May 25, 2026

Tip of the Week
May 25: How To Return Different Serves.

Weekend Coaching and Long Pips
I did both multiball and live hitting with players in our junior training sessions. I did a lot of drills that focused on transitioning from looping a backspin to attacking the follow-up block. At the beginning to intermediate level, after a heavy push forces the opponent to lift the ball, a follow-up quick block that makes them move often leads to them lifting their next shot off the end. This is especially true if you block to the wide forehand, where a player tends to lower their shoulder when reaching wide, leading to going off the end.

I did a little experiment. When feeding multiball with younger kids, I watched them do footwork and how focused and intent they were. They mostly mindlessly do the movements. Then I put my water bottle on the table and ordered them to not to hit it. (They know when I say that it means to hit it.) Their eyes light up and the mindlessness is gone, and their shots get better and better. Guess which method helps them improve more?

Meanwhile, as I’ve blogged about, because of knee problems I’ve been experimenting on the backhand with frictionless antispin and long pips ox (no sponge). Since I’m primarily a forehand attacker who mostly blocks on the backhand, these fit my game. I’ve found the antispin to be trickier to learn than expected, and I have less control with it. With the long pips, I have a nature chop-blocking motion that works really well with it. So, between the two, I’ll probably go with the long pips. (Though I’m still toying with staying with inverted. I’d still mostly use inverted when coaching.) One “wild card” is there are different types of frictionless antispin. The one recommended to me is only sold in Europe, so I ordered a sheet – but it takes weeks, and hasn’t arrived. So, I’ve been using a different type until it does. But I do have to decide soon what to use on my backhand as I have the US Nationals coming up in early July.  

US Open Entry Form – End of an Era?
Here’s the info page for the event in December in Las Vegas. Here’s the entry form, or as they strangely call it these days, the prospectus. I’ve already entered and expect to play and coach at it. So, why is it the End of an Era?

From 1992-1995 I was editor of USA Table Tennis Magazine, a print magazine that went to all USATT members. During that time I also edited/proofed the eight entry forms for the US Open and US Nationals. When I was hired again as editor (1999-2007), I once again edited the entry forms, and continued doing so since. I’ve been doing so every Open and Nationals since 1999. They send me the draft and I always get back to them within 24 hours (usually just a couple hours), even when I was out of the country coaching a US Team in Austria or sightseeing in Brazil.

Some ask why I continue to do this with the current administration when, as readers here know, I have some issues with them. But I consider this a separate thing. It works well for both sides as proofing is a skill, not something that anyone can do, and I happen to be pretty good at it. I always catch a number of typos and other problems. (If I’m reading a novel and on page 200 and there’s a character named Marjorie, I’ll immediately point out that on page 10, it was spelled Marjory. This really happened, though I don’t remember the actual page numbers.) For me, I like seeing the entry form early so I can start making early plans. Plus, it’s one of my contributions to table tennis, a way to help out.

However, this year they decided not to use my services, thereby ending my streak of proofing 55 consecutive US Open/Nationals entry forms since 1999. (I only found out when I saw the US Open announcement a few days ago, with the entry form already online.) So, what is the result?

I only did a quick look-through instead of my usual pain-staking examination, and probably missed a lot. So will most readers. Perhaps it’s not important that they refer to the US Open as the “US Nationals” four times. Or that four events are listed out of sequence. Or that they still list the USATT Annual General Assembly even though the USATT board voted to cancel that. (Did they change their mind? If so, why is it scheduled during first round of Men’s Singles, 6:30PM on Thursday, when many coaches and players will be watching?) There are some other scheduling issues that I’d normally point out to them, such as having Over 60 Hardbat Men and Women (two events) at 6:30 PM Sat, with Hardbat Men and Women (two events) 15 minutes later at 6:45 PM. (They are listed out of sequence in the schedule.) Since there’s a large intersection there (since probably half the players in hardbat are over 60, including me), that means the second RRs are going to be delayed up to two hours. Or that a few events aren’t clearly listed as RR or SE. Or the mathematical impossibility of all RR groups being 3 or 4, since you can’t do that if you have 5 total entries. Or not needing the Covid policy section since we it’s long after the Covid epidemic ended. Or that the schedules randomly abbreviate as Thu or Thurs. And who knows what else if I went over it closely. (I always find typos!)

Maybe this is all nitpicking, and USATT and many others won’t care, and that’s fine. But it sure looks more professional without these issues, and the issues could lead to confusion or other problems. I personally think taking the extra day in May to get these things right for an event in December is worth it. But it’s not my call or my problem now.

New from Butterfly

New from Acceleraq with Dutch National Team Member Milo de Boer

I Analyzed EVERY Service from Félix Lebrun vs. Lin Shidong … MASTERCLASS
Here’s the video (10:37) from Enzo Angles.

Comprehensive Methodology for Table Tennis
Here’s the video (7:13) from Biomechanics Applied to Table Tennis.

Backhand Loop vs Backspin & Topspin
Here’s the video (2:43) with Micah Salmon from Pingispågarna (PP Table Tennis)

New from the Table Tennis Teaching Channel

New from PingSunday/EmRatThich
12 new videos this past week.

How Are Serves Likely to be Returned?
Here’s the article by Tom Lodziak.

The Mental Edge That Won the World: Lessons from Team China at London 2026
Here’s the article by Dr. Alan Chu, PhD, CMPC).

The Unstoppable Spin: Why We Can’t Quit Table Tennis?
Here’s the article by Coach Di Liu.

From Nervous to Focused: Real Competition Advice from Years of Professional Play
Here’s the article by Coach Bob Chen.

The Correct Way of Stretching for Table Tennis
Here’s the article by Coach Meinhard Korte.

Table Tennis England April Coaches Newsletter
Here it is!

NCTTA 2026 Board of Director Elections
Here’s the news item.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

New from USATT

Two Humorous Table Tennis Sites

Free-Form Ping-Pong?
Here’s the video (19 sec). As the caption says, “Can Hugo Calderano do this?”

Man vs. Ping Pong Machine | The Cartoon Lounge | The New Yorker
Here’s the video (2:10) from nine years ago, but someone reposted it and I’ve never seen it before.

Chaotic Table Tennis Class
Here’s the video/comic strip (16 sec)!

Non-Table Tennis – I’m a Perfect Person
It’s official – I’m a Perfect Person! Or so it appears. In the upcoming June 1 issue of The Independent Fantasy and Sci-Fi Magazine, they will feature my fantasy story, “Perfect Person.” In the promotion I linked to it seems to label me as a Perfect Person. (Shhh – it’s a secret!) The story is about a person who goes to Heaven . . . and discovers that, after thousands of years, he's the first person to qualify. And with nobody there all these years, it's a bit rundown. As is a computerized Saint Peter. (Story should go up on Sunday, June 1; I’ll link to it in my blog on Monday next week.)

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