Match analysis
Sweetiele asked 6 years ago
Hey Dan and Tom!
I am really enjoying my subscription to your academy!
I recently played a tournament but lost in the qualifying stage. I have recorded the match. Can you please analyse it and let me know the mistakes I am making, what sort of strategy my opponent is using and how I can improve?
the link is : https://youtu.be/BGI8X2n-j2k
Many thanks!
Tom Academy Coach answered 6 years ago
Hey Sweetiele,
I have had a good look at your match and have a few points for you as feedback and advice. Firstly against this player most of the time he is able to make the first attack and put you under pressure weather this was from his own serve or on your serve when it drifted long he get’s in first a lot which makes it hard or you to impose your game on him at all. So this is the first area to really focus on-The serve and return, making sure you can keep the serve short to force him to push or flick, also when returning practicing the short touch to keep him out or flicking and being aggressive, most of the time you push long which suits him as he has a strong topspin game on both wings.
The next area which also links to the serve and return is your forehand topspin, you have a good solid and strong forehand topspin which you need to make the most of. When you were able to keep him out and use it more often you won the point, a good example of you returning better with a short touch and using your forehand is at 5.25 minutes in the video!
Overall in the rallies there wasn’t a huge amount of difference between you and him, I feel if you can work on and improve your short game (Keeping the serves shorter, touch play and return of serve) you’ll see a big difference in results.
A couple of other technical and tactical things to watch out for and help are:
-Staying low and weight forward on the forehand as well as when returning serve
-Trying to find the opponents elbow/crossover more often
-Making sure you don’t rush or snatch and shots, wait for the top of the bounce
Hope that’s plenty for you to focus on and if you need any more information just comment back on here and I’ll be happy to get back to you!
SweetieleThanks for your reply!I really appreciate your time and effort. I completely agree with what you have to say. The only problem in receiving short was that my opponent was mixing his serves well, using both short and slight out backspin and no spin serves. I found it difficult to keep them short at times. Although there wasn’t much of a difference in rallying abilities, I found it difficult to win points rallying and made a lot of errors from my backhand side and while moving.
Can you please tell me why I wasn’t able to make the last forehand ball in the point starting at 3:35, And then again in the point starting at 4:25. Can you please tell me why I blocked the heavy spin long in the point starting at 5:15? Why do I miss the backhand opening at 8:30? How is my opponent able to make that counterattack at 8:40? Why I miss the serve at 9:07?
I’ll be grateful for your feedback and advice! Many thanks!
Hi Sweetiele no problem at all, I agree with your points that you made there too. The point at 3.35 the forehand you played missed because you didn’t get enough space away from your body and he got you off balance by playing into your elbow. The point at 4.25 you played a good forehand attack but then were a bit late to recover and therefor the ball ended up dropping slightly late with your timing and it dropped into the net.
The block at 5.15 was due to taking the ball too early and not letting it reach the top of the bounce, also your bat angle was slightly to open allowing the spin to take effect. So try to let the ball bounce up and take a little more time with these type of heavy spin shots. The backhand open up at 8.30 missed due to not having enough time and space from the table to play a fill stroke, you ended up rushed and unable to brush the ball. At 8.40 he is able to counter attack easily because of the position you place the ball, he was in his backhand corner and it was ideal for him to play a solid backhand counter,if you had placed the ball to his middle or forehand it would have been a much harder shot for him.
The serve at 9.07 missed due to the timing of the contact, the ball dropped a bit too low before you made contact. Also the ball was very close to your body as when you threw the ball up it comes slightly back towards you, so try to get a consistent throw up and contact the ball slightly more in front of you for the best control and consistency.
Hope those pointers help you!
Thanks for the reply Tom!
