countering-a-high-backspin-ball
Nomad asked 2 years ago
Hi Dan & Tom
I recently played against a defender who also had a fast attacking backhand. Although I managed to win (barely) I found it difficult to read his return of my topspin balls. Standing between 1-2 metres behind the table he returned the ball with a lot of backspin, which made it difficult to maitain the attack. On occasion he could return the ball with heavy backspin half long on my side of the table about a foot above the net which brought me in to try and continue the attack. As it was half long I was not able to get the full body turn and played a weaker topspin shot (or controlled punch) which he attacked with a his strong backhand drive.
I decided to change tactics and played slower and higher topspin which landed deeper on his side and did not give him the same opportunity to attack with his backhand and so gave me easier balls to finish the rally.
I just wondered if there was any other tactic that might have used to counter this type of style
Dan Academy Coach answered 2 years ago
Hey Nomad, it definitely sounds like you did the right thing against this type of player to get the ball deeper and play with less speed but more spin. Sometimes if you get these half long type returns against a defensive player it’s good to play a long fast aggressive push back, probably on this occasion wide into his forehand side, often this keeps them on the defensive and gives you time to reset and get into a good position to attack again. It can also help you avoid rushing and mix up the game and add variation as well.
But it sounds to me like you adapted well in this situation! Dan 🙂
