Placement is key to winning, in two ways. First, if you place the ball where your opponent is weakest, you put him in the weakest position possible. That’s obvious. Second, it’s not just picking the right placement, but placing it in the most extreme way. This is especially true when playing to the corners, where playing the corners might be safest, but playing even outside the covers might cause the most havoc for your opponent.

But the part that many miss is that good placement leads to good consistency. How? Many players hit their shots with a vague idea of where they want to go, and hit the ball to that vague area. It might be to the forehand or backhand, or to the middle (roughly the opponent’s playing elbow, roughly midway between forehand and backhand).

But if you literally pick a spot on the table to aim at each time, two things will happen. First, you’ll get even better placement as aiming for a specific spot is better than a vague idea of where you are going. Second, aiming for a target leads to greater precision, and thereby more consistency. It’s the difference between throwing darts in the general direction of a dartboard, and aiming for the bullseye. With the latter, you’ll not only get more bullseyes, but you’ll also be far more consistent in at least hitting the dartboard!

At first you might have to consciously aim for a spot. But once you make this a habit, it becomes subconscious, and every time you hit a shot, you’ll be aiming for a specific spot on the table. Most table tennis tactics have to become instinctive as you don’t have time to think things over, and the same goes for placement. Make this a habit, and it’ll become so instinctive that you’ll often be left admiring the brilliant placements made by your subconscious – but you’ll get the credit!!!

Note that in fast rallies, you don’t have time to consciously choose a target and aim for it. Many players think they do, but what’s really happening is your subconscious does this, and as it does, your conscious mind sees what’s happening and (egomaniacs that we are), takes credit for it.

So, choose your targets, and watch the consistency and winning go up!

Many players use running to get in shape for table tennis and other activities, or simply for health reasons. There’s nothing wrong with that. But you get the same thing if you shadow practice your footwork for the same amount of time, plus you develop the footwork technique and the specific muscles used for those movements.

So, if you are a table tennis player who wants to get in shape, rather than run two miles (~15 minutes), why not develop a 15-minute shadow practice routine? You don’t need a table for this, just enough room to imagine there is one that you can move about. Imagine the major table tennis footwork drills, and create a routine. Decide on your own how long you can do each drill – perhaps sixty seconds, then rest ten seconds, repeat. Perhaps do each drill two times. For example:

1. Forehand-Forehand side to side (from wide forehand and middle)
2. Backhand-Backhand side to side (from wide backhand and middle)
3. Forehand-Backhand side to side (corner to corner)
4. Backhand-Forehand-Forehand (backhand from backhand corner, forehand from backhand corner, forehand from forehand corner, repeat)
5. Three-point Forehands (forehand from forehand corner, middle, backhand, middle, forehand, repeat)
6. In-Out Footwork (reach in for short ball to forehand, step back for forehand or backhand loop)

If you do each of these six drills for sixty seconds, with ten seconds in between, that’s seven minutes. Do the routine twice and that’s 14 minutes, or even three times and it’s 21 minutes. Do this three times a week, you’ll get in great shape AND your table tennis footwork and strokes will get better! (Feel free to adjust the various times based on your age and current fitness level.)

(Excerpt from Table Tennis Doubles for Champions by Larry Hodges. April is Doubles Month!)

Historically, most players received with their forehands. This made it easier to forehand loop any serve that went even slightly long. (Some players, even back then, were better with backhand loops and so received backhand, but they were a minority.) Also, in the days before the “banana flip,” many players were stronger flipping against short serves with their forehand than their backhand.

Then came the backhand banana flip, and everything changed. The banana flip allows a player to reach over the table and more easily attack a short ball with the backhand, essentially looping it. It’s basically a mini-loop against a short ball. It now dominates in singles at the advanced levels. (A photo sequence of this is coming up. You might also go to Youtube and do a search for “Backhand Banana Flip.”) However, banana flips take a lot of practice, so below the elite level a more conventional backhand flip works, which is essentially a backhand drive against a short ball, especially against short backspin, where you drive up and forward, with light topspin. (The same is true of the forehand flip, which is done now about the same as it was done forty years ago.)

It’s also thrown the whole forehand-or-backhand receive into question. Even if you don’t really have a backhand banana flip, more and more players these days prefer to backhand flip against short balls rather than forehand flip. You have three options:

1. Receive forehand. This is the more conventional way and puts you in position to forehand loop any ball that goes even a little bit long. If the ball’s short, you can forehand flip, or push short or long.
2. Receive backhand. This allows you to reach over the table and backhand banana flip. If your backhand flip is more conventional, you still may prefer this. However, it means you’ll be using your backhand against long serves as well. If you have a good backhand loop or drive to go along with your backhand flip, then this is often the preferred method. At lower levels, where you can get away more with pushing (even against long serves), this is also common as most players have more control on the backhand side. If the opponents play passive, then by all means receive backhand and push more, especially if your partner has a good attack against backspin.
3. Hybrid forehand and backhand receive. For this, you set up as if receiving forehand. If the serve goes long, you forehand loop. If the serve goes short, you step over and in and receive backhand, pushing or flipping, since many players do this both better on the backhand side. This takes practice as you have to make a quick judgement call on whether the serve is long or short. But it may give you the best of both worlds—forehand loop against long serves, backhand against short serves. Personally, I like to receive forehand against most serves, but against short backhand sidespin serves (or a lefty’s forehand pendulum serve), I (and many others) find it easier to receive backhand, and so will either switch if I see this serve going short, or even set up for a backhand receive.

Receivers should normally set up to receive with their strongest receiving side against serves. If they are stronger on the backhand or have a good banana flip, then they may receive backhand, even though the serve is going to the forehand corner. The main exception is if you have a lefty-righty team, where if the righty received backhand, he’d be in the lefty’s way

As note earlier, in the past, most players received forehand. These days many players are so much better receiving short serves with the backhand (often with banana flips) that as long as they can also loop the deep serve with the backhand, more and more are receiving backhand. However, if you are uncomfortable looping deep serves with your backhand, then you should probably receive forehand.

When receiving in doubles, be ready to attack any deep serve, mostly by looping. Vary the receive against short serves, but don’t push deep too often or your partner may be faced with a strong attack. Mix in well-placed short and long pushes, and flips. It’s often effective to attack the ball wide to the server’s side so that he gets in the way of his partner. If the server’s partner has a good loop, and the server is serving short backspin or no-spin, the ideal receive is often a short push. (If you have good touch, you may even drop short sidespin-topspin serves short by chopping down on the ball with a light grazing touch.)

Short serves to the wide forehand give the receiver a wide angle to the opponents’ wide forehand, which can cause havoc for the serving team, as noted in the section above on Doubles Serves. Use them sparingly . . . unless the receiver has trouble with them! It brings the receiver over the table and a quick return right back at the receiver often tangles the opponents up.

(Excerpt from Table Tennis Doubles for Champions by Larry Hodges. April is Doubles Month!)

In both singles and doubles, I usually advise players to choose to receive first, if they win the choice at the start of the match. This is the time when a player is most likely to miss easy shots—he may not yet be fully warmed up or he may still have early-match jitters—and it’s better to blow a couple points receiving than on your serve, where you hope to win a majority of the points. It also means you’ll be serving at the end, such as at 9-all, when there’s lots of pressure!

In doubles, it’s even more important to receive first. This allows you to set the order of play for the match. (Remember that in doubles, whichever team serves first has to choose which player serves first, and then the receiving pair sets the order for that game by choosing the receiver, with the order changing each game and when a team reaches five in the fifth.) You want to set an order that favors your team. How do you do this?

Suppose you have an order that favors your team, while the other team is favored with the other order. If you start the match with the bad order, then you may lose the first and third games, win the second and fourth, and start out the fifth by falling behind—but halfway through the fifth game, you’ll switch sides and the order of play, and then you’ll be in the good order in the second half of the fifth game, when the match is on the line. And if the two orders even out in that fifth game and you reach deuce, you’ll have the good order at deuce, and probably win. So, surprisingly, it is often an advantage to start out a match with the “bad order.”

However, you don’t really change the order halfway through the fifth game; you do so when a team reaches five. What does this mean?

• Short version: It means you play more points after switching sides and order of play when a team reaches five.
• Long version: Suppose your team starts the fifth game with the bad order. Suppose your team is down 4-5 when you switch sides in the fifth, and then the order changes to the better order, and now you outscore the other team 5-4. It’s now 9-9, and you have the good order, both here and at deuce! Or suppose the order makes an even bigger difference, and you are down 3-5 at the switch, and then outscore them 5-3 with the good order. Then it’s only 8-all, and you have the good order the rest of the way! So I recommend starting with the weaker order in the first game so that you’ll have the strong order at the end of the fifth game.

It’s actually more complicated than this, since about half the time you will only play two points when you reach deuce, and so the whole order of play—four different servers (and corresponding receivers) in a given game—is reduced to only two, and so the order that favors you overall might not favor you for those particular two. Few if anyone actually works it out that far, but it’s something to consider in a big match.

The main reason to choose to serve first is if you or your partner needs to build up confidence, and so prefer to serve first. If you have a very nervous team (compared to your opponents), then you might consider this, though you might want to consult a sports psychologist later on.

(Excerpt from Table Tennis Doubles for Champions by Larry Hodges. April is Doubles Month!)

What are the best tactics for a lopsided team, where one player is much stronger than the other? (This often happens in rating or mixed doubles.) Many believe that a more balanced team has an advantage over a more lopsided team, but that’s usually only true if the balanced team is experienced at playing together. In general, I have found that a lopsided team that plays smart generally is favored against a more balanced team. This is because they can play tactics that allow the stronger player to dominate play. However, a more balanced team that is experienced together will tend to beat a more lopsided team that isn’t as experienced or doesn’t play smart. (Often a lopsided team has a weaker, inexperienced player who doesn’t play good tactics.)

In general, with a lopsided team, the stronger player must dominate or control play. His partner needs to do what’s necessary to allow him to do so. It usually means the weaker player plays consistently, keeping the ball in play, but not so passive as to let the other team attack too easily, putting the stronger player on the defensive. It doesn’t mean the weaker player just pushes. If he gets a ball he can put away, he should take it. If the opposing team can attack backspin well, it’s often important for the weaker player to open with a consistent loop just to stop the other team from doing so. But every doubles pair is different.

What is the difference between dominating play and controlling play? If a player attacks over and over successfully, he’s dominating play. If a player makes less aggressive shots but doesn’t give the opponents anything good to attack effectively, while often setting up his partner, he’s controlling play.

Six Things to Focus On

1. Confidence. The weaker player may be a bit intimidated, since his partner is much stronger and probably more experienced, and he’s likely the weakest player at the table. If his team loses, it’s mostly because of his mistakes. However, this is the wrong way to look at it. Assuming this is a rated doubles event, then the only reason the strong player is eligible is because he’s paired with a weaker player. So the thinking should be, “Without me, you can’t even compete!” It’s extremely important that the weaker player not be intimidated or he’ll play poorly. His goal shouldn’t be to outplay his partner or even his opponents, who are stronger players; his goal should be to play his level or better, and to play smart. 
        If you are the stronger player, it’s important to put your partner at ease. If you are the tactical leader of the team, explain to him the simple tactics you want him to do, but don’t go overboard. An easy way to lose here would be to ask the weaker player to play outside his game. If he’s used to looping against backspin and doesn’t push well, let him loop, as long as he focuses on consistency. If he misses an easy shot, shrug it off, tell him not to worry about it, and focus on the next point.
2. Serving. Your team should usually dominate when the weaker player is serving, but that takes preparation. If the weaker player’s serves are easily attacked, then he will put his stronger partner on the defensive right from the start of the point. This is a double-whammy—a lopsided team should be at their absolute best when the weaker player is serving, since this means the stronger player gets to make the first shot. If the weaker player’s serves allow the opponents to take the initiative, then it potentially puts his team at their weakest. In the large majority of cases, the single most important thing here for the weaker player is to be able to serve low and short, with either backspin or no-spin, and toward the middle of the table (so the opponent’s don’t have an extreme angle to the forehand). Ideally, he should practice in advance so he can serve short, low serves. If he does this, it stops the opposing team from making strong returns, and allows the stronger partner to dominate the point. This is often the single most important thing a weaker player can do in preparation for playing doubles with a stronger player.
        When the stronger player is serving, if he has good serves, he may want to simply serve for winners. This might mean serving deep, and challenging the opponents to read and attack his serve. But it depends on the opponents. At higher levels, serving long usually doesn’t work. (However, sometimes it does, and they may want to test this to see if they do.) One issue that often comes up is the stronger player uses a tricky serve that the opponent’s pop up, but the weaker player then misses the smash. Don’t let it worry you, and just encourage your partner to do his best, and (usually) encourage him to continue trying to put the ball away if he gets the shot. If he absolutely cannot make that put-away, he might have to push or you might have to switch to a different serve.
3. Rallying. The weaker player should focus on keeping the ball in play with well-placed shots. Don’t take the stronger partner out of play by constantly going for (and often missing) risky shots. If you are an attacking player, perhaps tone your attack down some for consistency. If you loop, focus on consistent loops, not trying to rip the ball. In general, try to keep the ball deep so your partner has time to react to the opponent’s shots. In general, by keeping the ball in play without giving the opponent easy attacks or put-aways, you allow your stronger partner to dominate. And guess what? When he dominates, you get equal credit for giving him the opportunity to do so.
        The stronger player should normally look to dominate the rallies with strong attacks. It depends on his style of play, but in general, he shouldn’t hesitate to end the point or make such a strong shot that it gives your partner an easy ball to put away.
4. The weaker player shouldn’t hesitate to end the point. This may seem contradictory to the idea of keeping the ball in play, but it is not. The stronger player will often force easy balls, and the weaker player shouldn’t hesitate to end the point when he gets one of these. The key is he should focus on keeping the ball in play until he sees an easy put-away—and then unhesitatingly put it away. Of course, if the weaker player absolutely cannot put the ball away, then he shouldn’t try to—but he should go practice that for next time.
5. Both players need to get their strengths into play. Whatever your best shots are, if you don’t use them, your level goes down. Therefore, both players should work together to find chances to get their best shots into play. This often means a focus on serve and receive. The stronger player in particular should play so as to give his partner shots he is good at while avoiding ones he has trouble with. The weaker player should also focus on setting up the stronger player, in particular with serve, receives, and consistency. (If the weaker player keeps the ball in play, he gives the stronger player more chances to play his strengths.)
6. Absolutely No Squabbling!!! Read that three times. Refer to it often. Play for fame, but never blame.