Shot Selection and Avoiding Rushing in Table Tennis / Ping-Pong

Hi Greg,

I have a question for you, I'm sure you can help.

I've been playing for around 18 months now & have improved greatly, but I can't get over the problem of rushing shots and poor shot selection.

Two phrases which apply to me are "Fools rush in" and "I'm my own worst enemy". Often against opponents around the same standard and above, I lose the game rather than them winning it.

Between games I take my time but get carried away while playing. I like attacking but too many times it lets me down at crucial moments. How do I gain composure?

Thanks in anticipation
Roger

Hello Roger,

After only 18 months of play, you are still a relative newcomer to the sport of ping-pong, so don't be too hard on yourself. You haven't had enough time to fully develop the patterns of play and court craft that more experienced players rely on to help us make the right shot selections. Plus your game is probably still developing, so what might have been a good choice a few months ago might not be your best option anymore.

With that in mind, let's get down to some concrete advice that you can use to help you take your time and choose better options when you're on the table tennis court. Here's a few that spring to mind:

1. Develop a Ritual. If you are rushing between points, you are likely to be rushing during points. Your tempo tends to stay the same. So develop a ritual that you can perform between points, which will slow you down, calm you a bit, and also stop your mind from concentrating on other things. Don't make it excessively intricate or lengthy, just something that takes a few seconds and forces you to pause between points.

2. Pick Up on Patterns. Be aware of the patterns of your play, and those of your opponent. Your favorite patterns are usually your best options when under pressure. Variations to your favorite patterns are good choices during more relaxed times. If you are playing very well then new variations can be great on big points, since they can surprise your opponent. Knowing your opponent's favorite patterns of play can also help you anticipate where the ball is going to go, allowing you to get there earlier and take your time with your strokes. You will continue to develop this skill over time naturally, but paying attention to it will help speed up the process.

3. Set Up, then Finish. Newer players often tend to try to finish the point too early. Sometimes this is because they are trying to copy the power shots of the pros, and sometimes it is because they lack confidence in their rallying ability and want to hit hard before their opponent does. Take careful note of advanced players - most good players are careful to set up the shot with a controlled attack before going to full power. Those that don't (Kalinikos Kreanga springs to mind at world level) tend to be streaky players. Better players also have better technique, which allows them to hit balls hard that the average player should be treating with more care.

4. KISS. You may be over thinking. Ever notice that people sometimes miss when the opponent gives them a real easy pop-up? The player has too many options to choose from, and by the time he makes up his mind it's too late and he makes a hash of it. If you find yourself hesitating or stuttering in your strokes a lot when you aren't under real pressure, you probably are thinking too much and you should go back to making simple decisions only - topspin or chop, left/right/middle, no more than that.

5. Step Back Mentally. You may be focusing too much on yourself, or just one aspect of the match. I've been guilty of this at times. You can't play good table tennis thinking only about one thing. You also have to be aware of the opponent, the ball and it's flight, and the state of the match. Not necessarily trying to think about each of these consciously, but they should all be part of your general awareness. It's the difference between a camera's zoom lens vs a wide angle lens. Too much zoom and you miss everything but a small part of the match. Too much wide angle and you are staring blankly in the distance, not focused on anything. Either way you are missing out on important information.

6. Train More. You may not be training enough. Training is there to help make much of your table tennis game relatively automatic, so you can put those things on autopilot and leave your brain free to work on what's going on during the match. Not enough training means that you end up concentrating very hard on things like technique and footwork during the rally, when you should not be thinking about them at all!

7. Step Back Physically. Finally, you may actually be forgetting to move away from the table when you hit a hard shot, or when your opponent is going to hit a hard shot. Watch good players, and you'll notice that once the rally moves from the short game to the long game, they start to step back a little to give themselves more time to swing. Stay too close and you'll be rushed simply because you can't swing your arm fast enough to keep up.

Anyway, I hope these tips are of use. Remember that you are still a relatively new player, and your court skills are developing - they definitely take a bit longer than technique skills. Have patience, try the above tips, and you should see an improvement within a few weeks.

Regards,
Greg Letts