(by Larry Hodges) These five tips won’t generally help you win, at least not directly. They won’t score points for you. But they will make certain non-playing aspects more efficient and more fun – and indirectly, may subconsciously intimidate an opponent when faced with these displays of “professionalism”! Picking up ball with feet. If the […]
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Start With Your Trickiest Serve
Posted on(by Larry Hodges) Many players hold back on their trickiest serve until it’s close. This is usually a mistake. If you have such a tricky serve, you should use it early – probably with your first serve. (This is especially true for deep, spinny serves.) Here’s why. You don’t really know if the serve will […]
Court Tricks
Posted on(by Larry Hodges) These five tips won’t generally help you win, at least not directly. They won’t score points for you. But they will make certain non-playing aspects more efficient and more fun – and indirectly, may subconsciously intimidate an opponent when faced with these displays of “professionalism”! Picking up ball with feet. If the […]
Make a Habit of Finding the SS – the Opponent’s Weak Shots and Spots
Posted on(by Larry Hodges) Every opponent has a weakness relative to their level. Even Ma Long, often considered the greatest of all time, was “weak” to his wide forehand – but only relative to the rest of his game. I’ve written many tips about how to find and go after these weaknesses. But one common issue […]
Move the Extra Inch
Posted on(by Larry Hodges) It’s not enough to move to the general vicinity of the ball. Table tennis is a game of precision, and almost moving into position is the same as almost making the shot. Instead, focus on that last couple of inches. Don’t lean and make a slightly off-balanced or awkward shot. Those last […]
Player’s Choice at the Ping Pong World Cup
Posted onSponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Player’s Choice Champion Alexander “Flash” Flemming”) There were 48 players in the event, played single elimination, with $2,500 for first, $1,500 for second. For this event, players had their choice of hardbat, sandpaper, or wood. The conventional wisdom is that nearly everyone […]
Sandpaper Singles at the Ping Pong World Cup
Posted onSponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Sandpaper Champion Hunag Jungang”) Sandpaper Singles had the most entries among the ten events at the Ping Pong World Cup. As I learned here, there are pockets of sandpaper aficionados all over the world, probably more than hardbat, […]
Hardbat Singles at the Ping Pong World Cup
Posted onSponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Hardbat Champion Wang Shibo and Mexican Rock Star Miky Huidobro”) The preliminary round robins and single elimination to the semifinals was covered in the article “Hardbat Singles to the Semifinals at the Ping Pong World Cup.” We’ll continue […]
Bare Wood Singles at the Ping Pong World Cup
Posted onSponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Woodbat Champion Alexander “Flash” Flemming (second from right, in blue shirt)” There were 40 players competing in eight groups of five, with two tables for each group. The top two in each group advanced to the money brackets, […]
Hardbat Students and the Ping Pong World Cup
Posted onSponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Finalist Sara Gulabani Serving to Hardbat Junior Champion Bryce Milford”) As with Sandpaper, this event was originally an Under 18 event. But there was interest in Under 23 students (i.e. college students), and so they combined the events. […]
Open Versus Closed
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Robot plays backspin to long Forehand, Logan plays Forehand topspin down the line, robot plays little topspin to… Read More
Play the Inner Forehand Against Backhand Players
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By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Many players with strong backhands cover the… Read More
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(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) The top players in the world converged this week in Singapore, and a… Read More
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(by Steve Hopkins) The top players in the world converged this week in Singapore, and on Sunday only… Read More
Maintain a Low Position
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Robot plays long topspin balls to long Backhand, Logan plays Backhand chop block (Hack) off the bounce, robot… Read More
Calderano and Harimoto Among the Upsets in Singapore
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(by Steve Hopkins) The top players in the world have converged this week in Singapore for the 2026… Read More
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