Put fear in the heart of your opponent by developing overpowering strengths. It doesn’t really matter what the strength is; it can be anything that really threatens the opponent. It could be a big forehand or backhand; pushing and blocking; sheer consistency; quickness; great serves or receive; chopping (with great consistency, heavy backspin, or spin variation); or something else. But you have to have something. If you don’t, think hard about your game and decide what you can turn into this overpowering strength.

Usually you want something aggressive, such as a big forehand (hey, that’s me!), but I’ve seen players get very good just pushing and blocking.

But here’s the key. You can’t just develop a big strength and expect the opponent to give it to you. You have to develop the rest of your game around it.

For example, from the beginning I’ve always liked running around and attacking with my forehand. So, I developed my game around that. What does that mean? I developed strong serves that set up my forehand. I worked hard on my footwork so I could get into position for those forehands. (And it’s not just footspeed – it’s proper footwork technique and reading of opponents, which is why, at age 66, I can still move around the table and attack with my forehand better than most players one-third my age.) Here are some other examples.

And so on. So . . . what’s your overpowering strength?