recovery
Dipak1974 asked 5 years ago
Hi Guys
just query regarding opening up and being ready for return. I think at times my first attack stroke is big and as a result I am slow recovering. Firstly how can I work on recovery? I am ok when my topspin is blocked but I’m being caught or rushed when it is countered. Would me taking a step back after my open up help me with more time. I see pro players do this a lot. They shuffle back after they open up which I guess is to be ready for counter.
Tom Academy Coach answered 5 years ago
Hi Dipak1974,
I think by the sounds of it you have mentioned the two most key things here which are the length of your shots and also your position at the table. You said your open up is quite big and this can often cause a slow recovery, so try to concentrate on keeping a shorter but my dynamic open up by having a quicker acceleration but smaller stroke. This will save time and reduces the effort needed to open up as well.
Secondly as you said its trying to give yourself more time and space for the next shot which is easier if your open up is shorter,taking a small step back can really help. Alongside this try to keep yourself low and with your weight forward to allow you to be in a controlled position to attack the next ball if possible.
To practice this recovery I would suggest using multi ball if possible to play the open up shot and then a second ball, because with multi ball you can increase the speed and really improve your speed of recovery!
Dipak1974Hi Tom thank you for prompt reply. I have been doing multi ball with coach where first one is under spin and second ball is topspin so have to first open up and second shot play with closed racket due to top spin. It helps a lot. I think the problem I have is ball watching/admiring shot rather than recovering for return. As a result I end up blocking a block rather than continuing to play attack. Also problem I have is I have become predictable where my fh open goes cross table as does Bh open. I think I need to play down middle and cross over a lot more. Also I need to aim closer to base as I have found watching my videos when my open ups are short they are more easily blocked and countered rather than when I get them closer to base line.
I totally agree with trying to be more unpredictable with your placement, it makes it much harder for opponents to get in position to play a comfortable counter attack. Also as you mentioned anoth big factor can be the depth and getting the ball longer in the table so they are harder to counter. To me it’s sounds like you’re doing all the right things with your training like the mulit ball and video recording yourself. Just try when doing the first open up to immediately prepare for your next ball without a pause to avoid the ball watching you mentioned, great work!
Thanks Tom.
It’s case of playing a particular way and having to change. At a certain level you can get away with certain things and first open up may bring points but at the level now it won’t and it’s case of training myself at this level not the level of opponents I use to play.
I have watched my recordings of friendly games and good thing is all errors seem related so constant practice should improve it. I think it’s case of always doing what I’m training but in match scenario old habits can creep in till it becomes automatic.
I think my focus on open ups is to keep the ball low over net and fast I have forgotten that a slightly slower and spinny open up deep on table will bring me more success.
