Table Tennis/ Ping-Pong Basic Strokes - Forehand Smash Against a Lob

The forehand smash against a lob is a stroke that should be part of every ping-pong player's arsenal. The idea behind this shot is to hit the lobbed ball very hard onto the playing surface, keeping the opponent away from the table. You should try to angle the ball away from your opponent so that he cannot reach it, or play the ball straight at your opponent so that he cannot get out of the way in time and has to play a cramped stroke.

Some players prefer to smash the ball with very little spin and as much pace as possible, while others feel more comfortable using a little topspin to aid their control as well as a lot of pace.

View the Forehand Smash vs Lob Video: 856x480 pixels (5 MB); 428x240 pixels (2.85 MB)

Points to look for:

• The smash will occur in the middle of a rally. In this case the player has forced his opponent back from the table with a strong attack to the backhand side of the opponent, which is why the player is standing so far to his own backhand side.
• The player is in a neutral ready position, with legs wide apart, knees slightly bent, and on the balls of his feet. He is ready to move in any direction with ease.
• The player is a little further back from the table, since he knows that his opponent's return from a long way away from the table is unlikely to bounce short.