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

How to Loop Stronger!

February 11, 2026
Robot serves short backspin to Forehand/middle, Logan Backhand swipe to Backhand, robot plays topspin to long Backhand, Logan… Read More

BTY ASM-S8 – The Right First Step in Table Tennis

February 10, 2026
(by Edgardo Vázquez, Puerto Rico National Coach / Butterfly America Sponsored Coach) When someone starts playing table tennis,… Read More

What Equipment Does Amy Wang Use? | Amy’s New Butterfly Setup

February 10, 2026
(by Bowmar Sports) One of the most frequently asked questions from fans has finally been answered in the… Read More

How to Perform a Chop Block!

February 9, 2026
Robot serves short backspin to Forehand/middle, Logan Backhand swipe to Backhand, robot plays topspin to long Backhand and… Read More

Calderano Takes Over No. 2 in Newest World Rankings

February 9, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) Wang Chuqin remains firmly in the top spot, but 19 others in the… Read More

Positioning Part 2 of 4: On the Receive

February 9, 2026
(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame, www.tabletenniscoaching.com/blog)   Where to position yourself on… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: PongPlanet

February 8, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) PongPlanet is a full-time table tennis club with a variety of programs for adults and… Read More

Alexis Lebrun and Sabine Winter Claim Euro Top 16 Cup Titles

February 8, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo Remy Gross for ETTU) Darko Jorgic had a strong Semifinal performance today at the… 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.