Sandpaper Women at the Ping Pong World Cup

January 5, 2024

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Ying Yuyue and Cao Jing of China celebrate sweeping Sandpaper Singles”) There were two groups of four, with the top two advancing to the money rounds. All other players advanced to the consolation brackets There were no big […]

Sandpaper Singles to the Semifinals at the Ping Pong World Cup

January 5, 2024

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Jungang Huang of China right after his win over Andrew Baggaley in the Sandpaper Open Quarterfinals) Play began at 8:15AM on Thursday, Jan. 4. There were 75 players competing in 15 groups of five, with two tables for […]

ICTTF and the Internationalization of Ping Pong

January 4, 2024

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo: “The historic first meeting of the ICTTF”) The first Ping Pong World Cup starts tomorrow (Jan. 4-6, 2024), in Mexico City, with events for all three major classic surfaces – hardbat, sandpaper, and plain wood. Events include Open Singles for all three, and Women, Over 55, and Under 18 for […]

Micky “Miky” Huidobro – Rocking with Pong

January 4, 2024

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, PHOTO ABOVE Miky Huidobro on right – with beard – discussing TT issues with Director Steve Claflin in front of the Big Board, as Mike Babuin puts up results on left. Photos by Larry Hodges.) How did Micky “Miky” Huidobro – a […]

Mike Babuin and the US Classic Association

January 4, 2024

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges) Mike loves playing sandpaper table tennis. In fact, he’s off to the Philippines in two weeks to play in a “Liha” sandpaper tournament, just for fun. But it’s as an administrator that he would have a world-class rating. He was on the […]

$36,000 Mecano Sports Ping Pong World Cup – PREVIEW

December 30, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) Hardbat and Sandpaper and Wood, Oh My! That’s what’s coming up in Mexico City, Jan. 4-6, 2024 – the $36,000 Ping Pong World Cup. That’s no typo – $36,000 in American dollars, over 600,000 pesos. (That’s a lot of money for the game of ping pong!) Here is the entry form, with […]

Are You Too Backhand Oriented?

December 18, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) A common problem for players at all levels is being too backhand oriented. Backhand orientation (BO for short) means that you favor your backhand too much over your forehand, and try to cover too much of the table with the backhand. Some players are better on the backhand, and so should cover […]

Why Aren’t You Pushing Heavy?

December 11, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) It never ceases to amaze me at how many players push serves back safely, essentially patting it back, perhaps with good backspin, and then mentally pat themselves on the back for making this excellent return. And this works . . . at lower levels. But why put good backspin on the ball when […]

Fake-outs

December 4, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) I’ve always thought this is one of the most underused techniques in table tennis. Most players simply do whatever it seems they are going to do. And opponents see what they are doing and have little trouble reacting to it. How boringly simple that is! Instead, why not fake one thing, then […]

Forcing or Adjusting Your Game

November 27, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) I once read an article that compared the tactical approach of Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, two of the greatest tennis players of all time. Federer tended to adjust his game against different opponents, while Sampras tended to forced opponents to adjust to his. Both approaches work, in both tennis and table […]