Table Tennis Techniques
The Backspin Chop

Improve your game with my top table tennis techniques and tips.
The backspin chop - it's a dying art ...

Table tennis technique - backspin chop by courtesy of the ITTF

The modern game of table tennis has become one that's dominated by players who play very fast aggressive topspin strokes with an attacking / offensive style of play.

The number of top players who use a defensive style has diminished significantly, although at a local level, there are still many players who adopt this technique.

However, top players who use this style of play, such as Japan's Koji Matsushita are popular with table tennis crowds all around the world, as they create a great foil to the attacking player.

The backspin chop is a stroke which attempts to negate the attacking strokes of your opponent and relies on a player having good movement and the right types of table tennis rubbers.

But there's something you must remember before we look at ...

Other advanced techniques

Of course, coping with your opponents fast attacking shots is an advanced technique, so it's important that you've mastered the basics of table tennis first, such as the table tennis grip, the table tennis stroke and the basic table tennis serve.

But once you've mastered the basics, you'll be ready to move on to an advanced level of table tennis. If that's you, I hope you'll find these tips and techniques useful.

I'll also be covering other table tennis techniques including - mastering spin, the backhand block and forehand block, the backhand loop and forehand loop.

Then I'll move on to the advanced table tennis serve including the short backspin serve, the backhand sidespin serve, and the forehand high toss serve.

Finally, I'll cover the advanced return of serve including the short push return, the fast attacking push return and the forehand flick.

OK, let's take a look at the table tennis technique required for ...

The basic backhand and forehand chop

To play this stroke, stand away from the table and

for the backhand chop - face the line of play, and
for the forehand chop - take a sideways stance facing the line of play

Using a medium stroke, your racket arm should move forward and downwards in the direction that the ball is going to travel, whilst your free arm should point towards the ball to assist with your body turn and balance.

During your stroke, you should mainly use the elbow and wrist joints of your playing arm to produce maximum spin. Push strongly with your legs to accentuate your body movement.

The racket angle should be slightly open to impart backspin.

Hit the ball using 50% of your stroke action before hitting the ball and 50% after hitting the ball.

Backhand chop

table tennis chop

Forehand chop

My top table tennis techniques:

This shot would normally be used when your opponent plays his shot very deep and fast or short over the net.

The purpose of this stroke is to reduce the control level of your opponent, so try to ensure that your shot lands close to your opponent's baseline or sideline, or very short over the net.

To vary the amount of spin on your shot, hit the ball at different points on its' trajectory and ensure that you use a loose wrist and fast brushing action to help you generate racket speed and spin.