February 17, 2006

Rubber Thickness

Now here's an aspect of table tennis that beginners know very little about.. Why are some rubbers thicker than others? How does thickness change a rubbers behaviour?
Let's start, according to the ITTF, the maximum thickness a rubber can have (sponge + top-sheet) is 4mm.
What is the sponge? What is the top-sheet?
Well, check one of your own rackets/rubbers; now, see the sponge in contact with the blade itself ? That's the sponge. In contact with the sponge you can see the top-sheet, the top-sheet is either red or black, and is either pips-out or pips-in (the most comonly used rubbers are pips-in (inverted), and probably the ones you use are as well).
(Rubber = Sponge + Top-sheet)
Sponge + top-sheet can be at most 4mm thick.
When classifying a rubber, manufacturers use numbers to express a rubbers thickness, for example, 1,8 corresponds to a 1,8mm sponge thickness, 2,0 to a 2 mm sponge thickness and so on...
The 2,0 classification means the sponge has 2,0mm, don't involve the topsheet on this (yet).
Some rubbers have the denomination MAX, this means that they are as thick as legally can. The sponge/topsheet MAX thickness isn't always the same on all rubbers, for example, one MAX rubber can have a 2,1mm sponge and a 1,9mm thick top-sheet, while another can have a 2,5mm sponge and a 1,5mm topsheet, both are 4mm thick together, and both are MAX.
Now, what's your "thickness of choice"?
That depends on what kind of player you are and what you intend to do with a specific rubber...
1,0mm - Very defensive and/or Control based players and/or beginner lacking control players.
1,5mm - All-round, for players slightly more offensive but that still need plenty of control due to either their game style or their experience.
1,8mm - All-round players, still quite controllable but due to an increased thickness can also be used to attack effectively.
2,0mm - Probably the most popular Thickness, All-round + / Offensive - players, slightly less controllable than the 1,8mm thickness but better suited for attack due to its increased speed.
MAX - Offensive and Offensive + players, very fast rubbers, hard to control for less experienced players. Most offensive world-class players use rubbers of this thickness.
There are more thickness variations, such as 1,9; 2,1 and so on, but the ones shown are the most expressive, check the one closest to the information you need.
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As you can see, offensive based players use greater thickness rubbers, while more defensive use lower thickness rubbers. The thicker a rubber is, the faster it is, at least when comparing to a less thick equal rubber.
How about Spin? In thickness inportant for Spin? Well, Spin is relative, a 1,0mm rubber can be spinier than a max rubber and vice-versa, it all depends on the used rubber. But, on the other hand, when considering equal rubbers, those of less thickness give you the opportunity to increase the amount of effort you put on the ball and still (eventually) land it on the opponent's side.
(c) Pedro V.

posted by Pedro V. @ 2:39 AM 0 comments

The Serve

As someone once said, "the serve stands for 50% of the point itself", I must disagree on that, but I agree surely that the serve is a very important aspect of the game. I would say that the serve influences 30% of all points in world class competition. A good set of serves is very important for one's game.

Let's focus on two aspects of the Serve:

The Serve itself (execution)

(1) Top-spin Serves (2) Side-Spin Serves (3) BackSpin (UnderSpin) Serves (4) No spin Serves

(1) These are quite hard to do without the opponent understanding... Use them to set a different pace to the game, by sending long, speedy, top-spinned balls to your opponent's weak spots...

(2) Very useful, especially if used in this way:
When sending a right side spin ball (the ball goes to your right when it hits the opponents racket), try to send it to the right of the table, and the opposite for the left side spin ball, as it increases the chances of your opponent missing the table...

(3) Very useful against attacking players and against less experienced ones as well... A very heavy backspin has great chances of becoming a lost point by the opponent. These serves are also very difficult to attack.

(4) No-Spin serves can be very useful. After a couple of spined serves, a No-Spin one can be quite confusing to the opponent. Also a very fast, long, no spinned serve can be usefull when your adversary is too far from a certain side of the table.

Reception of the Serve

The reception of the opponent's serve is quite important, as a good reception can throw your opponent off balance, and a bad reception can seriously injure your chances of winning the point.
A good reception is the one who will allow you to attack the next ball. In these days, the service reception is quite difficult, since the serves are getting more and more complex.

World class players spend nearly as much time training the execution as the reception of the serves.

How to return the opponent's serves?

(1) Top-spin Serves (2) Side-Spin Serves (3) BackSpin (UnderSpin) Serves (4) No spin Serves

(1) These serves are a problem If they are very quick and long (70% or so of the times). You should be careful and not be caught off balance, you should close the angle of your racket(facing down) (as you should do to a normal top-spinned ball) and try to return it as low and fast as possible. Or you can try to attack it right away if the ball is slow and/or high.

(2) These are very difficult serves to receive... You should always look to your opponent's racket contact with the ball. You should normally understand what kind of side-spin he did and compensate it by aiming the racket a bit to the left (if he did right side spin) or to the right (if he did left side spin). The nightmare of all players is not knowing what kind of side spin the ball has... in those cases, aim to the middle of the table, preferably trying to gently back-side-spin-it as well. Or try to guess if you fell lucky. :o)

(3) UnderSpin serves are very common. You should open your racket angle (facing up) (as you should do to a normal under-spinned ball) and return it with the same underspin to the opponent, the lower the better.

(4) You may think... No spin balls are so easy to return... But what if you confuse these balls with any of the others above? Then you really have a problem, as said before, take real attention on your opponents to understand what kind of spin he gave the ball.

P.S. - Some balls have a brand logo or the ITTF mark, those can be helpful in letting you know what kind of spin the balls have... Look carefully... (But only at low ball speeds)

(c) Pedro V

posted by Pedro V. @ 2:34 AM 0 comments

How to do a forehand push/Loop

Steps:


1 - Start in your basic ready position, with your feet shoulder width apart and shoulders squared off to your opponent.


2 - Notice the ball coming to your forehand.


3 - Backswing your forearm away from your body so that it is almost parallel to the baseline of the table. Keep your elbow close to your hip. In your backswing, draw your paddle back, not your elbow.


4 - Pivot your hips slightly in the same direction as your backswing, so that they are at a forty-five degree angle to the baseline.


5 - Hold the face of your paddle slightly closed (facing down) throughout your swing - this will give the ball a slight topspin. (The more closed the paddle is, the more topspin the ball will have) Allow your wrist to drop back a little.


6 - Push your paddle forward into the path of the ball, pivoting your hips back to the ready position.


7 - Hit the ball in the center of the paddle.


8 - Push through the ball, being careful not to slap or jerk at it. Move your wrist forward to "catch up" with the steady forward stroke of your arm as you push. Follow through so that the paddle is pointing to where you want the ball to go and your arm is extended. Your hips should rotate just past the ready position.


Tips:
The key to this hit is a steady even push. Concentrate on placement rather than power if you’re not a very experienced player.

If you want to play Table Tennis in a more serious base then this is something you can't afford not to do correctly.

posted by Pedro V. @ 2:32 AM 0 comments

How to Play Defence

Sometimes the best offence is a good defence. In table tennis, playing defensively can be your entire strategy.

Steps:

1 - Play for control. Your main priority is to safely return every hit that comes to you.

2 - Let your opponent make the mistakes. Play it safe.

3 - Play back from the table. Play the ball late and low, to slow down the game.

4 - Use chop shots, lob shots and blocks

5 - Use as much spin as you safely can, but make sure each shot lands on the table.

6 - Take advantage of offensive opportunities.

7 - Stay calm. Let your opponent make mistakes. Long defensive rallies will often open up offensive opportunities. Don't pass these by just because you are playing defensively - score when you can.


Tips:
Playing defensively works better against very aggressive opponents. Two defensive players end up playing very long and frustrating games.

Use this method if your opponent is a very attacking player and you don't wish to play his game, if you see he has difficulties with backspin (underspin) or if he gets annoyed when playing against defensive players. That happened to me once in a tournament. In the 1st round I was playing an attacking player, probably better than me. I played defensively and he got quite annoyed. I won 11-4 and 11-0!

To play with this game style you need to be very patient, you’ll be probably be able to annoy your adversary, resulting in mistakes by his part.

More experienced players should use various backspin shots, with different amounts of spin. Control and Spin rubbers, preferably low thickness, are the most appropriate for this style of game.

posted by Pedro V. @ 2:28 AM 0 comments

How to Do a Backhand Push/Loop

The most common stroke in table tennis is the push stroke.Learn this one first and then concentrate on improving other aspects of your game.

Steps:

1 - Start in your basic ready position, with your feet roughlyshoulder width apart, your shoulders square to your opponent,and your paddle up and ready.

2 - Notice the ball coming to your backhand and draw the paddleacross your chest.

3 - Keep the face of your paddle slightly closed. (Facing down). The more closed it is, the heavier will be the top-spin given to the ball.

4 - Push the paddle forward into the path of the ball. Lead theswing with your elbow, but allow your arm to extend as youpush the ball.

5 - Hit the ball in the center of your paddle.

6 - Push through the ball, resisting the temptation to slap,tap, or jerk your paddle as it strikes the ball.

7 - Keep your feet set, and try not to pivot your body at all.

8 - Finish with your paddle pointing to where you want your shotto go. Your forearm should be mostly extended.

Tips:

Practice the motions of the backhand push without the ball. When you are actually playing, there is no time to think interms of step-by-step.Steadiness is the key. Don't try for too much topspin on thisshot if you are a beginner. The closed face of the paddlewill give the ball some natural topspin.
It is very important to learn this movement. Most players can make a good Forehand push, but some are not capable of doing a Backhand one. This can be very dangerous if your adversary understands that and starts distributing a lot of balls to the backhand, keeping you from attacking properly.


Don't forget: Always give the ball some topspin, both in backhand and forehand push, as you will be able to throw the ball with greater speed and still get it in the table...

posted by Pedro V. @ 2:25 AM 0 comments

How to Do a Backhand Chop

Named for its downward cleaving motion, the chop is a classic defensive stroke that lands the ball short on your opponent'sside with a very heavy backspin.

Steps:
1 - Anticipate your opponent's attack shot and retreat a step ortwo back from the table to allow the ball to drop. The harderyour opponent attacks, the further you must retreat from thetable.

2 - Pivot your hips and shoulders as you draw the paddle acrossyour chest to about head height. Cock your wrist back towardyour head.

3 - Point your elbow toward your target.

4 - Swing from your forearm, leading with your elbow, as youchop down on the ball. Keep your paddle face very open (facingup).

5 - Snap your wrist as your strike the ball.

6 - Time your chop to take the ball at about thigh height. (If needed you can crouch a little)

7 - Strike the ball in the center of your paddle, keeping itsface very open.(facing up)

8 - Follow through, down and forward, until your arm is fullyextended and the paddle is at about waist height.

9 - Make sure the motion of your stroke is continuous frombeginning to end, with no stopping.Tips:Practice this stroke without the ball. When you are actuallyplaying, you will not have time to think in step-by-stepterms.
A backhand chop can be very helpful to certain styles of game. It can "buy" you time to prepare for your next hit, for example.

With more practice try to make the racket movement as fast as possible, as that will give the ball more backspin (under spin). A good choice of rubbers is also important since rubbers with great spin will make the ball have more backspin with less effort. A low thickness rubber is also advised, although certainly not obligatory.

posted by Pedro V. @ 2:21 AM 0 comments

And... we're off !

By the time I was 15, I managed to single handedly create what would become the best Portuguese table tennis side on the Web. The number of visitors (over 200.000 in a 4 year time-line), the good reviews, and the awards "Pedro's Table Tennis World" has received make me think it was, indeed, one of the best european table tennis personal sites. For all that this sport has given me I've been dazzled with nostalgia and decided to create a webspace that would both be a way for me to publish some of my now unpublished articles as well as to welcome a new phase of my life, in which table tennis hasn't, maybe regretfully, the same weight it had before. To All you who made PTTW possible, my sincere Thank you.

Pedro V.

posted by Pedro V. @ 2:18 AM 0 comments