June 2020

ITTF COVID-19 Donations: #TableTennisUnited Campaign

June 23, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) With the table tennis community suffering across the whole world, the ITTF Foundation has launched an initiative they are calling the Table Tennis United Donation Campaign. The goal is to support athletes, coaches, umpires, associations, and field projects that need help as they emerge from the COVID-19 crisis. The Donation Campaign is […]

Coaching Tip Off The Week: Do You Really Have Control of Your Shots?

June 22, 2020

(By Larry Hodges) Most players below the higher levels do not really control their shots, both in terms of direction and depth. One reason for this is they don’t really get much feedback on it, and so don’t realize just how little they are really controlling the ball. Another is that they aren’t really aiming […]

Butterfly Training Tips: Half-Long Loop from Forehand Corner

June 22, 2020

This instructional video is by Butterfly Coach Jinxin Wang. The technique that is explained in detail is how best to execute the half-long loop from the forehand corner. For More Power: Move over to the right with both legs and drop the right leg lower. Your body should be slightly leaned forward and make sure […]

ITTF Tour Calendar Still Paused through September 6

June 22, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) While many countries are beginning to allow sanctioned events (the US is open to sanctioned tournaments starting in July), the ITTF Tour remains paused. Last week, the ITTF announced that the Czech Open and the Bulgaria Open are both cancelled from the tour schedule. The significance of the decision is that the […]

NBA’s Bubble – Ping Pong, Golf, Billiards Among Limited Leisure Activities

June 21, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) When the NBA restarts the professional basketball season on July 30, it will be under strict lockdown rules that are designed to keep the players, staff, and families separated and safe. The protected area is being called the NBA’s “bubble”. The NBA released over a 100 page s or new rules for […]

Open Doors: Princeton Pong

June 20, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) Princeton Pong, the 10,000 square foot elite table tennis facility in Princeton Junction, New Jersey, has opened. They are currently restricting play to members, and only on a reservation basis. Regulations have restricted them to 25% of their capacity, so this limits the maximum number of players to 20 (in a club that […]

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Rhode Island Table Tennis Association

June 20, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) In past years, the Rhode Island Table Tennis Association has stated with pride, that our league has been in continuous operation since World War II. Obviously there were holidays, and snow storms, and a location change that has caused some short-term delays or stoppages, but the three month stoppage due to COVID-19 […]

Dusseldorf Masters III: Video Highlights

June 19, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) Competitive table tennis is back in Germany in full force. The Budesliga Championships was held over the weekend and the previous two weeks had warm-up tournaments labeled as the Dusseldorf Masters Series. The third and final installment of the Dusseldorf Masters concluded on the 17th. The top two seeds were Dimitrij Ovtcharov […]

PongNow: Interview with Christian Lillieroos

June 19, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The PongNow interview series discusses table tennis with some of the best players and personalities in the sport. In this edition we have USATT Hall of Fame Coach Christian Lillieroos. He has coached some of the best players in the world, and as an ITTF instructor he has also coached some of […]

OPEN DOORS: Puerto Rican National Team

June 18, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins, photo is from ITTF, Marangely Gonzalez photographer) Stringent lockdown measures that have been in place across all of Puerto Rico since March 15th were lifted last week. The Puerto Rican National Team wasted no time in implementing their training plan and bringing a dozen of their Men’s and Women’s players to a […]