What You Should Be Thinking About During Ping-Pong Matches

Elite sports people are often quoted as saying that the mental side of their sport is very important - sometimes as much as 90% mental to 10% physical. While I'm not looking to debate the exact percentages, I think there is little doubt that the mental side of table tennis is very important if you want to win matches against players of similar level.

That said, what should you be actually thinking about during a match? Here's my opinion on the subject - I view each table tennis match as being similar to one-on-one combat - you must be concentrating on what your opponent is doing, and the overall state of the battle. Anything that distracts you from this is a bad thing. You should also be aware of yourself, but more in an automatic way - noticing when something is going askew, but cruising along when things are going smoothly.

What You Should Not Be Thinking About During a Ping-Pong Match

Anything that distracts you from your opponent or the match dynamics is a bad thing. Some examples of this are:

• Your Techniques - the time to think about your technique is on the practice court. Start worrying about correcting your technique during a match, and you'll lose your ability to perform it unconsciously, and your performance will suffer.

• The Crowd - if you are listening to spectators and taking notice of what they are saying, you are getting distracted and at risk of being emotionally manipulated by negative comments. The only person you need to worry about is the guy on the other side of the table.

• Your Opponent's Behavior - by this I mean when your opponent is attempting to upset you with unsportsmanlike behavior. Have a strategy in place to deal with this - some players like to use it to spur them on, and others prefer to fight fire with fire. The main thing is to have a positive plan of action that allows you to deal with your opponent's behavior and move on mentally, rather than dwelling on his antics.

• Your Previous Match / Your Next Match - the former is over and done with, and you haven't started the latter yet. Worry about the match you are playing right now - that's enough to deal with.

• Nets / Edges - they don't always even out, but they do happen. And they do count for more in these short 11 point games. But if you spend the next few points agonizing over your bad luck, you're likely to lose most of them as well, which is even worse!

• Bad Calls / Bad Umpires - I've seen plenty of bad calls over the years, and even a few bad umpires. I haven't often seen an umpire out to get one particular player though. So if you get a bad call, state your case then move on. If you get a number of bad calls, go to the referee and ask for a replacement umpire. If you don't have an umpire and your opponent is making dodgy calls, ask the referee for an umpire. Do what you can to fix the situation and then get back into the match - don't carry on while your mind is still seething over a missed call 3 points ago.

• Winning / Losing - this can be hard to avoid when the stakes are high. But thinking about what will happen if you win or lose won't help you perform better.

• Previous Results Against Your Opponent - you don't deserve to win because you normally beat your opponent. And vice versa of course! Every match is a fresh start - treat it as such.

• Conditions on the Court - unless you can do something to improve them, you are stuck with what you have got. Focus on what you can do to work around them, rather than just complaining about the poor light, slippery floor etc.

What You Should Be Thinking About During a Ping-Pong Match

Here's some of the things that I suggest you try to think about during your table tennis matches - although I must admit that sometimes I am more successful than others!

• Your Opponent - I'm constantly monitoring the state of my opponent. I want to know his state of mind and his physical condition for starters. I'm also trying to keep track of what tactics he appears to be using, and how successful they are. Not to mention looking for any chinks in his game that I can exploit, and anything where he is hot and I had better try to avoid.

• Yourself - the idea here is not to spend too much time self-analyzing every detail of your game, but instead do a brief check from time to time, looking for anything out of the ordinary. You are checking for anything that you are performing poorly or really well, so you can decide to avoid or emphasize what is working and what isn't. Keep it brief - too much self-analysis prevents you from paying attention to your opponent and the match dynamics.

• Match Momentum - this is definitely something that you should be aware of. Every match will have shifts and swings in momentum, caused by changes in tactics, or a player having a 'hot' or 'cold' streak. Noticing who has the momentum allows you to pile on the pressure when things are going your way, and to slow things down and try to break your opponent's rhythm when the momentum is against you.

• Tactics - you should have gone into the match with a plan. As the match progresses you should be constantly updating your plan depending on what is occurring out on the court. If you have a smart opponent, he will be adjusting his tactics during the match, and you will have to change your own tactics to stay competitive.

Conclusion

You could almost condense all the above advice into a few simple words - what is going on? If someone was to stop you during a match and ask you that question, you should be able to summarize what your opponent is up to, what you are trying to do instead, and who is currently in control of the match. Try asking yourself that question during a match from time to time - and if you are not the one in control, it's time to start adjusting your plan! It's far better to ask yourself what is going on? during a match, instead of what the heck just happened? afterwards!