TABLE TENNIS FACTS, TIPS, AND OTHER VERY USEFUL INFORMATION

 

 

 

 

 

1. As time to react decreases, coherent responses also decrease.
2. Adapting quickly is the KEY to victory.
3. The best players rarely repeat the same mistake.
4. The top players play ON the lines, lesser players play WITHIN the lines.
5. Champions take RISKS in the most important moments, and in particular, at the end of games.
6. In training, ALWAYS play with maximum intensity.
7. Train as you will play…ie, the same style of play.
8. The KEY, one must be consistent at the maximum speed.
9. 80% success rate is sufficient for each action. To arise above that requires more work than benefit achieved.
10. 30% success rate means: task is too difficult for the current capabilities.
11. The majority of points are played out within the serve-return of serve-first ball exchange.
12. It is not always possible or necessary to start with a strong attack; a long and low topspin is often more effective.
13. As a general rule, shorter and more frequent training sessions are better than longer and less numerous ones.
14. Contrary to what some coaches said in the 70’s, now you MUST learn TO play with your wrist.
15. Relax until the moment of contact; then squeeze the handle a bit more.
16. Allow a slow ball to rise slightly and play it a bit before it reaches it’s peak; play a fast ball right after the bounce.
17. If you want to send the ball in a given direction, your racket must be traveling in that direction.
18. Most common mistakes: Rhythm of the shot, moment of contact is too early or too late, stiffening up, and direction of the racket. When moving, instead of initiating the movement with your legs, the first response is to stretch your arm, an action that then pulls along the rest of your body. Over-training is as dangerous as under-training.
19. To be a top player, one must be able to prepare for each point as if it were a new event; and be able to forget the emotional impact of the preceding action very rapidly.
20. During training, focus ONLY on what YOU are doing; during competition, focus ONLY on what your OPPONENT is doing.
21. The first rule in table tennis is to PLAY; then build a strategy; HAVE FUN while trying to win the match; with victory coming as the ULTIMATE FUN.
22. Behavior provides loads of information:

A: Before the match

1)     Player that doubts himself is nervous; player sure of himself is relaxed.

2)     Player that doubts is fidgety; play sure is concentrated.

3)     Player that doubts talks a lot; player sure is silent.

 

           B: During warm up

1)     Player that doubts makes mistakes; player sure is consistent.

2)     Player that doubts repeats same things to assure himself; player sure tries shots and is creative.

3)     Player that doubts looks at opponent and allows himself to be impressed; player sure is focused on his preparation.

 

           C: During match

1)     Player that doubts gets upset, complains about equipment, playing conditions, disputes; player sure encourages himself and remains calm.

2)     Player that doubts talks a lot, player sure is only preoccupied with match.

3)     Player that doubts plays harder and harder, player sure remains within his limits.

4)     Player that doubts wants to win the point with every shot; player sure allows exchanges.

5)     Player that doubts does not attempt anything; player sure is creative.

6)     Player that doubts stops moving, becomes withdrawn, player sure is constantly moving, occupies his space.

25. Good strategies to adopt:

1)     Make sure your first attack is low and with lots of spin.

2)     Avoid strong shots into your opponent’s racket.

3)     Avoid exchange refusal.

4)     Avoid excessive risk by attempting kill shots immediately.

5)     Be VERY vigilant on first three balls.

6)     Be careful with your serve and return.

7)     Use double bouncing balls often.

8)     Vary placement of balls.

9)     Do not hurry your shots.

26. It is not unusual to see a player lose (or win) 7 or 7 straight points, because:

1)     A feeling of helplessness, everything happening quickly, watching his own match

2)     Self analyzes himself

3)     Thinks about previous points

4)     Gets upset, then is silent, gives up on that game

5)     Confuses speed with rushing

            A: Control this by:

1)     Returning to simple things that you know how to do perfectly.

2)     Take your time; interrupt the play.

27. The Major Task in a game is to win points…by attacking or defensive actions; by attractive rallies, or, JUST BY AN OPPONENT’S MISTAKE.
28.  Kill stroke balls travel at over 77 mph, simple defensive pushes at 15.5.
29. Arm speed with a kill shot is from 35-45 mph.
30. Spin shots cause the ball to rotate 170 times a second, over 10,000 times a minute, while the racket touches the ball for only 1/1000 second during a stroke. In other words, during stroke movement it covers, together with the racket, a distance of only 7% to 31% of an INCH.
31. Success is based on the RIGHT STROKE at the RIGHT MOMENT.
32. In a best of 5 games, a player makes between 300 and 1300 strokes. With each stroke, a players covers 20” to 5 feet, and between 500 feet and a mile in an average tournament!
33. In Today’s game, the ratio of forehand to backhand is 65%-35%; in the 1980’s it was 80%-20%.
34. Attacking with short movements is being played more and more.
35. Speed glue is being used more and more, which essentially enlarges the possibility of spinning the ball and partially increases the speed.
36. There are 3 basic directions of movements in table tennis:

1)     Straight attack has FORWARD movement.

2)     Spin Attack has UPWARDS and FORWARD movement

3)     Defensive chop is from UP, DOWNWARDS and FORWARD.

37. In order to achieve the highest movement speed possible, it is necessary to always make a movement in a straight line.
38. Nowadays, with balls traveling 65’ per second, 90 mph, a player has less than 0.4 seconds for his stroke after his opponents’. From the moment the optical signal appears, the reaction time is an average of 200 milliseconds. Therefore, a player must start his stroke about 45 feet away from the ball, and that is IMPOSSIBLE. Thus, anticipation is a must.
39. A beginner will be occupied entirely with his own activity, and will have no time to take notice of the opponent’s actions.
40. Winning is directly connected with the ability to anticipate where the opponent will destine his ball i.e., to anticipate the opponent’s action.
41. In equally performed strokes, spin made with short pips rubber will be 10-15% less than inverted rubber.
42. As a general rule, inverted rubber plays 60-80 hours before, considerably, losing its grippiness and speed, thus needing to be changed. Expect 1/6 the playing times for speed-glued rubber (10-14 hours).