OPEN DOORS: Hoboken Table Tennis

July 20, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) Hoboken Table Tennis, Hoboken’s first social ping pong club, has opened its doors in New Jersey. The club has posted their COVID-19 Guidelines which include masks, a health questionnaire, limited gear (keep your bag with you), and reminders to follow all distancing and hygiene guidelines. The facility is currently set up with […]

OPEN DOORS: Rhode Island Table Tennis to Reopen League

July 15, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) Rhode Island Table Tennis (RITTA) announced this week that they will reopen League play beginning August 3rd. The club has been opened since June when the State allowed gyms and sports venues to reopen. Since then, RITTA has been open on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays with tables available by appointment only. This […]

ITTF Calendar: Japan Open Latest Covid Casualty

July 8, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins/Photo Courtesy of ITTF) The 2020 ITTF Calendar continues to shrink as they deal with the COVID-19 Pandemic. ITTF announced today that the Japan Open has been cancelled. This event was scheduled at the end of April, and it had been postponed with the hopes of playing the event this Fall. The announcement […]

BUTTERFLY FAVORITES: Chuang Chih Yuan – Backhand Flick

July 4, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The first video of Chinese Taipei player Chuang Chih Yuan is from 2017. It shows him developing his backhand flick in two common game situations – (1) for use against short serves to his forehand side, and (2) as an attacking shot following a short return of his serve. In 2016 and […]

2021 Shaping Up to be a Big Year (Covid Postponements)

July 1, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The ITTF tournament calendar continues to look pretty bleak for 2020. There will be no events in July, and five of six August events have been postponed. Its that last word that is of note here, however – POSTPONED. Many events that could not occur have been postponed instead of cancelled. That […]

PongNow: Interview with Richard McAfee

June 27, 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 Member Richard McAfee. Richard had an impressive career as a player before becoming one of the best known coaches in the United States. __________________________ […]

Dusseldorf Masters IV: Steger Surprises the Field

June 26, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The Fourth Dusseldorf Masters event was held this week in Germany. This week’s winner, German team veteran, Bastian Steger. The Dusseldorf Masters events have been held in consecutive weeks of June. The first Dusseldorf Masters event was won by Timo Boll – with highlights including Dang Qiu upsetting Dimitrij Ovtcharov early, and […]

BUTTERFLY FAVORITES: How to Ghost Serve Like Patrick Franziska

June 24, 2020

This instructional video appears with perfect timing, as Patrick Franziska has just lead his Bundesliga team to its first ever TTBL Championship. The video is titled “How to Ghost Serve Like Patrick Franziska”. In the video, Patrick explains his contact points, and body position and how he implements the serve in a match. Patrick is […]

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 […]