Tactical thinking
Sweetiele asked 6 years ago
Hey Dan and Tom! There is a lot of material on the tactical aspect if Table tennis. However, it can be a bit of a challenge to think about so many things while competing and it’s better to keep it as simple as possible. I don’t play well tactically and have realised that playing tactically is very important. What should I do to eventually make tactical thinking a habit? Thanks a ton!
Tom Academy Coach answered 6 years ago
Hi Sweetiele,
You’re 100% right, tactical thinking is very important in matches and it can be hard when there are many areas to focus on at once.
A really good way to start improving your use of tactics and thinking about this area in games is to focus on a few of your strengths in your game and how to implement them effectively. Also during a match just keep things simple and concentrate on a couple of key tactics or points of a game plan that you want to follow and stick to them rather than getting caught up thinking about too many things which is very easy to do!
This will help you have a more clear mind and a better picture of what you want to achieve, in the long term you’ll be able to improve and focus on more areas as well as more complex tactics during games! 🙂
SweetieleHey Tom!
Thanks for your reply! I find your advice very helpful. But Could you please give examples of few tactics or points of a game plan? I feel that I am not able to think much between points and games and thus repeat the same mistakes a lot. Many thanks!
HI Sweetiele, tactics are a very individual thing and are different depending on your style and also who your playing against too.
Let me know your rough style of play and I can give you some basic tactics to help you move forward clearly in matchplay.
Hi Tom,
Thanks for your reply!
I have a good forehand opening ball and can also finish the point with my forehand. My backhand opening is not so good but has improved lately. During rallies I like to control the ball with my backhand and attack with my forehand. I play mostly to my opponent’s backhand from my backhand. I mostly use short backspin and pendulum serves. While receiving, I mostly like to use backspin unless the ball has some topspin in it. I am very uncomfortable blocking and lose most points doing so. I’ll be grateful for your advice! Many thanks!
Hi Tom,
Thanks for your reply!
I have a good forehand opening ball and can also finish the point with my forehand. My backhand opening is not so good but has improved lately. During rallies I like to control the ball with my backhand and attack with my forehand. I play mostly to my opponent’s backhand from my backhand. I mostly use short backspin and pendulum serves. While receiving, I mostly like to use backspin unless the ball has some topspin in it. I am very uncomfortable blocking and lose most points doing so. I’ll be grateful for your advice! Many thanks!
Hi Tom,
Thanks for your reply!
I have a good forehand opening ball and can also finish the point with my forehand. My backhand opening is not so good but has improved lately. During rallies I like to control the ball with my backhand and attack with my forehand. I play mostly to my opponent’s backhand from my backhand. I mostly use short backspin and pendulum serves. While receiving, I mostly like to use backspin unless the ball has some topspin in it. I am very uncomfortable blocking and lose most points doing so. I’ll be grateful for your advice! Many thanks!
Hi Tom,
Thanks for your reply!
I have a good forehand opening ball and can also finish the point with my forehand. My backhand opening is not so good but has improved lately. During rallies I like to control the ball with my backhand and attack with my forehand. I play mostly to my opponent’s backhand from my backhand. I mostly use short backspin and pendulum serves. While receiving, I mostly like to use backspin unless the ball has some topspin in it. I am very uncomfortable blocking and lose most points doing so. I’ll be grateful for your advice! Many thanks!
Hi Dan and Tom,
I feel that in order to play well tactically it’s very important to anticipate where the next ball is going to come. An important part of doings so is to learn how to sync isolated skills, such as a serve or a flip, together to form a sequence. However it’s easier than done and I really struggle at this. How can I learn to sync isolated skills together. Can you suggest a few drills that would be particularly helpful in doing so? Many thanks!
