powerful-backhand-counter-loop
Salexander asked 3 years ago
Hi Tom and Dan, I hope you guys are doing good.
I have been training my backhand shots recently and always seem to overshoot when doing a powerful backhand counter loop (especially against heavy topspin). I have no problem blocking these shots or doing small loops, but if I want to loop kill the shot most of the time I will miss the table slightly and it gets worse when I add more power. I tried closing the bat angle and I start to clip the net more, unless when I’m lucky the ball actually landed with really high quality (but no safety).
I am comfortable looping with my backhand but still cannot put 100% of my power especially against heavy topspin. I see players like Liang Jingkun, Kreanga, and Dima can make a big backhand stroke and powerful as if they are lifting a backspin, but they are doing it against topspin and still land it on the opponents table. Is there a specific technique to do this (like putting sidespin or lifting the ball from the side) or do I just need to practice adjusting my bat angle? Is it better to make a big stroke or a compact stroke for this kind of ball?
I am using Tibhar Evolution MX-P with an OFF+ 7-ply all-wood blade.
Cheers!
Samy
Tom Academy Coach answered 3 years ago
Hey Samy, we are good thanks, hope you are well! This kind of shot is definitely not easy especially when trying to add more power so I wouldn’t worry to much that it isn’t very consistent just yet. It’s always better to have a compact stroke on this kind of shot if possible, even when trying to play more power. You can still generate a lot of power with good timing and acceleration, you may need a slightly bigger stroke when further away from the table but hopefully you won’t need to be there too often.
Ok so I would say a lot of getting this shot correct is bat angle like you mentioned but also timing and making sure you hit at the peak of the bounce. But probably the most important thing is the way you hit the ball, often when people go for more power the contact becomes hard and heavy, if you can focus on having a lighter brushing touch on the ball this will give you a lot more control and feeling. This isn’t easy to do at the beginning but with practice an staying relaxed as you contact the ball and thinking of a quick arm acceleration instead of trying to hit the ball hard this will improve.
To be honest only in certain situations would players put 100% power, most of the time it’s difficult when playing against heavy spin and you have to play with a bit more control. Of course you can improve the power you hit with still, just to bear in mind sometimes playing medium hard is enough to win the point. Anyway I hope those tips help and let us know how you get on 🙂
Cheers, Tom
SalexanderOh yeah it makes more sense now. Maybe often time i got too stiff when I add more power making it harder to perform a proper soft brushing technique.
For my next practice I’ll keep in mind my arm acceleration and to relax my wrist. Will probably try this stroke from slow then gradually adding power as I gain confidence ?.
I will try to video record my next practice session and see how it goes and hopefully you can give some feedback.
Thank you very much!
No problem at all, that’s why we’re here 🙂 Yes we’d be happy to give feedback if you send us in a video on here for sure. Building up the speed while staying relaxed are remembering the contact will help a lot I think, I’m sure you will see a difference with some practice at it!
Awesome! Thanks Tom a.k.a. Mr. Consistency ?
