Hi Steve,
Great question and I know your frustration very well. This is a very common situation and we made a video on it here: https://tabletennisdailyacademy.com/videos/how-to-defeat-blockers/
What is essential when playing passive blocking players is to vary your shots and placement often. Finding the elbow of the opponent works well to as they cannot get good contact to block well. Another thing is to slow things right down, often blockers do well because the attacker tries to much and simply starts to break down and rush. Slow things down and mix up your shot placement, varying your spin and speed. When you play with this style, mixing things up and slowing down you end up getting weaker returns from the opponent which you can then capitlise on and attack strong.
I also find letting passive blockers attack me works well. So don’t always be the player to try and attack everything and fall into the blockers trap. Sometimes push long and let them make the opponent attack, you may find this will put you in a different position in the rally.
Hope this helps Steve 🙂
