Modern table tennis: strokes, trainings, strategies. Artyom Utochkin
the necessity to constantly seek the opportunity to attack and possess the initiative in the rally. Attacking, aggressive style of play and the constant competition – is one of the critical success factors in today’s tennis.
The balance between defense and attack
The player should be mature both in attacking and defensive style – this will create additional space for maneuverability and variety during the game. The opponent must never predict how one returns the ball.
The aggressiveness, speed, spin and unpredictability
The aggressiveness throughout the game and a desire to take the game control over. The ever-increasing speed along with the spin. Only their combination will lead to success. The unpredictability of the game in order to not let the opponent unlock your game strategy, so he would always be under pressure and constrained in his actions.
Chapter 2. Basic strokes of modern table tennis
Let’s start with the most important stroke in table tennis – topspin/loop. Top-spin (top-spin) is translated from the English language as the top rotation (spin). In fact, any ball that has a top-spin in table tennis logically should fall within the definition, but it is actually more complicated.
When we say “top-spin”, we mean a powerful attacking element, which provides maximum top rotation and the speed of the ball.
Top-spin is a table tennis game element that is the most acute and difficult to return.
All players with senior adult degree and higher are capable of forehand top-spin, but in the hands of the masters among first one hundred strongest athletes in the world it is a powerful weapon, which they seek to apply in every rally (of course, in except the players, advocating a protective style) and win a point due to this element.
We’re going to devote this chapter to the forehand topspin – the most powerful and commonly used element in modern table tennis.
Different variations of the forehand top-spin
Forehand top-spin, as already mentioned, is an integral part of the technical arsenal in modern table tennis. Athletes playing in an attacking style (more than 90%) who perform 60—70% of attacks use exactly forehand top-spin. The number of points won due to forehand top-spin, in total, exceed 50% in the most matches.
The number of variations of the forehand topspin is outplayed, perhaps, only by the number of table tennis serve variations. However, if we consider only gaming elements,
the forehand top-spin is the most hygienic stroke.
To show you the importance of the forehand top-spin as an element, let’s imagine the following situation: imagine that an athlete can’t perform forehand top-spin at all, but he masters all other tennis elements. What are the chances of such athlete? Perhaps his chances, in this case, tend to zero.
Now, for example, let’s “take away” the backhand top-spin from our imagined character. Will there be any chance to succeed for such an athlete? Definitely! Do not believe? Remember who became the Olympic champion in 2004. Right, Rue Seun Min. The representative of classical penhold with the ability to perform only a forehand top-spin.
The point is, that even without having a backhand top-spin in the arsenal, one can become an Olympic champion.
The same is with any other game element (serve is not a gaming element). The absence of any element can be compensated. But the absence of the forehand topspin cannot be compensated. All this stresses the crucial importance of this stroke in today’s table tennis.
Now let’s talk about the variability of the forehand topspin. Stroke technique is unusual due to the fact it has a lot of variations. And this is the last choice. Depending on a height, speed, rotation of a received ball, the top-spin technique is being changed. And that’s when the forehand top-spin technique changes are most significant than in other elements. Often, even different principles are used, but more on this later. For now, it’s enough to remember that forehand top-spin has many variations that differ significantly from each other in the T. Committee manner.
Let’s open a small secret. Most table tennis players make a lot of mistakes when performing forehand topspin on the right because they do not understand that each variation of the forehand topspin requires a separate insight and technical workover.
Conditionally, we can distinguish 10 variations of the forehand topspin shot; whereas, it can be divided into some subvariations. It is worth noting that it’s not widespread. So, let’s now briefly consider the following: What stroke variations exist and in what situations are they used?
Variation #1. Forehand top-spin against a simple ball or block
This is a classic top-spin, the basic version of which is being mastered at the earliest stages of learning table tennis techniques. We can say that everything starts with this variation. Not mastering it sufficiently, you will not be able to master the other. Not even worth trying. It’s like learning to run if you didn’t learn how to walk. Everything is good in its season
Forehand top-spin is performed against the block during the open rally in table tennis when one athlete attacks and the other is forced to defend himself, returning the ball to the table with a block or, as it is also said in table tennis, “drive”.
There’s another branch of this variation: Forehand topspin against the block, that is performed in return to the chop.
Let us explain. Imagine that during a match you performed a serve with a lower spin and received a chop with a top-spin. Your opponent received the ball, and you’re doing a second top-spin. But what’s the difference, because a top-spin against the block is a top-spin against the block? But there is a difference.
The fact of the matter is that when you make a top-spin with a chop, your opponent receives it with a block, a spin from your top-spin remains. And this rotation requires a slightly different handling than with a drive against the block.
We’ll open a secret that you can significantly raise your game level. The fact is that the number of errors, committed by athletes in the game with the second forehand loop is considerably higher than in the third and subsequent top-spins.
This nuance is usually under the radar. And many athletes don’t even realize why they are quite often mistaken exactly in the second step.
Those who begin to take this nuance into account, immediately increase the stability of the second top-spin and, as a result, its overall level.
Perhaps you have a question: “Is this nuance can be seen when viewing the games featuring table tennis stars?”. A reasonable question and the answer is this. It seems there’s no visual difference between top-spin against the simple block and chopped top-spin against a block. The difference is in the first touch. And the first touch does not usually stand out.
Variation #2. Powerful forehand top-spin
Powerful forehand top-spin is used to complete or intensify an attack. Of course, it is used much less often than the forehand top-spin against the block, since it requires such situation when its performing is possible and appropriate.
What is the situation? The interesting thing is that for each athlete there are “personal” suitable moments. One performs a powerful forehand top-spin only on balls, raised slightly higher than normally, and the other can perform it right after the first chopped top-spin. And someone generally has the ability and skill