Everyone has their own tactical thinking ritual . . . or doesn't have one. If you don't, you should.

What is a tactical thinking ritual? It's when you habitually think tactically about the next point. Different players have different rituals, but most are similar. Here are mine. Note that tactical thinking during a match should be kept simple. There are zillions of possible tactics, but your job is to find a few that work in the given match.

• When I have two serves coming up. This is probably where you should do the most tactical thinking, since you have complete control over what serves you will use. Before I come to the table I'm thinking about both serves. My main thinking is whether I want to serve both short, both long, one of each, or whether I want to throw in a "trick" serve, such as fast no-spin to the middle, or a fast down-the-line. I have to decide if I want to serve to increase the probability I'll get a specific receive - such as a long push to loop, a topspin receive I can loop aggressively against, or a ball I can smash or loop kill. I also have to decide the placement of the serves, and the order. For example, if I decide the receiver is ready for my deep serves and I choose to serve both short, I might go for a very heavy backspin serve to the middle (to take away the extreme angles on the return), where I might be anticipating a push return I can loop, followed by a no-spin serve, where I'm hoping the receiver will push it like the previous backspin serve, and so pop it up or return it with less backspin. I might serve the second one to the same spot as I want the serve to look as much as possible like the previous one so the receiver will push it the same, thereby popping it up.
• When I have one serve coming up. Here is where I evaluate my previous plan based on what happened on the first serve. For example, using the example above, suppose the receiver backhand banana flipped my heavy backspin serve. I now have to make a judgment - should I serve short no-spin, hoping he misreads it, and risking another backhand attack? Or perhaps I should instead serve it short to the forehand? Or, since he's reaching over the table to attack with his backhand, perhaps a big, breaking sidespin serve deep to his backhand? Suppose the receiver pushed my heavy backspin serve into the net. Then maybe following up with a no-spin serve might not work, since he's already aiming a bit down? Or suppose he quick-pushed my backspin serve really wide, deep, and aggressively, so I had a difficult ball to attack, and think he might be able to do that as well to my no-spin serve? Then I might consider serving sidespin-topspin to get into a different type of rally.
• When I'm receiving. Here you can't have a firm plan since you don't know what serve you will get. However, you should always have at least two possible receives off any serve (preferably more), and before each receive, should decide which ones you should favor off the serves you expect to see. (But don't over-think this or you might freeze up.) For example, against a short backspin serve to the middle, I can push long or short, or flip, and I can do these to all parts of the table. Before the receive, I will decide if I'm going to be aggressive or not, and which side I should receive to. But these have to be flexible decisions. I may decide to push long to the backhand, but if the server looks like he's setting up for that shot, leaving his wide forehand open, I might change at the last second and quick-push there. Or the serve might pop up or be easy to read, in which case I might switch to an attack. If my opponent is consistently serving long to my backhand, I might decide in advance whether I'm going to receive backhand or do a step-around and forehand loop. (Note that you should also take into consideration what happened in the previous points when deciding what receive to use. For example, if you keep pushing long and the server keeps looping successfully, it's time to rethink your receive.)
• When I'm serving at in a deuce game. Now's the time to think over what worked and didn't work up to this point, especially recently. There should be 2-3 serving options that are the obvious ones to choose from - if you don't immediately know which ones you should be choosing from, you need to make it a habit to think about these things more as by this time you should have a very good idea what worked and what didn't. My first thought is always whether I should go for a "trick" serve to catch the receiver off guard, or a pure third-ball serve. It all depends on the opponent and his history that match, as well as my own confidence level in my own shots. If I'm playing really well, why risk, say, a tricky deep serve that might get looped, taking my own shots out of play? In most cases, think what serve will set you up to do what you do best, usually some sort of attack. But if there's a serve that's been giving the receiver fits, use it, even if the receiver has a good idea it's coming. You don't want to lose a match and have the opponent say, "Thank God you didn't use that serve I was having fits with!"

When serving, don't look for a ball to attack. Unless the receiver does something to stop you from attacking, serve and attack over and over. If you aren't confident in your attack, then this will make your attack much stronger and turn you into a better player.

There are tactical exceptions to this, but they are relatively few. Defensive players such as choppers and blockers might serve and only attack if they see a relatively easy attack, but even they should look to serve and attack every chance so as to develop their attacks. Against a receiver with a weak attack you might tactically wait for a better shot rather than force the attack off your serve against a relatively good return - but even there it's good practice to serve and attack so you keep getting better at it. Sometimes it's good tactics to catch your opponent off guard by not attacking, such as a sudden drop shot or quick push against a player expecting you to attack and not ready to attack themselves. But generally, and perhaps even relentlessly, you'll find more success if you serve and attack whenever the receiver doesn't do something to stop you from attacking.  

None of this means you have to serve and rip a winner every time. You only do that if you do get a relatively weak return. Attacks should be varied - forehand or backhand; hard, medium, or soft; usually deep, but when attacking more softly vary the depth; to the opponent's middle (elbow) or wide corners, or even outside the corners; and with varying amounts of topspin and sometimes sidespin. Never serve and blindly attack; attack, but attack with purpose!

If you have a weakness, you try to avoid using it, correct? That's the normal thinking. However, sometimes a "weakness" can be a strength, plus (perhaps more importantly), if you use a weakness over and over, it might become a strength, or at least stop being a weakness.

Here are two examples of a "weakness" being a strength. David Zhuang was six-times U.S. Men's Singles Champion. He was a pips-out penholder with a blocking backhand and hitting forehand. What was his "weakness"? Surprisingly, it was his forehand. He had a 2800 blocking game, especially on the backhand, and this raised his level so high that his forehand actually became his weakness. And so, relative to his game - which was 2700+ for years, because of his 2800 blocking - his forehand was relatively "weak." And yet few players came out on top by letting David hit forehands!

I'll use myself as an example. For my level, my forehand loop was below average. Did that make it a weakness? No, because during my peak years I relied on serve, receive, and footwork to constantly get it into play at the start of rallies. It might not have been an overpowering loop like some players, who'd dominate every point if they got a chance to loop, but because I was better at getting it into play, it wore down opponents, not to mention taking their own loops out of play.

Some "weaknesses" aren't really weaknesses, even if they could be improved. I use to coach Tong Tong Gong in tournaments, and he made the USA National Cadet Team twice with me coaching him in the Team Trials. The rap on him was always how weak and simple his serves were. And they were correct in that Tong Tong's serves were too simple, and needed more variation. He mostly served short backspin and short no-spin, almost always to the middle, with an occasional sudden deep serve. But what many missed was that this "weakness" was also a strength - by keeping his serves simple, Tong Tong likely had more control over his serves than just about anybody, and so could keep his serves so low that they practically skimmed the net, and then bounced low on the table. He followed all the rules on serving low. Players struggled to do anything with them, since their extreme lowness made them hard to flip, and so most players just pushed - and so Tong Tong would get the first attack, often with his nice backhand loop.

But there's another reason to get your weaknesses into play, whether they are a "strength" or not - the more you use them, the better they get. I started out with a rather poor forehand loop, but by constant use in game after game (especially at the start of rallies) it became better and better until it was no longer really a weakness. If you have a weak backhand, a weak forehand, a weak block, or weak anything, the best cure (along with drill practice) is to make it central to your game, and then you'll use it over and over, it'll get better and better, and soon it will become a strength.

Some players play best when their back is to the wall - when they are down 8-10, they come alive and play like champions. Others are best when they are ahead and have more confidence in going for their shots or playing their game - and play best when they are up 10-8. Or perhaps it's earlier in the game when a player might play his best when he's up or down, such as at 3-7 or 7-3.

If you are one of these players, then you should take advantage of it. Suppose you play best from behind. Then when the score is 0-0, imagine that the score is 8-10 - and do this every point! It's especially effective near the end when nerves become a bigger factor - so if you are an 8-10 player and find yourself leading 10-8, image it's 8-10, and vice versa.

This isn't a perfect system. Often a player comes alive near the end of a game because he's gotten used to the opponent, so you might have to work your way into the match, and use this mental technique only after you have done so. But once you are into the match, start imagining the score where you play your best, and you'll likely play your best. If you do this enough, soon you won't have to do this - from habit, you'll mentally begin to play your best at any score.

The great writer Ray Bradbury wrote, in his book Zen in the Art of Writing, "Remember that pianist who said that if he did not practice every day he would know, if he did not practice for two days, the critics would know, after three days, his audiences would know."

This quote applies to most pursuits where you might want to reach a high level, including table tennis. However, it only applies if you understand what Bradbury was actually saying. To some, he was merely making a factual observation. However, if that's your interpretation, I believe you are missing the point.

To one who wishes to reach a high level in something - anything - it is the thinking involved that Bradbury was referring to. While it might be true that after two days of not practicing, the critics would know, and after three days, the audiences would know, what's key is that first day - that if he did not practice for one day, he would know.

Why is this important? Because a champion has high standards or he would not be a champion, and so must set those standards himself, and not rely on what the critics or audiences think. He knows that to reach and maintain those standards, he must practice every day, excluding rest days (generally once a week). And after those rest days, when he knows he's missed a day, if he's a champion (or wants to be a champion), he'll be raring to go, to make up for that missed practice day.

Not everyone has time to practice every day, and you don't have to strive to be a champion in every endeavor. But you too should set a standard for how often you need to practice to reach your particular goals, and when you miss a session, you will know, and will strive to make sure it doesn't happen again. Hopefully, you won't miss so many that the critics and audience will know!!!