June 22, 2026
Tip of the Week
June 22, 2026 - Shadow Practice Your Shots.
US Nationals
The US Nationals are coming up, July 3-9 in San Jose, CA. I’m playing in six events. Over 65 Men’s Singles (seeded #8, with sponge); Hardbat Men’s Singles (seeded #7); Over 40 Hardbat (seeded #2); Over 60 Hardbat (seeded #1); Hardbat Doubles (seeded #1, with Ryan “The Nightmare” Gibson); and Sandpaper Singles (unseeded). I’ve been training with both sponge and hardbat with Coach Lidney Castro at MDTTC. This week I’ll be practicing hardbat with Wang “Leo” Tiancheng. I just hope my shoulder and knee hold up! (I’ve been to every US Nationals and US Open since 1985, and every US/North American Teams since 1976. Have to keep these strings going!)
As always, I’ll have an advantage on most of my competition because I practice my serves and they don’t. Sssh!!! (You probably don’t either.) However, due to several extended breaks due to injuries, I’m more out of shape than I’d like, and tire too easily. This is a problem because, despite my age (66), I still play a rather energetic style, racing around the court attacking with my forehand, while most of my peers play more restful two-winged games. Late in matches my legs and shoulder start to tire and all the will power in the world won’t make those muscles move as fast as I’d like them to go. I’ll also likely be out of breath much of the time. I have made one adjustment in my game this past year, both sponge and hardbat – I receive a lot more with my backhand than before, even against deep serves that I normally look to forehand attack.
Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk!
There are 8.3 billion people on Earth. In its first week, Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk! sold 116 copies. This means there are still 8,299,999,884 of you who have not bought a copy. There’s still time to get on the bandwagon and get yours today!!!
I’ll be selling them (and all my books) at the MDTTC Open on June 27-28. I’m also doing a reading and signing at the Butterfly booth at the US Nationals in San Jose, on July 4 or 5. (Butterfly will be selling the book sometime this week and at their booth at the Nationals.) If you’re a table tennis blogger who’d like to review a copy, email me.
One thing I’ve verified – since it’s hardcover, 80 pages, it’s perfect for chopping and hitting against backspin! I should be able to take down most USATT members with it. Perhaps I’ll take challenges at the Nationals.
As a reminder, it’s a table tennis book for kids AND for the kid in all of us. Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk! is a humorous Seussian rhyming children’s picture book that introduces table tennis to kids. It features a nervous boy (Kevin) and his talking paddle in their first tournament, where he meets and plays a girl (Li) 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. 80 pages in full color (no AI), ages 7-12 and up.
Butterfly Tips
- Tashiya Piyadasa – Modified Random Drill with Tashiya Piyadasa (63 sec).
- Episode 11: Ask The Expert Live With Logan Rietz | How to Choose the Best Table Tennis Shoes (article and video 19:05)
Can Players Trained in the U.S. Compete With Chinese Players?
Here’s the article by Bob Chen.
New from PingSunday/EmRatThich
11 new videos this past week and numerous articles!
Can AI Really Replace a Table Tennis Coach?
Here’s the video (8:14) from Ti Long.
The Hardest thing About the Forehand Flip
Here’s the video (3:01) from Acceleraq.
New from Global TT Studio
- Easiest Deceptive Serve: The "Vanishing Racket" Trick That Destroys Opponents (14:12)
- The Hybrid Push: 5 Pushing Secrets to Shut Down Any Attacker (13:24)
- Stop Brushing Upwards! Why Your Forehand Topspin Loops Keep Flying Long (11:04)
- Why You Keep Missing the 2nd Loop: The "Wait" Rhythm for a Killer Loop (9:00)
- Return Serves Like a Block: A Simple Trick to Tame Any Topspin Serve (9:30)
- The "Delayed Backswing": A Pro's Secret to a Killer Forehand Loop (11:00)
- Stop Getting Stuck! How to Attack Half-Long Balls and Lefty Wide Serves (9:30)
New from the Table Tennis Teaching Channel
- Zhang Jike: Your Strokes Don’t Always Have to Be Perfect—Unless You’re Building the Basics
- Zhang Jike Coaches a Student: Mastering Short-Long Ball Transitions (9:08)
How to Play Dirty with Short Pimples (Without Breaking the Rules)
Here’s the video (2:21) from PP Table Tennis/Pingispågarna.
My South Korean Tournament Nightmare
Here’s the article and video (26 min) from Tom Lodziak.
Training with Quadri Aruna Part 2
Here’s the video (17:40). Here’s Part 1 (26:01) from seven months ago. See numerous other Quadri Aruna videos and other videos at TonysTableTennis.
New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly
New from ITTF
- World Cup Season: Table Tennis and Football's Enduring Love Affair
- ITTF Executive Board Confirms Reinstatement of Athletes with Belarusian Passports
- ITTF Executive Board Approves Constitutional Implementation Programme, Confirms Nominations Committee Appointments
Ping Pong - Official Trailer
Here’s the video (1:46) for Ping Pong the Animation, which you can rent or buy at Amazon Prime.
Duck Pong
Because who wouldn’t want a shirt with ducks playing table tennis? (They’re actually geese, but “Duck Pong” has a better ring to it.)
Ready, Set, MATCH!
Here’s the video (51 min, with 5 min of table tennis). It’s cartoon animals competing in various sports. The link should take you to 8:05, where the table tennis starts, which ends at 13:08. It’s in Russian, but it’s still pretty interesting and seemingly well done.
Non-Table Tennis - The Eye in the Sky of the Blueberry Pie
The anthology “SciFi To Go: Food for Thought” is on sale at Amazon in both print and kindle. It includes my humorous flash story, “The Eye in the Sky of the Blueberry Pie.” When a planetary-sized blueberry pie comes plummeting down on Earth, scientists and religious folk debate who sent it while normal people prepare to get smooshed.
***
Send us your own coaching news!
