How often have you thought that you had been the better player technically, but still managed to lose the game? In order to beat an opponent, you have to be more than technically proficient and learn how to apply your technique correctly through a better tactical appreciation of each game as it progresses This book will show you how to this, and it provides a thorough analysis of all the most important table tennis tactics About the Book The book contains an age-appropriate collection of all aspects of table tennis tactics for young players It helps you to read your opponent’s game and to decide how to play against forehand- or backhand-dominant players There are also valuable tips on how playing tempo can be used as a tactical element, how to produce and read ball spin and how to influence it with a suitable racket surface, and how the service game is used to take tactical control of the game With numerous photos and illustrations, a self-test questionnaire, profiles of the best table tennis players, the official rules and tactical know-how, this book will soon become your table tennis ‘bible’ ISBN 978-1-84126-299-4 $ 14.95 US/£ 9.95/A 14.95 www.m-m-sports.com The Grip Table according to Östh/Fellke About the Authors Klaus-M Geske, 42, is a qualified physical education teacher From 2000 to 2008, the elite level coach was national youth coach for the Flemish Table Tennis Association in Belgium Alongside his coaching work in Hannover, Germany, he is also actively involved in coaching training at regional and international level Jens Mueller, 39, was coach to the German national deaf table tennis team between 1997 and 2004 The high school teacher has been working as a lecturer at a German University since 2006 The table below was compiled by the Swedish coaches Glenn Östh and Jens Fellke, a former Swedish first division player It shows which grips are advantageous for which strokes and side changes For example, a FH topspin is easier with the forehand grip while the backhand grip is helpful for a FH-sidespin They also indicate that by changing grip (also known as flipping the racket) during a rally, it is possible to change the grip in order to play as many strokes as possible with good technique # Strokes Grip FH-topspin BH-topspin FH-smash BH-smash FH-flip BH-flip Quick change from FH to BH Quick change from BH to FH FH parallel from the FH corner BH parallel from the FH corner FH cross-court from the FH corner BH cross-court from the BH corner FH from mid-table BH from mid-table FH sidespin Defensive FH-chop Defensive BH-chop FH-grip BH-grip BH-grip FH-grip FH-grip BH-grip BH-grip FH-grip FH-grip BH-grip BH-grip FH-grip FH-grip BH-grip BH-grip BH-grip FH-grip Table-Tennis-Tactics neue Fassung 04.12.2009 13:09 Uhr Seite Table Tennis Tactics – Your Path to Success! Table-Tennis-Tactics neue Fassung 04.12.2009 13:09 Uhr Seite ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, OR (TO QUOTE JOE COCKER) “WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS” The authors thank: The Butterfly company for their support Timo Boll for his friendly and very professional collaboration on the photo shoots Guido Schuchert for the great photos, without which our book would not have been so well illustrated Oliver Sprigade for preparing the images He had the difficult task of representing what we were not able to communicate via photos or the written word He is also the creator of the ‘tactical fox.’ Another big THANK YOU to all those mentioned above Table-Tennis-Tactics neue Fassung 04.12.2009 13:09 Uhr Seite Klaus-M Geske & Jens Mueller Table Tennis Tactics Your Path to Success Meyer & Meyer Sport Table-Tennis-Tactics neue Fassung 09.12.2009 12:38 Uhr Seite Original title: Tischtennistaktik © Meyer & Meyer Verlag, 2009 Translated by Heather Ross Table Tennis Tactics Your Path to Success Klaus-M Geske & Jens Mueller Maidenhead: Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd., 2010 ISBN: 978-1-84126-299-4 All rights reserved Except for use in a review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means now known or hereafter invented without the prior written permission of the publisher This book may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form, binding or cover other than that which is published, without the prior written consent of the publisher © 2010 by Meyer & Meyer Verlag, Aachen Aachen, Adelaide, Auckland, Budapest, Cape Town, Graz, Indianapolis, Maidenhead, Olten (CH), Singapore, Toronto Member of the World Sportpublishers’ Association (WSPA) www.w-s-p-a.org Printed by: B.O.S.S Druck und Medien GmbH ISBN: 978-1-84126-299-4 E-Mail: info@m-m-sports.com www.m-m-sports.com Table-Tennis-Tactics neue Fassung 04.12.2009 13:09 Uhr Seite CONTENTS Contents Greeting from Timo Boll Foreword 10 Before We Start 13 Ball Placement 15 1.1 Elbow 17 1.2 Scattering Angle 20 1.2.1 Implications for Training and Competition 21 1.2.2 Conclusion 22 1.2.3 A Brief Glance Beyond Our Sport 23 1.3 Racket Grip 23 1.3.1 The Grip Table According to Östh and Fellke 26 1.3.2 Implications for Training and Competition 27 1.4 Game Types 27 1.4.1 Characteristics of a forehand-dominant player 27 1.4.1.1 Tips for Playing Against Forehand-dominant Players 29 1.4.2 Characteristics of a backhand-dominant player 31 1.4.2.1 Tips for Playing Against Backhand-dominant Players 32 1.4.3 Summary 33 1.5 Drills 34 Pace 2.1 2.2 2.3 37 Fast or Slow? 37 Changes of Pace 38 Drills 39 Flight Height 41 3.1 General 41 3.2 Lobbing 43 3.3 The Problem of Time 44 3.4 Playing Against Defense 44 3.5 Drills 45 Table-Tennis-Tactics neue Fassung 04.12.2009 13:09 Uhr Seite TABLE TENNIS TACTICS Spin 47 4.1 Producing Spin 47 4.2 Identifying Spin 50 4.2.1 Backspin 50 4.2.2 Topspin 53 4.2.3 Sidespin 55 4.3 Drills 59 4.3.1 Chop Drills 59 4.3.2 Topspin and Block Drills 59 4.3.3 Flip Drills 60 4.4 Special Kinds of Rubbers 61 4.4.1 Pips-In Rubbers 62 4.4.1.1 Antis 63 4.4.2 Pips-Out Rubbers 64 4.4.2.1 Short Pips 64 4.4.2.2 Long Pips 66 4.4.2.3 Mid-length Pips 69 Service Tactics 71 5.1 Service Feints 74 5.1.1 Feints With or Without Spin 74 5.1.2 The ‘Windscreen Wiper’ Principle 74 5.1.3 The Reversal Principle 76 5.2 Tips for Service Training 77 Risk Assessment 78 6.1 Risk Phases 79 Epilogue 84 The Official Rules 85 8.1 The Order of Serving, Receiving and Ends 85 8.2 The Expedite System 88 Table Tennis Rules 90 Table-Tennis-Tactics neue Fassung 04.12.2009 13:09 Uhr Seite CONTENTS Final Questionnaire 98 9.1 Answers 101 10 Profiles of a Few Former and Current Table Tennis Stars (and those to come) 102 10.1 Timo Boll 102 10.2 Wang Hao 103 10.3 Ma Long 104 10.4 Ma Lin 105 10.5 Wang Liqin 206 10.6 Vladimir Samsonov 107 10.7 Michael Maze 108 10.8 Joo Se Hyuk 109 10.9 Jun Mizutani 110 10.10 Dimitrij Ovtcharov 111 10.11 Werner Schlager 112 10.12 Jan-Ove Waldner 113 10.13 Zhang Yining 114 10.14 Guo Yue 115 10.15 Elizabeta Samara 116 10.16 Daniela Dodean 117 Photo Credits 117 Table-Tennis-Tactics neue Fassung 04.12.2009 13:09 Uhr Seite TABLE TENNIS TACTICS ... BH-grip BH-grip FH-grip FH-grip BH-grip BH-grip BH-grip FH-grip Table- Tennis- Tactics neue Fassung 04.12.2009 13:09 Uhr Seite Table Tennis Tactics – Your Path to Success! Table- Tennis- Tactics neue... Seite Klaus- M Geske & Jens Mueller Table Tennis Tactics Your Path to Success Meyer & Meyer Sport Table- Tennis- Tactics neue Fassung 09.12.2009 12:38 Uhr Seite Original title: Tischtennistaktik © Meyer... & Meyer Verlag, 2009 Translated by Heather Ross Table Tennis Tactics Your Path to Success Klaus- M Geske & Jens Mueller Maidenhead: Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd., 2010 ISBN: 97 8-1 -8 412 6-2 9 9-4