October 19, 2026

Tip of the Week
The Mental State of a Looper Against a Push.

A Few Miscellaneous Observations...

  • Everyone should have at least one “off” or “weird” shot. It both throws your opponent off and makes the game more fun. So, why not learn one of these shots: backhand chop or sidespin blocks; sidespin push; chopping or lobbing; the “snake” shot (let ball drop below table level, then sidespin it back, usually high, but opponent doesn’t know which direction sidespin it has – see Adam Bobrow videos on this on YouTube); a weird serve; banana or strawberry flips (Google it), or something else. Coach Lidney Castro, a two-winged looper with a big backhand, has one – he’ll often look like he’s going to chop on the backhand, and then, as he swings toward the ball, he switches to a backhand loop. Every time I see this I can’t help but move into forehand position, expecting a chop, and I always get caught.
  • I’ve worked recently on making my backspin serve extremely heavy. There’s just one problem – the heavier I serve it, the more obvious it is to the receiver what spin is on the ball. Advanced opponents find this super-heavy backspin serve easier to flip or push than my less-spinny but more deceptive ones. However, I think I can mix in no-spin serves that also look super-heavy, and that might make both effective. So, that’s next on my service practice schedule. (The no-spin comes from both patting the ball instead of brushing it, and by contacting the ball near the throat of the racket, which doesn’t rotate much even as the tip does.)
  • I’ve been experimenting with learning the “World’s Fastest Serve,” but it’s harder than it looks. I can do it pretty well if I illegally serve out of my hand, but tossing the ball six inches makes it harder to control.
  • In the last two months I’ve had three colds, and late last week, the flu. What is going on? I’ll try to remember to wash my hands more often, with lots of soap.
  • While carrying laundry downstairs to the laundry room last week, I pulled a muscle in my left back. Between that and the flu, I had to cancel my training session on Friday. I’m used to injuries on my right side, so this is new! Hopefully, the muscle pull isn’t serious, and I can resume training this week for the US Open in December.
  • Non-TT - I just started putting together “Absolutely Amazingly Even Yet Still More Pings and Pongs.” This will be the seventh collection in the “Pings and Pongs” series, which is my published science fiction & fantasy stories. (I’ve sold 265). It’ll come out Jan. 1, 2027. (Here are all my books.)
  • Non-TT - My science fiction story “The Oysters of Pinctada” (4,400 words) comes out tomorrow in Flame Tree’s “War in the Stars” anthology. I get paid a lot for these stories! Here’s where you can buy it at Amazon – you can preorder it today.

Major League Table Tennis

Butterfly Training Videos

How to Fix Your Recovery After Your Serve
Here’s the article from Tom Lodziak.

If I Started Table Tennis Again, I'd Do These 5 Things First
Here’s the video (5:34) from Andreas Levenko.

New from Acceleraq

New From the Table Tennis Teaching Channel

New from GlobalTTStudio

She’s a Smash
Here’s the article from Real People featuring senior player Carol Klenfner, 81.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

USATT News

ITTF News

Ping Pong Maestros
They have lots of spectacular, shot-making videos!

Weird Table Tennis Video
Here’s the animated video (47 sec) where a muscular player is easy beaten by a wimpy, nerdy guy, but then the muscular guy trains hard, and gets a rematch. Or something like that!

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