if you’re an amateur player, intermediate or becoming a pro, I assume this will work for you.
You’re Serve
So if you were thinking that the serve is just a “game starting” shot, let me tell you that you are completely wrong. You must have a ‘menu’ of serves in your mind before putting that ball in the air. Go practice and have a variation of serves, make it 5, yes, 5 different serves as a minimum. If you were just using two different serves, or even worse, using just one, that’s one of the main reasons you are not improving at this sport. If this is your case, stop here, go get a basket of ping pong balls and put the hours into your different serves.
The main function of the serve, just like when you play tennis is to take your opponent out of balance, make him miss if he tries to respond to the ball or give you an easy shot, an easy smash.
Also read: An Introduction to the Various Ways to Grip a Table Tennis Bat
Your ‘weak’ side
Yes, it’s true that we all have a stronger side than the other, maybe a stronger forehand serve table tennis or in other players’ cases a stronger backhand but have you ever wondered, what could happen to your game if suddenly you show up at a match with a way better improved ‘weak’ side. Most of the time this becomes irrelevant to players and the stay comfortable with having a strong and a weak side, but the truth is, your weak side needs to stop being weak. If you can make your weak side only 20% better than it is right now, you’ll see a huge difference in your future matches.
Your shots
Just as in the serve, you must have a variety of shots when playing the game. Spins, cuts, drops, among others. If you’re only using one type of shot or two, to pass the ball, well, this is a huge reason why you are not improving at table tennis. Develop different skills for your shots just by testing them. Go ahead and make friendly games against your little brother and start testing what you can do with your shots. Put some spins on it, make it drop, get to know which shots better suit your game style, go ahead and learn how to “disarm” your opponent with just a couple of shots.
Make your shots become part of your system, practice that much until they become automatic until you don’t need to put your brain on it and it is just a reaction to the game you’re playing.
Defense/Racket Angles
Of course, as we have heard before among other sports: “defense wins games”. At table tennis, there is no exception to this. But what exactly is defense about in table tennis? Well, racket angle.
The way you respond to your opponent’s shots is what defines this game. You can find yourself sometimes in a very uncomfortable position, and getting to know how to recover from this is definitely a game-changer here.
Get to know your racket. Stick to one, stick to the brand, know the rubber, the sides, And main of all, learn how to recover from the unbalanced status. For this, learn how to quickly respond to your opponent’s shots only by placing the racket in the right angle. Sounds easy, takes practice. A lot.
Mindset
My favorite when talking about improving skills, mindset. Table tennis needs you to concentrate and maintain focus a lot of the time and it’s easy sometimes to feel frustrated when things are not going your way. I encourage you to practice your state of mind as a way of life. Discipline. Keep your eyes on the ball, learn how to deal with pressure, learn how to land a smash even if you’ve missed 10 smashes before. Turn the volume off of everything around you. Keep your pace. Study your opponent, learn their weaknesses. Mindset makes the game a trip to victory. It’s a feeling.
Practice
I know we’ve heard a lot about practice, they’ve been telling us this is the only way to improve and of course it is. But here is a thing about the practice you are not doing to improve your skills at this sport: Change your routine, often. Put the hours on what you need to improve to make all of your attributes reach their max level. Try different things at practice. Try practicing more than competing. Get a partner to practice, when you don’t find a partner try with ping pong robot but not stop your practice. But most important of all, make it fun. Enjoy it. If you are not enjoying practice, you’re doing it wrong, you might end up giving up the sport.
Become unpredictable
This is the maximum goal to improve not only your skills but your whole table tennis skills and techniques, your competitiveness at this sport. Being unpredictable. Once you have mastered your serves, your shots, your defense, your responses, you have to make your opponent notice that he is not sure about what your next move is going to be. Keep your opponent guessing? Play one style on your first set, and then on the next set, you completely change your style. Imagine how hard it is to defeat a player like this.
Start now trying to apply these, all of them to your game, and you’ll see your skills improved in a matter of a couple of weeks. Don’t hesitate to ask others, help yourself by reading more or watching videos of other pros on the web. Take the risk of changing your game. hope you enjoy and got all of your answer on How to improve table tennis skills.
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