Site Products
Coaching Tip of the Week: The Forehand Down-the Line Block and Counterloop

Coaching Tip of the Week: Five Ways to Take Away an Opponent’s Big Shot

Posted on

(By Larry Hodges)

  1. Attack first. Most attackers want to attack first.
  2. Push well. This means low, deep, heavy or varied, quick off the bounce, and to wide angles, with last-second changes of direction.
  3. Go to his strong side first, when you get to choose the shot. If his strong side is the forehand, then go there, and then come back to the backhand, forcing the forehand attacker to move and play backhand.
  4. Serve short to his strong side, bringing him over the table, then go deep and wide to the other side.
  5. Fast, breaking serves to the weak side. If he has a big forehand, serve deep and very wide to the backhand so the ball breaks away even wider – making it very difficult for him to play forehand. (If he does, develop a fast down-the-line serve with the same motion, and ace him when he moves too soon.) If he’s stronger on the backhand, set up on your forehand side and do a deep sidespin serve to his wide forehand (such as a tomahawk serve), so it breaks even wider.

Latest News

Lucca Lobo – WTT Contender Puerto Rico Highlights

April 30, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Bowmar Sports Lucca Lobo. is action at the WTT Contender in Puerto Rico… Read More

Record-Breaking Success: 12th Boucherville Open – Butterfly & 2nd International Edition

April 29, 2026
(by Miguel Antonio Ruz Garrido) The 12th edition of the Boucherville Open – Butterfly and 2nd International Edition, held on… Read More

When Receiving, Emphasize Placement & Consistency

April 28, 2026
(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame When receiving, many players are either overly… Read More

Anqi Luo – Backhand Over the table Loop

April 28, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Anqi Lou is working with a student on the Backhand… Read More

How to Recover More Quickly

April 27, 2026
Robot plays backspin either short, half long or long all over the table randomly. The player needs to… Read More

Arantxa Cossio Aceves – WTT Singapore Highlights

April 27, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Bowmar Sports Tournament Highlights,  Arantxa Cossio Aceves Aceves is in action at the… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Seoul Table Tennis Club

April 26, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) Seoul Table Tennis Club is located in Coquitlam, BC on the East side of Vancouver,… Read More

German League Final Four Preview – May 30-31

April 26, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) The finalists are set in the German leagues with the Liebherr TTBL Final4 set for… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.