Next Blog – Monday, August 4
I’m going out of town. But the Tip of the Week will still go up each Monday.

Tip of the Week
Ten Tips for Faster Footwork.

The Perfect Storm of Messes
And when I say storm, I mean a storm of headaches. (Well, the first two, plus a bunch of time-consuming stuff.) I almost didn’t do a blog this morning – too many irritating, time-consuming things going on. Here’s a rundown.

=> Battle for the Bag. I wrote about this last Monday. I still don’t have the big bag I checked in, and at this point there’s a good chance I never will. Briefly, here’s what happened. Last Saturday I was supposed to fly home from the US Nationals, with an 11AM flight on American Airlines (AA). After boarding the plane, they couldn’t get one of the engines to work, and so they cancelled the flight, and we had to get off. I spent nine hours at the airport, finally getting on a 7PM flight. Instead of arriving home at Saturday at 9PM, I arrived at 7AM on Sunday. But they’d lost my bag. They said they would be on the next flight and that they’d deliver them to me. They weren’t on the next flight, but they finally arrived at 6PM. At around 7PM a delivery truck went out, with the promise I’d have my bag by 10:30 PM. It didn’t arrive, nor did anyone contact me.

On Monday I called AA, and they said the bags were supposed to be delivered by a company called Roadie, and gave me their number. After nearly 90 minutes on hold, I finally got through – and they told me the delivery truck, with my bags and lots of others, had been stolen while making deliveries! Since that time, I’ve called Roadie twice, both times waiting 90+ minutes but they never answered. I’ve spoken to AA multiple times, all they can do is verify that it’s been reported to the police. There’s no communication – I can’t find anything without calling and going through the usual long wait times. At some point I’ll have to fill out a complicated form where I list everything that was lost, and try to produce receipts. The good news is that I had my table tennis rackets and other important stuff in my carry-on bag. But I lost most of my USA Team shirts that had my name on them (six of them), a pair of USA warmups, and something like $1000 in all in miscellaneous items, even three statuettes I’d bought as souvenirs. So, to reiterate, AA cancelled my flight, stranding me at airport for nine hours; they lost my bag; they found my bag but lost it when the delivery vehicle was stolen. So, how was your day?

If you want to follow the action, it's Alexandria, VA Police Report #25-055671, from July 6, currently listed at "Pending."

=>”Ping-Pong Paddles Don’t Talk!” and a Jaw-droppingly Insane Threat. I’ve posted previously about my upcoming picture book, “Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk!”, which is a humorous Seussian-like rhyming book for children. It introduces kids, roughly 7-10, to table tennis. It features a nervous boy and his talking paddle in their first tournament, where he meets and plays a girl who is really good, and they have an adventurous match. Along the way, kids learn about the sport, with themes on facing your fears, working toward a goal, honesty, and friendship. It’s about 3,000 words, 77 four-line stanzas and a few other miscellaneous lines.

The good news is I’ve hired an illustrator, and the book should be out by the end of March next year. I’m really excited about this project! I’m so tired of coaching kids but not having any age-appropriate table tennis books for them. But now the weird and crazy news.

There’s a local table tennis player who is also an artist. I’d mentioned to him that I needed to hire an illustrator. He said he knew someone, and messaged me the contact info, and said that he’d already let the illustrator know I’d be contacting her. But by the time he messaged me, I’d already tentatively hired someone. But since he said the illustrator was expecting my email, I emailed her, letting her know that I’d tentatively hired someone, but if that didn’t work out, would she be available? She politely emailed back that she was booked for the next 1.5 years, and so couldn’t do it. So, I messaged the local table tennis player who’d introduced us, and here is the exact message, including even the typo. (“Appreciated” is missing the “d” – I was typing quickly.) Note the exact wording. Anything offensive?

"Appreciate! I emailed her, and unfortunately she said she is booked for the next 1.5 years. However, I think I may have someone."

Then, yesterday, I received an email from the illustrator, where she wrote the following:

“I don’t appreciate you editing my email and showing it [to NAME REDACTED] in order to place me in a bad light. I am blocking you from contacting me again and I will be warning everyone I know in this industry of your unethical business practices.”

This was completely out of the blue, and I have no idea what she’s talking about. (I have a suspicion she has me mixed up with someone else.) I both emailed and messaged her a screen shot of my one and only message about her (see above), and guaranteed her that I had never written or said anything to put her in a bad light, and definitely hadn’t “edited” her email. But she’s blocked me, and who knows what will happen next. If she does make any false accusations against me to anyone in the industry, I will sue her, and it should an easy case to win. I ended up spending way, Way, WAY too much irritating time on this yesterday.

=>Classic Table Tennis in Brazil and South American Tour. The $50,000 Classic Table Tennis World Cup is in Três Coroas, Brazil, Jan. 18-25, 2026. This is for hardbat, sandpaper, and wood. I’m in the midst of planning for this, and there’s a lot to arrange – schedule, flights, hotels, sightseeing, etc. I plan to fly down Jan. 16, compete in the Over 60 category for all three events, and then spend Jan. 26-Feb. 13 touring Brazil (mostly Rio de Janeiro), Argentina (mostly Buenos Aires), and Peru (Lima, Cusco, and Machu Picchu). I’m trying to arrange it all this week before I go out of town on Friday.

=>Injury Rehabs. Due to my right side and shoulder injuries at the Nationals, I’m also busy rehabbing them both. Right knee is also giving me trouble. I had to drop out of the US Nationals last week (singles events, though I struggled through the doubles so as not to let my partners down), the Maryland Senior Olympics (held this past Saturday), and the National Senior Games in Iowa (July 31-Aug. 5). I hope to make a triumphal return at the Huntsman World Senior Games in Saint George, Utah, Oct. 6-9, and the US Open in Las Vegas, Dec. 16-21. (Also the Classic Table Tennis World Cup in Brazil in January (see above), and the World Masters Table Tennis Championships, June 5-14, 2026, in Gangneung, South Korea. (There doesn’t seem to be a webpage yet for this, but there’s some info here. It used to be called the World Veterans, but they are renaming it next year.)

=>The Never-Ending Odyssey. This Friday I will fly to Manchester, NH for this annual 9-day science fiction writing workshop. I went to the six-week Odyssey science fiction writing workshop in 2007, and this is the annual gathering of graduates, where we run our own workshop with master classes, critiques, readings, and so on. This will be my 16th time there, including 13 years in a row. I’m busy finalizing all the critiques of stories from others. (Four of my stories will be critiqued there.)

=>Jamestown/Yorktown/Williamsburg/Monticello. Alas, no. I was planning to drive down Tuesday (three-hour drive) and spend a couple days sightseeing. However, with all of the above, I’m going to postpone this until sometime in August. 

=>My Own Writing. With all of the above, I’m not getting much of my own writing done, both table tennis and science fiction! It’s not just writing – it’s also rewriting/editing/proofing/submitting, and these take time that I currently have a shortage of. I was hoping to start a young adult table tennis novel by now, but with all these things going on, that’s on hold. (The hero, a teenaged member of the USA National Team, who trains and competes at table tennis by day, is a secret vigilante at night – he’s Pongman, who uses a special paddle and balls to smack criminals with great accuracy, even from a distance. When China is to play North Korea in the semifinals of the World Table Tennis Championships, with USA to play the winner in the final, the KingPing of North Korea kidnaps the Chinese team, hoping for a default, and it’s up to our hero to save them in time . . . even though Team USA would much rather play the weaker North Korean team in that final!)

US Smash
The ITTF event, held July 3-13 in Las Vegas, ended yesterday. Here’s the home page, with links for results and other info. (I was asked if I could attend and do news coverage, but I was just too busy. Maybe another time.) Here are news articles:

=>Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

• Semifinals
• Harimoto and Chuqin to Clash in Finals
• Wang Chuqin and Zhu Yuling
• Tight Scores and a Big Upset in Early Action
• Tight Scores and a Big Upset in Early Action
• Qualifiers are Finished and the Main Draw Begins Today

=>USATT News by Joshua Dyke

• U.S. Eliminated from Contention at U.S. Smash 2025, Emerging American Talents Signal Bright Future
• Naresh Brothers are the Last Americans Standing at U.S. Smash 2025 in Las Vegas
• Four Americans Advance Through Main Draws on Day One at U.S. Smash 2025

=>ITTF News

• US Smash Marks Bold Step in ITTF’s Mission to Ignite the American Market on the Road to LA28
• From Houston to Vegas: How ITTF World Championships 2021 Sparked America's Table Tennis Revolution

Jha’s Strong Points with Jorg Bitzigeio

• #1 Putting time pressure on the opponent with quick attacks (This was linked in last week’s blog.)
• #2 A Skill That Is Likely To Score – Backhand Down The Line
• #3 High toss serve that disrupts the opponent’s rhythm and leads to a quick attack

Butterfly Training Tips

• Serve Into the Body (53 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman
• Third Ball Attack (80 sec) with Rogelio Castro
• Forehand Smash with Short Pips (56 sec) with Nishant Lebaka

Table Tennis Tips Every Veteran Needs to Hear!
Here’s the video (3:15) from Pingispågarna. “In this video, we present three powerful tips tailored specifically for players aged 60 and above who want to keep improving, stay competitive, and enjoy the game to the fullest. Whether you’re aiming to sharpen your technique, adapt to physical changes, or simply get more out of your training – these insights will help you take your play to the next level.”

Looping and Driving
Here’s the video (3:18) with Cheyanne Chen from PongSpace.

Lilian Bardet STUNS Liang Jingkun – Match Analysis / Watch Along
Here’s the video (15:51) from Andreas Levenko.

Dimitrij Ovtcharov Opens Up About Ma Long!
Here’s the video (12:26) from Table Tennis Daily.

New from PingSkills
Ask the Coach

Waldner '97, Best Table Tennis Player Ever
Here’s the video (4:13) from Taco Backhand.

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action!

• MLTT Featured Team: Bay Area Blasters by Steve Hopkins
• MLTT Featured Team: Chicago Wind by Steve Hopkins
• MLTT Stars Shine Bright at the 2025 U.S. Nationals
• Major Pong Head (blog coverage)
• Home Page

ITTF News

• Three Years to Go: LA28 Set to Make History with Record Olympic Table Tennis Programme
• Happy 90th Birthday Jane Pinto: Nine Decades Devoted to Table Tennis

Table Tennis Cartoons from Cartoon Stock
Here’s the page! (I’ve linked to most of these in the past.)

Eight Is Enough
Here’s the video (16 sec) of eight players playing on one table!

The Most Unexpected Return
Here’s the video (22 sec)!

He Traveled 8,740 MILES for REVENGE!
Here’s the video (17:58) from Adam Bobrow! “Southern California was sunny, but the real heat came from the Orange County Table Tennis Academy. Watch how it unfolds!”

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Send us your own coaching news!

Tip of the Week
Playing Kids.

US Nationals
I just finished playing in my 40th consecutive US National Table Tennis Championships, in Ontario, California, near LA, in my 50th year of competing in USATT tournaments. Here are complete results. Browse over them – you’ll find a lot of players winning multiple events! Kanak won his sixth Men’s title (tying David Zhuang for most at the US Nationals since they became a separate event from the US Open in 1976), and Sally Moyland won her first women’s title at age 18. Here are news articles:

USATT Coverage of Nationals by Joshua Dyke

• Wang and Yu Crowned Women’s Doubles Champions at 2025 U.S. Nationals
• Kumar and Naresh Clinch U.S. National Men’s Doubles Table Tennis Title
• U.S. National Men’s and Women’s Doubles Championship Finals Set for Tonight
• Men's and Women's Doubles Semifinals Set at 2025 U.S. Nationals
• Kanak Jha Wins Sixth U.S. Men’s Singles Championship, Ties National Record
• Sally Moyland Claims First Women’s Singles Title at 2025 U.S. National Table Tennis Championships
• Kanak Jha and Nandan Naresh to Face Off in Men's Singles Final
• Amy Wang and Sally Moyland Advance to the Women's Finals
• Top Contenders Advance to Singles Semifinals at 2025 U.S. Nationals in Ontario
• Kumar and Moyland Capture Mixed Doubles Title at 2025 U.S. Nationals
• 2025 U.S. National Table Tennis Championships Kick Off in California

Steve Hopkins/Butterfly Coverage of Nationals

• Kanak Jha and Sally Moyland are National Singles Champions
• US Nationals Recap
• Early Action Underway at the US Nationals

Normally I coach as well as play at these tournaments, but this time I was mostly just playing. Alas, due to injuries, it wasn’t a particularly successful one. I was entered in nine events, mostly senior (with sponge) and hardbat events, singles and doubles. I was seeded in the top two in four events, top four in eight, top six in all nine, and defending champion (from the US Open) in two. I’d spent much of the last few months recovering from injuries to my right side and shoulder, as well as ongoing knee issues, but hoped I was mostly over them, and between injuries had put in a LOT of practice time. I’d even brought a bag of balls and spent a bunch of time at the tournament site practicing my serves.

Alas, in my first hardbat match, I reinjured my side. As I stepped around to hit a forehand, the ball hit the edge. As I leaned back and sideways to react to it, I re-injured my right side, and could no longer rotate my upper body. I almost defaulted there, but continued. Along the way, while trying to cover for the side injury, I managed to re-injure my shoulder and wrench my knee. After losing the first game, I won the match in three, mostly by playing backhands (instead of my usual all-out forehand attack) . . . but afterwards, realizing the extent of the injuries, I defaulted out of all my singles events. I stayed in my four doubles events rather than let my partners down, but struggled in them, mostly playing backhands or awkward forehands. In Over 65 Men’s Doubles (with Ming Liu) and in Hardbat Doubles (with James Therriault), where my teams were seeded second, we managed to make it to the semifinals before losing, while making it to the quarterfinals of the other two before losing to lower-seeded teams. So, I returned to Maryland with two bronzes and two serious injuries. I’ll be rehabbing (again) for the next few months while focusing more on writing.

Airport Tribulations
Things didn’t get much better at the airport. On Saturday I had an 11AM flight to Dallas, with a connection getting me home at 9PM Saturday night. The flight had engine trouble, and after we boarded, it was cancelled and we had to get off. They rescheduled me on a 7PM flight to Phoenix, with a three-hour layover, then to DC, arriving at 7AM tomorrow morning. So, I found a table at Einstein Bagels at the Ontario, CA airport, and spent the day working on a science fiction story (involving aliens whose central philosophy is a type of humor that is beyond human comprehension) and a fantasy story (involving using the mouth on the so-called magic mirror on the wall as a garbage disposal unit, which it doesn’t appreciate) while eating bagels and sipping Dr Pepper. I ended up spending nine hours at the airport.

I finally arrived at the National Airport in Washington DC at 7AM Sunday morning – but my large check-in bag didn’t make it. They said they expected it on the next flight, four hours later, though they weren’t sure. So, I went to long-term parking, found my car, and drove home. That afternoon they finally located the bag, and a delivery service called Roadies picked it up at 7PM and was supposed to deliver it to me by 10:30 PM Sunday night. There was even an online page where I could follow its progress. Alas, I gave up on them around 1AM and went to bed. At 9:20 AM this morning I called Roadies, and was put on hold. I didn’t get through until 10:45AM (an hour and 25 min on hold listening to irritating music). So, what happened to my bags?

They said that while delivering a package, the delivery truck had been STOLEN!!!

They said the truck has a tracking device [EDIT: They didn't] and the police are searching for it. So, all I can do now is wait and see if I’ve lost all that stuff. Then Roadies sent me an online form to fill out – but the link sent me to a page that linked to the original page – so all I can do is page back and forth between the two pages, with neither having the form - so I can’t find the form, and do not want to spend another hour and 25 minutes on hold trying to get through to them!!! (I just texted them.)

Peak Performance, Tactics, and AI
I’ve worked out an agreement with Kevin Finn at Peak Performance – and now, on their PUSH+ page, they have a Tactical AI portal! (Page down to find it.) I’ve tried it out, and it’s rather weird asking tactical questions and getting answers from my own writings! Here’s the description:

AI Assistant [Beta]
NEW! Get instant, 24/7 answers to your training and tactics questions. Our exclusive AI is powered by the knowledge base from Peak Performance Table Tennis and the legendary Larry Hodges. It’s like having a coaching oracle in your pocket.

Jha’s Strong Point: #1 Putting time pressure on the opponent with quick attacks
Here’s the article and photo sequence by Jorg Bitzigeio.

Fethomania 6 with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman

• Drill 1: Wait Function – Practice Your Serve & Follow-Up (49 sec)
• Drill 2: Standing Wider Makes it Easier (58 sec)
• Drill 3: Center of Gravity in Your Stomach (57 sec)
• Drill 4: Open Up Your Body (58 sec)
• Drill 5: Shorten Your Swing (58 sec)

Butterfly Training Tips

• Forehand Counterloop (77 sec) with Darryl Tsao
• Attacking Backhand Flick (66 sec) with Bob Chen
• Derek May Bowmar Sports Interview (1:32) by Coach Taiwo Adeyinka

New from PongSpace

• Attack After You Serve (3:58)
• How to do a Forehand Loop Drive (3:28)

We Trained with One of Poland’s Top Table Tennis Clubs (Lupus Kabaty)
Here’s the video (24:40) from Pingispågarna.

Werner Schlager: A Tactical Masterclass
Here’s the video (6:16) from Beyond the Podium.

Performance Assessment in Elite Table Tennis Matches Using the Enhanced First Offensive Shot Model
Here’s the technical article from Springer Nature. “Technique and tactics are key elements in assessing table tennis performance and have been widely studied. However, most existing methods classify shots solely by sequence or shot number, overlooking the tactical attributes and their impact on rally outcomes. The First Offensive Shot (FOS) model attempted to address this issue but remained too coarse-grained. To overcome these limitations, this study introduces the Enhanced FOS model (EFOS), which integrates shot type and shot number into a more refined state-transition framework. This novel approach provides a more detailed representation of rally dynamics, enabling a deeper analysis of rally progression.”

New from Table Tennis Daily

• She’s One of The World’s Best Players... I Challenged Her! (5:01)
• Cybershape vs Traditional Shaped Table Tennis Bat! (8:09)
• We Challenged Portuguese Champ Joao Geraldo! (9:05)

Thanks Timo
Here’s the career documentary video (18:48) from Taco Backhand.

New from Steve Hopkins

• United States Smash: Qualifiers are Finished and the Main Draw Begins Today
• United States Smash: Tight Scores and a Big Upset in Early Action

New from ITTF

• US Smash Marks Bold Step in ITTF’s Mission to Ignite the American Market on the Road to LA28
• One Year On: Rome 2024 World Masters Championships - A Historic Celebration of Table Tennis for All
• ITTF Launches Fourth Edition of Young Umpires’ Project Towards Dakar 2026
• Europe Kicks Off Continental Hopes as Road to Sheffield 2025 World Hopes Week & Challenge Intensifies
• ITTF Statement on Federation’s Continued Activities and AGM Resolution Efforts
• Road to London 2026: Chile Dominate South American Championships as Four Teams Progress to Continental Championships
• ITTF Concludes Site Visit Setting London 2026 on Course for Centenary Milestone

Wall Ball With Waldner
Here’s the video (14 sec)!

Leopard Girl Pong
Here’s the video (40 sec) – though I have no idea why the father is a Doberman!

3 Stooges: Table Tennis Tussle
Here’s the video (3:14) from Kartoonzee!

Duck Pong?
Here’s the video (14 sec)!

The Impossible Table
Here’s the video (11:32) from Pongfinity! “Every time you win a point you drill a hole on the table.”

***
Send us your own coaching news!

NEXT BLOG JULY 7
I’ll be out of town next week at the US Nationals, so next blog will be Monday, July 7. However, not only will there be a Tip of the Week next Monday, I’ve already put it up, along with today’s! And they are:

Tips of the Week
Since I’ll be out of town next week at the US Nationals, I’ve gone ahead and put up both this week’s and next week’s Tip of the Week. Enjoy!

• June 23, 2025 - How to Anticipate Opponent's Placement
• June 30, 2025 - Smarter Now Doesn't Mean You Were Dumb Before

Off to the Nationals – Soon!
I spent most of the last ten days resting my right shoulder, right side, and right knee. Hopefully, they’ll all be A-OK for the Nationals! Either way, I’m playing – if they get re-injured, I’ll have to play through it. I do have a few practice sessions this week. Then I fly to Ontario, CA (an hour from LA) next Saturday.

I’m in nine events (yikes!). They are Over 65 Men’s Singles and Doubles; Over 60 Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles; Hardbat Singles and Doubles; Over 40 and Over 60 Hardbat Singles (I’m the defending champion from the US Open); and on the spur of the moment, I entered Sandpaper Singles, since it’s the only event I’ll be playing on Monday, June 30. I’m seeded to win medals (top four) in seven of these events. (I normally play with inverted sponge, but as readers here know, I also play a lot of hardbat events.)

I was also entered in Over 65 Mixed Doubles, where we would have been seeded third. I emailed a player who was entered in other events, asking if she wanted to play. She emailed back, “OK.” So, I entered it and stopped looking for other partners. But as the deadline approached, she hadn’t entered this event. I emailed her, and she said someone was helping her enter. Then, a couple days before the deadline, I saw that she had withdrawn from the tournament without telling me. At that point, all the potential partners where we might have been competitive were taken. Oh well!

There’s also a problem with my hardbat rating. My last hardbat tournament was the US Open in December. Last night I discovered that there were numerous errors in my rating. I had nice wins in the semifinals and finals of Over 40 and Over 60 – but none of those four matches were processed! In Hardbat Singles, I lost to a 2337 player – but he was mistakenly given a rating of 1817, so I lost a LOT of rating points. And so my hardbat rating is only 2065, but should be around 2250. (In the current listing, it’s 2308, but I think that’s an old rating – they haven’t updated it yet in Omnipong.) I emailed yesterday to get those five mistakes corrected. (Classic ratings, which include hardbat, sandpaper, and wood, are similar to USATT ratings, but are done separately.)

How to Solve the SafeSport Problem for Coaches, Umpires, and Others
Getting so many people SafeSport certified each year is a big hassle. It seems USATT could really help with this problem. Why not, on the night before the US Open and US Nationals, invite coaches, officials, and others to come together in one big room, and everyone does the course together? USATT could have a person on hand to assist with technical issues, and in one shot, everyone’s SafeSport certified! There’s the downside if someone doesn’t pass and so can’t take part in the tournament until he does – but that’s rare, and they can just take it again immediately after not passing.

Full-Time Table Tennis Clubs in the US
I keep a running list, but it’s probably getting dated. If you have any updates – full-time clubs that have opened or closed - email me with their webpage. Current listing has 117 full-time clubs in 26 states and DC. See the rough definition on the page.

Non-Table Tennis – Voteometer
Any entrepreneurial techies out there with good math skills? I created an app, Voteometer, that helps voters decide between candidates in a primary election, where they are trying to decide between voting for who they think would be the best president, and who would be the most electable. (If you vote for who want to be president, even if he’s not that electable, you are likely to help elect the opposing party’s candidate.) The app asks users to rate the candidates, and to judge the probability they’d win against each of the opposing party’s candidates – and once these subjective judgements are inputted, it works out the probability of each scenario and gives an absolutely objective recommendation on who to vote for to get the maximum possible result on average. However, it needs a number of enhancements, and I’ve taken it as far as I can. If you are interested in taking this over – and having complete control in developing and marketing it - email me and I’ll send you the four-page document about it, along with a link and password to the current version. (I don’t need any recompense for this other than being listed as the originator and/or co-creator. I have a math degree from circa the Jurassic period.)

Dora Kurimay Free Live Seminar: Unlock Your Champion
Mental Toughness & Growth Mindset Strategies for Life, Sport, and Success
Dora will be running this free one-hour seminar on Zoom from 4-5PM on Wed, June 25. (I will be attending.) Bonus - All participants will receive a free mental performance worksheet and exclusive mindset insights from Dora’s published books. She’s a former member of the Hungarian National Team, now coaching in New York. She’s a sports psychologist with two Master’s degrees, one in psychology, the other in sports psychology. She also has a few books on table tennis sports psychology.

MDTTC Open
It was held this past weekend. Here are the results!

WTT Youth Contender in New York
Here’s the info page for the event held Jun 24-27 at the Westchester TTC.

Butterfly Training Tips and Highlights

• Forehand Flick (2:11) with Chirag Pradhan
• Forehand Reverse Pendulum (85 sec) with Nishant Lebaka
• Random Backhands, Forehand Looping (88 sec) with Jacob Kordus
• Get Closer to the Ball (60 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman
• Mostly Wrist When the Ball is Short (60 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman
• The More You Stay on the Backhand….. (55 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman
• US Ranking Tournament Highlights (72 sec) with Tanish Mamidyala

New from Pingispågarna

• Post-Final Interview: Jonathan Groth on Winning the Polish Title (2:42)
• “Beyond the Table: Jakub Dyjas Talks Mindset, Motivation & Mistakes” (3:51)
• Inside the Mind of a Table Tennis Champion Coach Michal Dziubanski Polish Super League Final 2025 (4:04)
• Master the Chop: How to Play Defensively AND Beat Defenders (7:19)

Short or Half-Long Service Receive
Here’s the video (5:27) from Andrea Levenko.

Long Side-Topspin Pendulum Serve
Here’s the video (3:10) from PongSpace. For other videos showing other types of forehand pendulum serves (linked to last week) see their video page.

Master Your Table Tennis Development: The Strategic Power of Goal Setting
Here’s the article by Dr. Alan Chu from Paddle Palace.

New from Performance Biomechanics Academy Table Tennis

• Table tennis familiarization. A foundation for getting kids hooked. (1:08)
• Table tennis match analysis uses video analysis software (1:31)

Waldner Gave Timo Boll Nightmares!
Here’s the video (40 sec) from MH Table Tennis, where Timo talks about the “legendary” walk-off block Waldner did against him.

The Man Who Never Gave Up
Here’s the video (6:31) featuring Michael Maze from TacoBackhand.

Wang Hao: The Greatest Player Who Never Won Olympic Gold
Here’s the video (6:11) from Beyond the Podium.

New from PingSkills
Ask the Coach

Retro TT Channel
Here’s where you can find videos of old-time players – blasts from the past!

New from ITTF

• Thank You President Bach, Welcome President Coventry: Table Tennis Celebrates Historic IOC Leadership Handover
• Olympic Day 2025: "Let's Move" Together for Health and Community
• Table Tennis Stars Represent Athletes at International Forum in Lausanne
• Road to 2029: Rio de Janeiro Set to Host ITTF World Championships Finals 2029 in South American First
• 2025 ITTF Mentorship Initiative: Fostering Excellence Through Expert Guidance

Ping Pong Shirts
Red Bubble has an incredible variety of ping-pong shirts. The link takes you to page 1 of 25 pages!

200 Ping Pong Jokes
Here’s the page from Punsify – but most are rather dumb. I think AI came up with these.

I Would've Been Friends with Stalin If He Had a Ping Pong Table
Here’s the segment from Seinfeld (22 sec)!

“I’m the only one who can help Godzilla with his form!”
Here’s the cartoon and every table tennis coach’s dream scenario.

NO MERCY: Adam vs. Kao Cheng-jui
Here’s the video (10:38) from Adam Bobrow! Kao is the 2025 Men’s Doubles Silver Medalist, former World #1 Under 19, and current World #24 from Taiwan. The two played previously – but this time, as Kao says, “No mercy!”

***
Send us your own coaching news!

Tip of the Week
How to Serve to Passive and Aggressive Receivers.

Training and Weekend Coaching
I had a whirlwind training period this past week, getting ready for the upcoming US Nationals. (I leave for them on June 28 where I’m seeded in a number of senior and hardbat events.) Due to shoulder injuries that made forehand looping difficult, I finally made the big decision to go from my regular inverted both sides (Tenergy) to short pips. Not just on the forehand, but on the backhand as well, so that my sponge game would be similar to my hardbat game. However, while this would likely be effective since I probably hit better than I loop, the experiment only last a few days. Why? Because, after two practice sessions with them, I played my first practice matches with it. Halfway through my second match I re-injured my right side, making it difficult to rotate back and forth quickly. Two results: First, I have to take another week off to let it heal, and second, since I won’t get much match practice with pips, I’ll stick with inverted both sides for the upcoming US Nationals. Meanwhile, I’m back to physical therapy for both my right shoulder and side. I’ll just have to play through these injuries at the Nationals – they won’t completely heal before that.

On Saturday we had our final regular training session of the season – but our Summer camps begin today. During that final session I mostly fed multiball, but also hit with some players, which was tricky as I’m trying not to get any more injured before the Nationals. (Even if I eventually go to short pips, I’d still normally use inverted when coaching and acting as a practice partner.) One interesting thing that keeps coming up is when to teach backspin serves, pushing, and looping. They go together!!! I know some coaches who teach backspin serves and pushing early on to junior players, but don’t want to teach looping until later. The problem is that if the junior is serving backspin or pushing, that means he’ll face pushes – and while he’ll often push, he’ll also do what he sees others do, which is to attack the push. If they aren’t taught to loop at this time, then they’ll just do it on their own, and by the time they are taught how to loop by the coach, they’ve already learned it wrong. It’s a LOT easier to teach it correctly from the start than trying to fix a bad habit. So, yeah, learning to serve backspin, pushing, and looping all go together. You can teach a soft loop at the start, just to get them started. Many coaches think it’s best to put off all three for a time, and have them just serve topspin and bang it out with regular forehands and backhands – and when they are good at that, then teach backspin and looping.

Paid Illustrator Wanted for "Ping-Pong Paddles Can't Talk!"
This is the title of the new children’s book I’ve written. It’s 314 lines of humorous Seussian rhymes in anapestic tetrameter. The book features a nervous boy and his talking paddle in their first tournament, where he meets and plays a girl who is really good, and they have an adventurous match, with a surprising aftermath. Along the way, kids learn about the sport, with themes on facing your fears, working toward a goal, honesty, and friendship. It’s aimed at children, roughly 7-10. It’ll likely be about 28-32 pages, plus the covers.

The problem is I need an illustrator. The high-level ones charge a fortune, plus I’d have to spend time making sure they get the table tennis parts right. Are there any illustrators out there? I’ll pay directly, plus, of course, you get to do a fun table tennis project and add it to your portfolio!!! If you are interested or you know someone who might be, email me.

New Junior Program For Autistic Kids
One of our top junior stars, Stanley Hsu (16, long-time member of various US junior teams), is setting up and running a junior class this Summer for autistic kids. Though I’ll be traveling a lot this Summer, I may help out when I’m in town. I’ve taught about a zillion such classes.

I spent an hour with him yesterday going over how to teach a junior class, while we discussed the differences since the kids are autistic. We went over the basics of how to teach the various techniques, i.e., the tricks of the trade. It wasn’t all strictly table tennis - perhaps the most interesting tip I gave involved pets and clothes dryers (!). When I first started teaching group sessions, I took a class in public speaking since I wasn’t a good public speaker. I learned that to prepare for a lecture, you want to practice with something that simulates an audience, i.e., something that moves. And so, you practice by lecturing a pet or a spinning dryer! He has a dog, and that dog may be getting a lot attention soon. The other thing to remember when teaching a table tennis class is that in that domain, YOU ARE THE MASTER. Have confidence in your table tennis knowledge. (Some of the stuff I went over is in my Professional Table Tennis Coaches Handbook.)

Above all, I emphasized that when teaching beginning juniors, you have two primary goals – teach the fundamentals and get them excited about table tennis. Give lots of eye-dazzling demos, keep it fun while focusing on getting the techniques right, and they’ll stay for years. Stanley started out in my beginning junior class about ten years ago, and he’s still here! (If you are local and interested in helping out with this class, email me and I’ll put you in touch with Stanley.)

Dora Kurimay Free Live Seminar: Unlock Your Champion
Mental Toughness & Growth Mindset Strategies for Life, Sport, and Success
Dora will be running this free one-hour seminar on Zoom from 4-5PM on Wed, June 25. (I will be attending.) Bonus - All participants will receive a free mental performance worksheet and exclusive mindset insights from Dora’s published books. She’s a former member of the Hungarian National Team, now coaching in New York. She’s a sports psychologist with two Master’s degrees, one in psychology, the other in sports psychology. She has a few books on table tennis sports psychology. She’s been in the news a lot recently!

• Apr. 30, 2025: Inside the Mind of a Mental Performance Expert: An Inspiring Interview with Dora Kurimay (U.S. Business News)
• May 1, 2025: Inspiring Conversations with Dora Kurimay of Dora Kurimay Inc. (Voyage MIA)
• May 2, 2025: Mind Over Match: Mental Performance with Dora Kurimay (Table Tennis Canada)
• May 12, 2025: Beyond Success: How Dora Kurimay Shapes Leaders to Thrive in an Unpredictable World (Vents Magazine)

Butterfly Training Tips & Highlights

• Faster Wrist Snap (55 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman.
• How Often Should I Brush? (56 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman.
• Block & Counterlooping with Anagha Kasichainula (67 sec)
• Chirag Pradhan at the 2025 USATT Southwest Regional (2:47)
• Rachid El Bou Bou at Carolina Pong (67 sec)

New from Pingispågarna

• Master the Chop: How to Play Defensively AND Beat Defenders (7:19)
• Billy’s Superserve - the Future of Table Tennis? (5:17)

New from PongSpace

• Long Backspin Pendulum Serve (3:39)
• Short Topspin Pendulum Serve (3:20)
• Short Backspin Pendulum Serve (3:27)

5 Ways to Dominate the Backspin Serve
Here’s the article by Tom Lodziak.

The 3 DEADLIEST COMBOS in Modern Table Tennis
Here’s the video (6:48) from Andreas Levenko.

Three Steps to Practice Short Balls
Here’s the video (58 sec) from Dr. Table Tennis. Get out those towels!

New from MH Table Tennis

• Unreturnable Table Tennis Shot - Defending the Backspin Lob (27 sec)
• Timo Boll Retires | A Career Interview with a Table Tennis Legend (50:15)
• They'd Rather Ban It Than Play Against It - Basic Tips for Long Pimple Pushblockers (2:32)
• Top 10 Celebrities I Met Through Ping Pong! (1:41)
• Serve or Receive Totally Changes the Landscape of Your Table Tennis Training Drills (3:46)

The 2025 Chinese Super League Preview
Here’s the video (3:09) from Table Tennis Media.

The Rise of Hugo Calderano: From Underdog to Champion
Here’s the video (5:53) from Beyond the Podium.

Ping Pong for the Planet
Here’s the video (3:02) from Ti Long.

New from PingSkills
Ask the Coach

New from the Malong Fanmade Channel
Lots of new videos here.

New from TT11TV

• Lin Yun-Ju vs Zhao Zihao | Chinese Super League 2025 (6:28)
• Fan Zhendong vs Huang Youzheng | Chinese Super League 2025 (10:33)
• Lin Shidong vs Xu Haidong | Chinese Super League 2025 (7:13)

My First World Championship Experience In Doha
Here’s the article by Sally Moyland

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action! (Here are news items over the last month.)

• Three Rising Stars Set to Dominate the National Stage by Sean O’Neill
• MLTT Launches SPINDEX Challenge Nights for Clubs Worldwide
• MLTT Featured Team: Texas Smash by Steve Hopkins
• Major Pong Head (blog coverage)
• Home Page

New From Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

• Duda Wins in Skopje
• 5,000 Fans Watch Ochsenhausen win TTBL Final
• Mumba tops Jaipur in Indian League Final
• Szocs Leads Mumba TT to India League Final
• Guess Who’s Back ??
• Jha, Akula, Lead the Patriots into India’s League Final

New from ITTF

• Road to 2028: Fukuoka Set to Host ITTF World Championships Finals 2028 as Japan Returns to Centre Stage
• Official Video of Dakar 2026 is a Declaration of love for Sport, Youth and Africa
• Road to 2027: Kazakhstan Set to Host ITTF World Championships Finals 2027
• Suh Hyo Won Bids Farewell to Table Tennis After 23 Years
• Chile: A Blueprint for Planned Integration Leading to World-Class Events
• ITTF Celebrates Additional Medal Event for Para Table Tennis at LA28 Paralympic Games

Bob Chen – Self Ping Pong For Fun
Here’s the video (76 sec)!

Around the Table
Here’s the video (29 sec) – I count 16 counterloopers!

Who Said Table Tennis Doesn’t Make You Sweat?
Here’s the video (6 sec)!

King Pong Shirts
Here’s a selection!

Which Stupid Shot is Illegal?
Here’s the video (18 sec) from PingPongMaestros!

3 Stooges: Table Tennis Tussle
Here’s the video (3:14) from Kartoonzee!

Adam vs. Kao Cheng-jui
Here’s the video (12:14) as he takes on the 2025 Men’s Doubles Silver Medalist, former World #1 Under 19, and current World #24 from Taiwan.

Impossible Mountain Battle
Here’s the video (8:02) from Pongfinity!

***
Send us your own coaching news!

Just a short blog today, but the Tip of the Week is up: Most Competitive Matches Are Won or Lost on Two Things. Why the shortened blog?

Over the next two days I have a root canal and then a tooth capping. Then, this afternoon, I start up physical therapy again for both my shoulder and side. Why? After ten days off for the highly successful cataract surgery in my left eye, I practiced on Friday – and immediately re-injured my shoulder. Then, on Saturday, while hitting with a student in a group session, I re-injured my right side. Meanwhile, when I don’t have a dentist jabbing sharp instruments into my mouth or a physical therapist putting my shoulder and side into awkward positions, I’ve got several writing projects. (One includes a secret table tennis book project – first draft was completed last week, but it’s got a ways to go. I may blog about it sometime soon.) I’m also finalizing a new non-table tennis science fiction story, and about a dozen other things on my todo list for today.

One interesting note – the injuries mostly affect forehand looping. So, there’s a good chance I may play the Nationals with short pips on the forehand (with sponge) and just focus on forehand hitting, as I do with my hardbat game. (I leave for the Nationals on June 28.) I may actually be better that way in general, but I’ve always stuck with inverted since, as a coach, it makes me a better practice partner. Who knows, now that I’m older, maybe it’s time to consider long pips on the backhand? Hmmm...

On Sunday, the MDTTC junior program had our end-of-the-season practice tournament. Here’s the group picture. I’m on the far right. (Missing the picture was Ryan Lin, recent Under 17 Boys’ winner of the USATT Junior Trials #2 – he’s in Sweden for the WTT Youth Contender in Helsingborg.)

And here’s ten seconds of crazy table tennis trick shots! If this is real (not AI), then I wonder how many tries it took to pull these off?

Tip of the Week
Showing Frustration or Confidence.

USATT Initial Ratings Problems
For many years there’s been a serious bug in the USATT ratings software, which I’ve periodically pointed out to USATT people and here in my blog. Specifically, it often gives out nonsense ratings for initial ratings, especially if the player wins or loses all of their matches in their first tournament. This is unfair to these players, who find themselves way over-rated (and so can’t play in rating events where they might be competitive) or under-rated (making it unfair for others who have to play them, especially in rating events), and messes up seeding. This didn’t use to be a problem. (Here is the Guide to USATT Ratings, which explains how USATT ratings are processed, including initial ratings.)

There are four ways to judge an initial rating: based on wins and losses; based on games won and lost; based on scores; and based on the tournament director’s judgement. It used to be that the software took all four into account. (Tournament directors were given an optional field to estimate ratings for new players, and if they did so, it was factored into the equation. I don’t know if they still do this, but that’s not what I’m writing about here.) From what I’m told, a number of years ago a member of the Ratings Committee objected, saying that scores and game results shouldn’t be used as there’s always the chance a stronger player may let the weaker player score more points than he should, out of mercy. And so they were taken out of the algorithm – leading to the problem. Even worse, the algorithm that used game and point scores for initial rating was also apparently deleted and lost to eternity.

It is sometimes true that a strong player lets a weaker player score more than they should, but scores are a good indicator of a player’s level after a few matches. (Plus, if you require, say, at least five tournament matches to achieve a rating, then inaccurate ones are averaged out.) But using that data almost always gave a more accurate initial rating than just winning or losing. For example, if a player loses to a 1500 player at 1,1,1, it’s fairly obvious the player is probably under 1000 level, while if he loses 11-9 in the fifth, it’s fairly obvious that he’s probably close to 1500 level himself. But now the software looks at these two as the same, which is silly.

Here are three examples of nonsensical initial ratings. (I’m not giving out the names publicly, to protect the innocent players who had nothing to do with these mistaken initial ratings.)

• A woman played two matches in her first tournament, losing to a 2125 player at 3,3,1, and to a 2115 player at 6,5,6. Based on this, she’s probably under 1500, perhaps under 1000. But her initial rating after this? 2090! How can you lose to a 2125 player at 3,3,1, and have the software judge you to be almost as good, at 2090? By ignoring data! After this was pointed out to USATT Headquarters (and after playing a tournament with the 2090 rating where she lost a series of matches to players under 1000), she was manually readjusted to 900, and is currently 881, which is roughly accurate.
• An 8-year-old went 0-8 in his first tournament, losing every match 0-3. Against players ranging from 1645 to 1862 he lost at 4,5,2,1,4,1,4,5,4,3,5,3,2,10,4,3,3,2,6,3,2,8,10,7. Based on this, he’s probably about 1000 level. Instead, he was given an initial rating of 1601, which was silly. (He lost to the 1645 at 4,5,2, for example.) After this was pointed out, he was manually readjusted to 1200. But for a week or so, this beginner was #1 in Under 9 in the country!!! (He thought it was pretty funny. In tournaments afterwards he quickly dropped to under 1000.)
• A 7-year-old played exactly two matches in his first tournament. He lost to a 663 player at 1,4,7, and to a 1361 player at 1,1,2. Based on that, he probably should get an initial rating of maybe 300 or 400, at most. But the computer gave him a rating of 655, only 8 points lower than the player he’d averaged 4 points a game against. After this was pointed out to USATT Headquarters, he was manually readjusted to 400. (He went under 400 in his next tournament.)

A player should also play a minimum number of matches before achieving a USATT rating – perhaps five. Here’s an example. Another player played only two matches in his first tournament, beating players rated 648 and 541 at 8,6,9 and 3,3,4. From this, he was given a 660 rating, which was silly since he’d beaten the 648 player at 8,6,9 and the 541 player at 3,3,4. From just these two matches, you can’t really accurate rate him, but he should be at least be given a rating considerably higher than the 648 he beat 3-0, and way ahead of the 541 he beat so easily. In his second tournament, he played four matches, again winning them all 3-0, against players ranging from 1013 to 1592 – and came out 1276, which clearly wasn’t accurate. (He beat a 1329 at 4,3,3, though his match with the 1592 seemed close at 10,9,5.) If they’d waited until he’d played at least five matches (after his second tournament), the scores would more accurately show him at be perhaps at least 1800 level. In his fourth tournament he finally faced real competition, and came out at 2135, which turned out to be accurate. (All four of these tournaments came within a three-month period.)

There are many such examples – alas, I haven’t kept track of them. I remember another case of a foreign player going undefeated in his first tournament, beating 1800 players at around 3 points a game – and getting a high 1800 rating when the scores showed he was much, much stronger. (He turned out to be a 2500 player.)

Currently, the USATT solution is to ignore the problem, but if a tournament director complains, then they manually readjust, as they did with two of the above examples. My suggestions are as follows:

1. Adjust the ratings algorithm to take games and scores into account for a player’s initial rating. USATT has a Technology Committee that should be able to do this. Or bring back the Ratings Committee, which used to deal with such issues. Or just hire a programmer with a math background. (I have a math degree and a minor in computer science, and many years ago I could have done this. Alas, I’m a bit rusty now.)
2. Encourage tournament directors to give estimates of ratings for new players.
3. Require a minimum number of tournament matches to achieve a rating – perhaps five.

Cataract Surgery
I had the surgery on my left eye last Wednesday. (I had it on my right eye on Mar. 25.) All seems well so far, but as before, I have to go about ten days without any heavy exercise, no lifting of anything over ten pounds, and wearing heavy sunglasses anytime I go outside. I see the eye doctor against this Friday, and if all goes well, I’ll be able to start coaching and practicing against next Saturday. One small issue – the left eye doesn’t seem to be as sharp as the right eye. I was astonished when my right eye went from 20-150 to 20-15 – making it way above average, and allowing me to read small print from a distance. But the left eye isn’t as sharp. I’m guessing it’s 20-20, which is average. If all goes well, from June 7-27, I train for the Nationals, then I fly out on June 28. Alas, I’ll have to be careful – I’m still having shoulder and right knee issues, though the injury to my side seems to be better, and (quick roll call) most of the rest of me seems to be working. When they bother me in practice, I stop. If they bother me at the Nationals, I’ll make do, unless the arm or leg actually fall off.

RIP Yaroslav “Bob” Kaminsky
Here’s the obituary - he died on Thursday, age 89. He may have been my first informal coach when I first showed up at the New Carrollton Table Tennis Club in early 1976, though I’m not sure – Jim Mossberg and Yvonne Kronlage also gave me some informal instruction. He had a huge influence on my game as the first table tennis between top players I ever saw was Bob (then rated about 1900, shakehands with short pips on both sides) against Herb Horton (a chopper rated about 2000, with antispin on both sides), where Bob would just hit over and over and Herb would chop them all back – long rallies. From this, I realized you could hit anything, and so I became an all-out forehand hitter from that. (It was only later I learned about looping.) As I improved, I also got to play against Bob many times. Bob's wife, Barbara Kaminsky, is a member of the US Table Tennis Hall of Fame. 

Tableball, and What If We Took Sport Names LITERALLY?
Here’s the video (73 sec) – go to 47 seconds to see 6 seconds of literal TABLE tennis. One of the great tragedies of our sport is when they adopted the name “Table Tennis” in 1926, since Ping-Pong was trademarked by Parker Brothers. There’s baseball, football, basketball, racquetball, handball, volleyball, dodgeball, and others with names that show what the sport is about – so why didn’t they adopt the obvious name, Tableball!!! Table tennis makes us look subordinate to tennis. (Of course, they just play court table tennis.)

ITTF Election Shenanigans
The headlines almost tell the story. Read on.

• New York Times: A wealthy Qatari businessman’s campaign to lead the sport’s global body is being investigated
• The Inquisitor: "Due to bribery": the questionable background of ITTF presidential candidate Khalil Al-Mohannadi
• Sport & Politics: Day of shame: aggression in Doha, Qatari officials and their ITTF allies contest Petra Sörling's election and threaten delegates
• May 27 ITTF News: Petra Sörling Re-Elected President of ITTF
• May 29 ITTF News: ITTF Statement on Elections during Annual General Meeting 2025

USATT National Junior Ranking Tournament II Kicks Off in Charlotte, NC Charlotte, NC
Here’s the USATT article by Melanie Griffin. The Trials end today. Here are complete results. Click on Draws and use dropdown menu to see results for each event.

Butterfly Training Tips

• Reaction Training with Bob Chen (1:47)
• Three Point Forehand Loop Demo with Edmarie – PR National Team (58 sec)
• Forearm Parallel to the Table Surface (55 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman
• Use a Soft Touch to Play Short (43 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman
• Contact the Ball off the Bounce (57 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman
• Relax Your Shoulders (55 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman

How to Feed the Ball to Advanced-Level Students for Practice
Here’s the video (4:03) from Ti Long.

Best Training Drills to Boost Your Reflexes!
Here’s the video (11 sec) from Pingispågarna – I may have to copy this one!

Short Backspin Pendulum Serve
Here’s the video (3:26) with Cheyanne Chen from Pong Space.

New from PingSkills
Ask the Coach

The Redemption Of Hugo Calderano
Here’s the video (6:38) from Taco Backhand.

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action! (Here are news items over the last month.)

• Lily Zhang: Big Game, Bigger Legacy
• MLTT Team Feature: Carolina Gold Rush by Steve Hopkins
• Major Pong Head (blog coverage)
• Schedule
• Home Page

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

• Saarbrucken Repeats as ETTU Champions League Winner
• Fan Zhendong is Heading to Saarbrucken
• ETTU Champions League Finalists: Saarbrucken and Dusseldorf (again)

New From ITTF

• ITTF Statement on Elections during Annual General Meeting 2025
• Historic ITTF World Para Future Buenos Aires event stages 22nd edition
• Petra Sörling Re-Elected President of ITTF
• World Championships Future Hosts: Astana 2027, Fukuoka 2028, and Rio 2029
• Member Associations Present Bids to Host Future World Table Tennis Championships

We Challenged Table Tennis Legend Tiago Apolonia!
Here’s the video (9:41) from Table Tennis Daily! Apolonia of Portugal is world #94, formerly #13.

Backhand to Backhand – on a Skinny Table!
Here’s the video (17 sec) – could you do this?

Table Tennis Musical Bouncing Dance
Here’s the video (17 sec)!

Kitten versus Rhino Ping-Pong Championships
Here’s the video (37 sec)!

Cute Puppy Wants to Play Ping-Pong
Here’s the video (41 sec)!

Non-Table Tennis – Short Stories
On Thursday I sold “Thirty-Five Genie Heads on a Wall” (8,400 words) to Black Cat Weekly, my third sale to them and 236th overall. While being bullied at the beach, teenager Robbie is sucked into a Coke bottle. So begins his life as a genie, including classes at Genie University. His owner is a brutish king on a planet far from Earth – and the squirming, tormented heads of the king’s previous 35 genies are on display on a wall. It’ll come out in a few months.

“Cemetery Whale” (3,700 words) came out in the Tiny Terrors anthology from Graveside Press. A lonely music-loving autistic killer whale ghost haunts a graveyard, and interacts and battles with a local girl and a ghosthunter with a deadly ectoplasmic harpoon.

“Thank You, Miss Kittykat!” (900 words) came out in the Amazing Stories: Best of 2024 anthology. In a future where we've genetically enhanced the intelligence of dogs and cats and given them opposable thumbs, there's a war (humans and dogs allied against the cats), the cats win, and humans and dogs are now pets while cats rule.

***
Send us your own coaching news!

Tip of the Week
If You Step Around Your Backhand to Play a Forehand, Go All the Way.

Weekend Coaching and Balticon and Cataracts, Oh My!
I coached two junior group sessions on Saturday morning. Call it Footwork Always in Saturday Training (FAST) as I spent much of the session making sure feet were lively. I also fed a lot of multiball – same thing, footwork, Footwork, and More FOOTWORK!!! Note that when I say lively, that means the habit of moving the feet – i.e., lively feet – which isn’t the same as foot speed. But lively feet lead to maximizing your footspeed. A slower player with lively feet will always cover more ground than a faster player without lively feet. It’s like running a five-foot sprint where one group gets a three-foot head-start.

Then I drove out to Baltimore for the Baltimore Science Fiction Convention, which is Fri-Mon (ending today), but I was only there for the weekend. One of the funny things there is how many people there know me as “Mr. Ping Pong”! One author even told me he has friends who are USATT members, and wanted a signed copy of one of my books to give them as a present. I had copies of Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers in my car, and so traded a signed copy for one of his science fiction books, also signed. I was on two panels, one on giving and receiving critiques of stories, and one on where writers get their ideas – I chaired the latter. Alas, no pictures, but be assured we left huge audiences staring in awe at our awesome words . . . or at least I hope so!

After the highly successful cataract surgery on my right eye a couple months ago, I’m having the same on my left eye this Wednesday, May 28. The right eye went from 20-150 to 20-15; I’m hoping for similar success on the left, which was 20-70, though it’s gotten somewhat better on its own via special eyedrops. I’ll have to take about ten days off from table tennis, then I can go back to training for the Nationals around June 7. Then I leave for the Nationals on June 28 where I will conquer all or I want my money back for the cataract surgeries.

World Championships
They were held in Doha, Qatar, May 17-25. Here are the results! News coverage is in links below.

World Championships - Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

• Chuqin Over Calderano in Doha
• Is Hugo Calderano the Best Player in the World Right Now?
• World Championships Update: Quarterfinals
• Jarvis, Gauzy, and Shunsuke Join Top Seeds in Round of 16
• World Championships Update: Jarvis Powers Through to Round of 32

World Championships - ITTF News

• Historic World Championships in Doha Sets the Stage for Special Centenary in London
• Japanese Duo Ends 64-Year Men's Doubles Drought While Wang Chuqin Becomes the New Men's Singles World Champion
• Final Day Preview: Calderano Eyes Historic World Championships as Four Title Battles Await
• Historic Day 8 in Doha: Calderano Makes South American History as Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha Complete Mixed Doubles Three-peat
• Day 7 Recap: World No.1 Lin Shidong Falls as Ito Finally Breaks Through in Doha
• IOC President Thomas Bach Visits Lusail Arena for ITTF World Championships Finals 
• An Jaehyun Stuns Felix Lebrun as Top Seeds Advance to Quarterfinals in Doha
• Stellar Comebacks and Stunning Upsets Mark Dramatic Day 5 in Doha
• Day 5 Underway: Japanese Pair Topples Top Seeds in Mixed Doubles Shock
• Simon Gauzy Stuns Lin Gaoyuan as Upsets Continue at ITTF World Championships Finals 2025
• Upsets Galore on Day 3 of the ITTF World Championships Finals Doha 2025
• Day 3 Underway: Men's Singles Upsets and Mixed Doubles Thrillers Serve Up a Treat in Doha
• A Global Showcase: Day 2 Brings More Excitement and Upsets to Doha 2025
• ITTF World Championships Finals 2025 Open in Doha with Grand Ceremony
• A Recap of an Exciting Day 1 at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Doha 2025
• ITTF World Championships Finals Underway with Exciting Opening Day Action
• Everything You Need to Know: ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals 2025

HUGOOO!!! How Did Calderano Beat LJK At The WTTC? (MA EP. 09)
Here’s the video (13:23) from Olav Kosolosky.

My Match Analysis against Truls Moregard | World Championship Finals Doha 2025 
Here’s the video (15:38) from Andreas Levenko.

Butterfly Training Tips and Highlights

• Three Point Forehand Loop with Jacob – 2200+ USATT (68 sec)
• Kevin Doyle – Backhand Loop, Butterfly Training Tips (61 sec)
• Kef Noorani Tournament Highlights (2:07)
• Amber Lin vs Geetha Krishna – WTT San Francisco (1:50)
• Make Firm Contact & Stop (58 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman
• What is a Spin Block? (55 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman
• Apply Finger Pressure With Your Thumb (54 sec) with Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman

New from Matt Hetherington

• More Useful Than you Think! Learn a Basic Backhand Table Tennis Serve! (4:22)
• Attract Better Training Partners - Improve Your Table Tennis Block (4:07)
• Kick Your Opponents into Submission with the Hook Kicker Table Tennis Serve! (4:07)
• Get Better Footwork! Focusing on Forehand Movement in Table Tennis (4:08)

How to Improve at Table Tennis Without a Coach
Here’s the article from Tom Lodziak.

New from the Ma Long Fanmade Channel

• Hugo Calderano summarizes his match with Liang Jingkun! (4:09)
• Truls Moregard, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha are training at the WTTC Doha 2025 (5:30)
• Wang Chuqin, Lin Gaoyuan and Sun Yingsha are training at the WTTC Doha 2025 (6:51)
• Lin Shidong, Wang Chuqin, and Sun Yingsha are training at the WTTC Doha 2025 (8:12)

New from Ti Long

• Serve for the Planet: Ti Long vs. #beatplasticpollution (2:14)
• The Secret of Backhand Short Touch- (31st National Student) (6:39)
• 1 TIP - improve serve - SPEED - CONTROL - HIDE SPIN - EEFFICIENCY… (9:53)

New from PongSpace

• Long Backspin Backhand Serve (3:01)
• Long Topspin Backhand Serve (2:56)
• Short Topspin Hook Serve (2:53)

New from Pingispågarna

• BEFORE AND AFTER changing to PIMPLES (2:04)
• Table Tennis Footwork training (21 sec)

Lin Gaoyuan Drop Shot Against Simon Gauzy
Here’s the video (78 sec) from Drupe Pong.

The Man Who Made an Entire Generation Fall in Love with Table Tennis
Here’s the video (5 min) about Xu Xin from Taco Backhand.

Benyamin Faraji: The 14-Year-Old Who Beat the World Champ
Here’s the video (3:14) from Beyond the Podium.

The Best Of Leszek Kucharski | Polish Table Tennis Legend
Here’s the video (3:04) from Table Tennis Media.

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action! (Here are news items over the last month.)

• MLTT Announces Sale of New York Slice
• MLTT Team Feature: East Division’s Florida Crocs by Steve Hopkins/Butterfly
• Major Pong Head (blog coverage)
• Schedule
• Home Page

New from NCTTA

• Rockford 2026: NCTTA Champs Returns!
• Upcoming Youth Table Tennis Champs Events Plant Seeds for Potential Future NCTTA Players
• NCTTA Software Engineering Internship - Summer 2025

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly
(Also see his articles on the Worlds in the second on the Worlds above.)

• Jenson Van Emburgh Wins a Pair of Golds in Lasko and Rises to World No. 1
• Jessie Xu Named 2025 Table Tennis Canada Athlete of the Year

ITTF News – Non-Worlds

• ITTF Executive Board Candidate Presentations Now Available Online
• ITTF Launches Sustainable Table Tennis Equipment Pledge, with support from FIT Sustainability Working Group
• ITTF Awarded Unity Trophy by IOC President Bach
• IOC President Bach Receives Inaugural ITTF Badge of Honour
• Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha Make History with Third Consecutive Mixed Doubles Crown
• ITTF Summit Explores Governance Standards and Sustainability Initiatives
• ITTF Summit Finance Forum Examines Financial Statements and Strategic Direction
• Day 7 Preview: Tantalising Quarterfinal Battles Await in Doha
• ITTF Summit 2025 Kicks Off with Development Session Showcasing Global Growth
• ITTF Nominations Committee Draws Lots To Determine Order of Presidential and Executive Board Candidate Presentations

New Table Tennis Song!
Here’s the video (1:37). I don’t know who the singer is, but she’s obviously a table tennis player – otherwise she wouldn’t have the ball control to keep bouncing the ball in tune to the music.

Ping Pong Purr-fection!
Here’s the video (8 sec)!

Skeleton Pong
Here’s the picture!

Guard Pong
Here’s the cartoon!

Coaching Godzilla
Here’s the cartoon!

***
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Tip of the Week
Learn from Students of the Game, Crafty Veterans, and Hedgehogs.

Weekend Coaching, Dr. Seuss, Ongoing Injuries, and the Baltimore Science Fiction Convention
I coached in three junior group sessions. The focus this weekend might have been random play. I did a lot of random drills and just random rallying with players. The keys here are 1) ready position; 2) don’t anticipate, just react; and 3) return to ready position.

Besides the normal keys to a good ready position, a key thing I emphasize is that their ready position changes based on where I’m hitting the ball. If they go to my wide forehand, then I have more angle into their wide forehand (assuming we’re both righties), and less into their backhand, and so they have to move toward their forehand side. They also should roughly point their racket at where I’m hitting the ball from, so they can move equally well to their forehand or backhand side, depending on where I hit the ball.

From doing so many rote drills, the strokes may be good, but too often players, after hitting a forehand, get into a forehand position for the next shot, and vice versa after hitting a backhand shot. A side benefit of all this is I got to teach the kids the words “neuromuscular adaptation,” which is training the brain to react to such random shots. (Kids are fascinated by long words, about half of them immediately recited “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.”

Dr. Seuss has also entered our training. I’ve been working on children’s picture book, currently titled, “Paddles Can’t Talk!”, which would be a Seussian rhyming story about a kids first tournament and general introduction to the sport for those roughly ages 5-9. I ordered copies of “The Cat in the Hat” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” as examples – I’m using a similar rhyming meter as he used in them. But both books are hardcover, and I discovered I can play TT really well with them, mostly chopping and pick-hitting – and so I’ve been staying after sessions and taking on challenges. I’m probably about 1800 with them. Yesterday some of the kids borrowed “The Cat in the Hat” while I used “Grinch” and we had some good rallies, with them attacking and me chopping.

Alas, I’m currently dealing with too many doctors. Dr. Seuss; Dr Pepper (my go-to drink while writing, including right now); plus doctors for my upcoming cataract surgery on my left eye (May 28), and other doctors for various problems with my shoulder, knees, and feet. Plus, this morning I woke up with my neck killing me. (See last segment below.)

Things took a turn for the worse on Saturday. We have an Elite League on Saturdays at 4PM for players rated over 2000. I’ve been running them for the past six months, but playing sporadically due to shoulder issues. I was sufficiently read to play on Saturday – but in my first match, second game, I pulled something in my lower right side while forehand looping. I played a few points after that, then had to stop. I don’t think it’s a major injury, but I will likely take this week off from practicing. Then, on Wed, May 28, I have the right eye cataract surgery, and so will have to take another 10-12 days off. So, I’ll likely take up to three weeks off – a good thing for all the ongoing issues that come with trying to train like a 25-year-old at age 65 – problems with my shoulder, arm, neck, side, knees, and feet. During the break, I’ll do a lot of walking, and shadow practice with a weighted racket. I should then have three more weeks of practice before I leave for the Nationals on June 28.

Meanwhile (and this is non-table tennis), next weekend I’ll be coaching on Saturday morning. Then I leave for Balticon, the annual Baltimore science fiction convention, where I’m a panelist. (I’ll be there on Friday as well, plus Sat & Sun. Here’s my Balticon Bio.) I’m only on two panels this year:

• Critiquing Do’s and Don’ts (Saturday 5:30 PM)
• Lightbulb Moments; How Authors Develop Ideas (Sunday 11:30 AM)

MASTER the Backhand Loop Against Underspin
Here’s the video (24:13) from Louis Levene.

Your Serve or Mine
Here’s the video (56:46) on Ping-Pong Diplomacy (1971-72) that aired on PBS on April 26.

DONE FOR THIS WEEK – Neck Problem
I did the above for my blog this morning, but I have to stop. I woke up this morning with my neck hurting, and can barely hold my head up right now. It’s been bothering me all week, but I think I slept on it wrong, and aggravated it more when I first got up this morning. Plus, my side is still bothering me from where I pulled it on Saturday, and my shoulder is an ongoing issue. So, I’m going to post this, then go lie down with my head propped on a pillow. Between this and my cataract surgery, I think I’m going to get a lot of rest and reading these next three weeks.

***
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Tip of the Week
Warm Up Your Serves.

Weekend Coaching
I think the mantra for this weekend was, “If you can’t do it in practice games, how can you do it in a serous match?” and “If you are scared to do the shot, that means you need to practice the shot, and that’s what this is – practice!” In practice games, too often players were pushing too much, scared to loop. How do you overcome that? By looping every chance you can!!! We also played some doubles, where it’s even more important to loop deep serves – and so I was all over anyone who didn’t.

Other than that, it was mostly the standard focus on fundamentals, with lots of stroking and footwork drills. I had a couple of multiball sessions with advanced beginners where we worked on smashing. I put an empty bowl on the table, and their job was to hit it over and over until they knocked it off the table. I coached in four group sessions, and after some of them I pulled out my new secret paddle – a hardbat copy of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and used it to chop and pick-hit my way to victory in numerous challenge matches. (I’m about 1800 with it.) Why do I have a copy of this book? See segment below about “New Table Tennis Novels”!

My Training
I’m still working to get ready for senior and hardbat events at the upcoming US Nationals, Huntsman World Senior Games, National Senior Games, and Maryland Senior Olympics. Alas, I’m having more shoulder problems. I was training four times a week and trying to play matches 1-2 times a week, but with the ongoing shoulder issues, I’ve had to cut down on it, and for now don’t practice on consecutive days. I’m also having some knee problems, alas. But I can work around these issues.

New Table Tennis Novels . . . and Dinosaurs
Two new table tennis novels are coming out. They are:

• “Underspin” by E. Y. Zhao, 252 pages, coming Sept. 23. (Here’s the Amazon link.) I received an advanced copy to read and review, and last night I read the first 77 pages. It’s a somewhat dark story of the rise and fall of a table tennis star. The novel starts with the player’s funeral – he dies in “mysterious fashion” in his 20s. The rest of the novel is about his rise and fall as we learn how it all happened, from his junior years to the end. The story is told in 14 chapters, each from the POV of a different person in his life, ranging from other players, an umpire, and his overly-strict coach. I’ll write a full review later after I finish the novel. (Tomorrow I plan to spend much of the day at the Smithsonian museums in DC, where I’ll spend a few hours at one of the museum cafeterias reading it. Then, from 6:30-8:45 PM I’ll be at the Natural History Museum to watch the free movie, “Why Dinosaurs?” followed by a question and answer period with the movie’s co-directors and several paleontologists. Feel free to join us!)
• “Ping” by Lisa Lucas and Steve Landsberg, 144 pages. “Alternating between the pivotal 1971 Ping-Pong Diplomacy - where a simple game of table tennis thawed the icy relations between the U.S. and China during the Cold War - and the present-day struggles of a family weighed down by legacy, Ping is a compelling tale of history, politics, and personal conflict.” I just ordered a copy, and will likely read and review it soon. Here’s an interview with one of the authors about the novel.
• Recently, in a flash of insight, I realized what this world needed was a Dr. Seussian-like humorous rhyming picture book introduction to table tennis, for kids roughly ages 6-9. And so, I’m working on it. The working title is, “Ping-Pong Paddles Don’t Talk!” It’s about a very nervous kid in his first tournament, where he meets seemingly overbearing adults and other tribulations .  .  . and yes, his paddle does talk. When the text is ready, I’ll have to hire an illustrator as I’m no artist. I bought a copy of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” as a model to emulate – I’m writing it in “Seussian Anapestic Tetrameter.” (I already have two TT novels – “The Spirit of Pong” and the novelette “First Galactic Table Tennis Championships.”)

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action! (Here are news items over the last month.)

• New York Slice and Koki Niwa on Path to Challenge in MLTT by Steve Hopkins
• Meet the New Faces of MLTT!
• Major Pong Head (blog coverage)
• Schedule
• Home Page

Butterfly Training Tips

• Forehand & Backhand Loop Stroke Chemistry (75 sec) with Anagha Kasichainula
• Two Short Returns, Two Follow up Attacks (66 sec) with Sanuka Herath
• Two Backhand Loops, Two Forehand Loops (53 sec) with Kevin Doyle
• Coach Feth Explains How to Shift Your Weight Properly (44 sec)
• Karolayn Maldonaldo WTT Youth Contender Cuenca Highlights (60 sec)

New from Matt Hetherington

• Kick Your Opponents into Submission with the Hook Kicker Table Tennis Serve! (4:07)
• Improving Forehand Footwork (4:08)

New from Andreas Levenko

• Multiball Training - My personal Training Routine for max Improvement (8:11)
• 5 Table Tennis Secrets That Will Change Your Game Forever (8:10)
• Upper Body Stretching Routine for Table Tennis | 30 Minute Follow-Along (32:48)
• PUSH & COUNTERSPIN The Most Effective Combination in Table Tennis (8:02)
• The only SERVICE TUTORIAL you'll EVER need (6:01)
• The Ultimate Short Receive Guide (6:09)

1 TIP - Improve Serve - SPEED - CONTROL - HIDE SPIN - EEFFICIENCY…
Here’s the video (9:52) from Ti Long.

Short Topspin Hook Serve
Here’s the video (2:52) from Pong Space.

11 Exercises to Improve Striking and Footwork Techniques
Here’s the video (8:12) from Dr. Table Tennis.

It Is Not So Easy As It Looks!
Here’s the video (3:09) from Pingispågarna. I introduced versions of this game to our club, and the younger kids often play it during breaks. They usually do it across the width of the table (five feet), and start out just tossing the ball by hand. As they improve, they do it with their racket. We call the game, “Bounce.”

I Challenged A Pro With A Mystery Table Tennis Bat!
Here’s the video (6:50) as Table Tennis Daily challenges USA’s Kanak Jha!

Sharath Kamal: How He Became the Face of Indian Table Tennis
Here’s the video (4:10) from Beyond the Podium.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

• Tomokazu Harimoto Signs with Okayama Rivets
• Coton and Hursey: Youth Take Top Prizes at U21 Euros
• European Under 21 Championships: Final Four
• Jessie Xu Qualifies to Represent Canada at Two Major International Table Tennis Events in 2025

Record-Breaking 2025 USATT Pacific Championships Highlight Bay Area’s Table Tennis Dominance
Here’s the USATT article. Strangely, there is no attribution as to who wrote the article.

New from ITTF

• The Elite Take Centre Stage
• From Houston Silver To Olympic Medal: Moregard's Quest for Doha Gold
• Great Britain Shine in Lasko’s Challenger Event
• 1 Week to Doha 2025: Opening Weekend Blockbusters Set To Ignite World Championships
• Statement on the Publication of the ITTF Group Financial Statements 2023 and 2024
• ITTF Hopes Programme Returns to Yearly Cycle; Sheffield Selected to Host 2025 World Hopes Week & Challenge
• Liebherr Returns to the Forefront of Table Tennis in 2025
• ITTF World Championships Doha 2025: Historic Trophies Await the World's Best
• It’s Lasko’s Turn For ITTF World Para Challenger!

Meatball Pong
Here’s the video (60 sec) – toward the end they play ping-pong with a meatball as a ball!

I Warned the Basketball Club Members Playing on the Table Tennis Table
Here’s the manga cartoon (14:29).

Table Tennis EPP
Here’s the cartoon TT video (91 sec) from the Kingston School of Art.

Extremely Fun Ping Pong
Here’s the video (11:41) from Pongfinity! “We have 15 completely new challenges.”

***
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Tip of the Week
Top Eleven Things About Top Table Tennis Players.

Talking Table Tennis
One of the quickest and easiest ways to tell if someone is a real student of the game is simple – ask them table tennis questions. If someone has spent many years or decades studying and thinking about the game, they’ll have lots and Lots and LOTS of thoughts about it. So, ask them. In the huge majority of the time, they’ll love to talk table tennis. It’s what they do!

This is especially true of coaches. It’s their profession. Some coaches coach only because they have nothing else they can do, and may not really be that interested in it. They put in the time for the money, and have the needed playing level as a practice partner, and they are often good at the fundamentals – they know how a forehand should be hit, etc. HOWEVER...

They may not put out the extra effort other than what’s needed. They’ll mostly teach the standard fundamentals without taking into consideration the specific needs of individual players. They won’t spend a lot of time watching you play so they can better coach.

We expect players to keep learning, yet many coaches do not. I always like to talk coaching with other coaches or players, at the club or tournaments. Some do not, and it often shows in their coaching. Unless you think you know more about every single aspect of the game than another coach or player, you can learn from him. I know coaches who think that way, and could never learn anything from me or most other coaches - their arrogance really hurts them, and ultimately their players. 

So, if you see me at a tournament, and I don’t look too busy – and most tournaments are at 70% waiting around – feel free to come up and talk table tennis. Warning – I can be triggered into long soliloquies by questions about tactics, strategic development, serve, receive, how to develop as a coach, or hardbat. (Also science fiction writing and presidential history!) Bring popcorn and any of my books you’d like me to sign.

MDTTC Open Results
Here they are! The tournament was held this past weekend at MDTTC.

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action! (Here are news items over the last month.)

• April 29 - MLTT Completes 2025 Draft, Finalizes Season 3 Rosters
• April 24 - Major League Table Tennis and finally Announce Multi-Year Partnership
• April 16 - Butterfly Extends Partnership with Major League Table Tennis Through the 2027–2028 Season
• April 13 - Carolina Gold Rush Defeat Texas Smash to Win 2025 MLTT Cup
• April 2 - Spinners Relocating to Los Angeles, Add New Ownership
• Major Pong Head (blog coverage)
• Schedule
• Home Page

Butterfly Training Tips

• Move Both Legs at the Same Time! (51 sec) by Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman
• Align Your Wrist and Your Forearm (50 sec) by Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman
• Where Should the Top of the Racket Point? (52) by Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman
• Backhand, Forehand, Middle Looping (72 sec) with Anqi Luo
• Flip to Loop Follow up (64 sec) with Anagha Kasichainula
• Falkenburg Modified (2:21) with Jeff Yamada
• Backhand Loop & Forehand Pivot (54 sec) Rachid El Bou Bou
• Backhand Punch Block (62 sec) with Lingshuai Meng

New from Pingispågarna

• IT IS NOT SO EASY AS IT LOOKS! (3:10)
• 3 TIPS TO IMPROVE QUICKLY (2:39)
• How to do the Pendulum Serve in Table Tennis (2:17)

New from Pongspace

• Long Hook Kick Serve (3:32)
• 10th Xu Shaofa Barebat Championship (17:15)
• How to Do a Hook Serve (3:03)
• Learning the Long Hook Serve (3:21)

Two- to Four-Minute Tips from Matt Hetherington
Here’s his video page with eight new tips over the last two weeks.

New from Tom Lodziak

• How to get more benefit from your club sessions
• What’s in your bag? Essential items every table tennis player needs

Lots of Coaching Videos at TTProNet
Here’s the video page from Robert Gardos.

Fan Zhendong Analysis of the Forehand Topspin Backswing
Here’s the video (7:11) from Biomechanics Applied to Table Tennis.

Hugo Calderano Push Tactic Against Tomokazu Harimoto
Here’s the video (56 sec) from Drupe Pong.

New from PingSkills
Ask the Coach

Zhang Jike – The Rockstar of Table Tennis
Here’s the video (8:52) from Taco Backhand.

May 2025 Table Tennis History Magazine
Here’s the new issue, from Editor Steve Grant. Here are past issues.

Table Tennis Articles from Technical Journals

• A six-week force-velocity profile based training is effective to optimize jump and change of direction performance in elite table tennis players (European Journal of Human Movement, care of Kevin Finn/Peak Performance Table Tennis)
• Table tennis coaching system based on a multimodal large language model with a table tennis knowledge base (PLOS One, care of Kevin Finn/Peak Performance Table Tennis)
• Evaluation of the winning technical and tactical actions of the best female table tennis players in the years 1970-2021 (Scientific Reports)

New from Steve Hopkins

• Bye Timo Series
• World Championships Preview: World’s Best Crowd the Stage in Doha
• Pair of Golds for Van Emburgh at ITTF World Challenger São Paulo

New from USATT

• Entries Now Open for the 2025 U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships at Mandalay Bay, December 16–21
• US Para Table Tennis Shows Grit and Growth at ITTF World Para Challenger Sao Paulo

New from ITTF

• Paralympic Champions Triumph at Podgorica Challenger
• First Olympic Solidarity course in twenty years a huge success for Uzbekistan
• Cuenca Hosts 2025 International Referee School: A Continued Commitment to Level 3 Referee Education
• Path to Glory Revealed as Draw Sets the Stage for World Championships Doha 2025
• Paralympic Champions Return To Action at ITTF World Para Challenger Podgorica
• Golden Homecoming: Brazilian Para Stars Shine at São Paulo Challenger
• Drawing Closer to Doha: Tuesday's Rankings Sets Stage for World Championships Finals Draw Ceremony
• Agricultural Bank of China Named Official Partner of the ITTF World Championships Finals Doha 2025

The Ping Pong of Tariffs
Here’s the cartoon!

Warning: May Start Talking About Table Tennis
Here’s where you can buy the shirt!

One of the Craziest Ping-Pong Music Videos
Here it is (2:20) – Little Sis Nora, AronChupa - Ping Pong. Will you ever get that song out of your head?

Pool vs Pong Venomtrickshots
Here’s the video (2:16) from Matt Hetherington!

Adam vs. Philippines level 1-14
Here’s the video (14:12) from Adam Bobrow!

***
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