Strategic Risk Taking in Matches Butterfly Table Tennis Coaching by Han Xiao We all know that some players take risks more than others in matches in order to play more aggressively, while other players play more conservatively and take relatively little risk. In addition, players will take risks at certain points in the match based […]
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Playing Less Predictably
Posted onPlaying Less Predictably Butterfly Table Tennis Coaching by Han Xiao One of the biggest issues that players have is that sometimes they don’t feel that their practice level translates into their competition level. They feel that they hit great quality shots in practice and are very consistent in all their drills, but really struggle when […]
The Power of a Low, Short, No-Spin Serve
Posted onThe Power of a Low, Short, No-Spin Serve Tip of the Week by Larry Hodges At the beginning level, players serve without spin. However, these serves are usually pop-ups that any intermediate (or advanced beginner) can easily attack. As players move up the ranks they learn to serve with spin. But eventually players come full […]
Brief Tactical Analysis of Fegerl vs Ovtcharov
Posted onBrief Tactical Analysis of Fegerl vs Ovtcharov Butterfly Table Tennis Coaching by Han Xiao Recently, one of the more exciting matches I’ve seen is a match in the European Championship men’s team finals between Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany and Stefan Fegerl of Austria. There were a number of excellent rallies in this match leading to […]
Effective Use of Timeouts
Posted onEffective Use of Timeouts Butterfly Table Tennis Coaching by Han Xiao Most players know that each player has one timeout over the course of the match. However, too many times I have seen matches between beginner or intermediate players where time outs are not used at all or are used ineffectively. In almost every match […]
Receiving Hidden Serves
Posted onReceiving Hidden Serves by Han Xiao Today’s topic comes courtesy of Larry Hodges, who is a coach at the Maryland Table Tennis Center. Larry has been talking to me a great deal lately about the huge problem of many high level players serving almost exclusively illegally in competition without umpires willing to fault them on […]
How To Play Table Tennis – Reverse Pendulum Backspin Serve
Posted onHow To Play Table Tennis – Reverse Pendulum Backspin Serve Join table tennis superstar Elizabeta Samara as she teaches you how to hit her famous reverse pendulum backspin serve in ITTF’s “How To Play Table Tennis Series!“
Player Archetypes: Defensive Styles
Posted onPlayer Archetypes: Defensive Styles Butterfly Table Tennis Coaching by Han Xiao Last week, we focused on identifying common attacking archetypes, what their characteristics are, what traits a player needs to excel with the archetype, as well as some general tips for excelling with each play style. This week, we’re going to do the same with […]
Player Archetypes: Attacking Styles
Posted onPlayer Archetypes: Attacking Styles by Han Xiao Recently, I received a question from Adam Formal about player archetypes. Since Adam does some coaching, he wants to know what some of the common player archetypes are and how to decide which style or archetype fits a particular player. To answer Adam’s question, I will do a […]
Serving More Deceptively
Posted onServing More Deceptively Table Tennis Coaching by Han Xiao Our topic today comes from Tae Hun Moon on the ButterflyOnline forums. The question is how you can make your serve more deceptive by creating a more confusing contact point and trick the opponent. This is a very common question among players since many players know […]
Complex Versus Simple Tactics
September 29, 2026
(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame) There's a myth that top players use… Read More
Kou Lei – Backhand Flip or Backhand Loop
September 29, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Kou Lei is working Butterfly Sponsored Player Kef Noorani. He… Read More
🎥 Episode 17: Ask The Expert Live With Logan Rietz | Short pips options
September 28, 2026
(by Bowmar Sports) In this episode of Ask The Expert Live, Logan Rietz breaks down short pips, how… Read More
🎥 Episode 18: Ask The Expert Live With Logan Rietz | Arylate-Carbon technology
September 28, 2026
(by Bowmar Sports) In this episode of Ask The Expert Live, Logan Rietz breaks down what makes up… Read More
Kou Lei – Chop Serve and Chop Loop Combo
September 28, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Kou Lei is working with a student chopper on a… Read More
China Smash: Japan brings Momentum to Beijing
September 27, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) The final Grand Smash of the year is almost here. China Smash 2026 Presented by… Read More
WAB CLUB FEATURE: Bridgeport Sports Club
September 27, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) At over 14,000 square feet, the Bridgeport Sports Club is one of the largest table… Read More
MLTT Week 2 Recap: Bay Area Blasts Through Chicago
September 27, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT) Major League Table Tennis moved on to Compass Arena in Willowbrook, Illinois, for… Read More
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