Coaching Tip of the Week: Backhand Chopping in an Emergency

November 2, 2020

(By Larry Hodges) You are stuck out of position away from the table on your forehand side of the table. Your opponent quick hits the ball to your wide backhand, and you can’t possibly get to it and make an effective backhand drive. What do you do? You could reach out and “fish” the ball […]

RESTART in TT-Minus 6 days: Cheng I-Ching

November 2, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) Its almost time for the three ITTF events that are collectively being called the ITTF RESTART events. The ITTF has selected 21 male and 21 female athletes to come to China to participate in the Women’s World Cup, the Men’s World Cup, and the 2020 ITTF Finals. The first of these events will […]

WAB Club: Austin Table Tennis Club

November 1, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The Austin Table Tennis Club is located at 8956 Research Blvd in Austin. They are just off of US Highway 183 on the North side of Austin. The club has been around for more than thirty years. They first started in the back of a bar, with a wooden dance floor serving a […]

Rhode Island’s Rich Table Tennis History

October 31, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) One of the neatest things about living in Rhode Island is the rich table tennis history in the region. Despite being the smallest U.S. State, Rhode Island is prominently represented in Tim Boggan’s History of Table Tennis. The club was a regular stop for regional players and pros for a generation with appearances from […]

PongNow: Joerg Bitzigeio

October 30, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The PongNow interview series discusses table tennis with some of the best players and personalities in the sport. PongNow is an interview series talking table tennis with some of the best players and personalities in the sport. The guest this week is Jörg Bitzigeio, former head coach of the German National Women’s […]

In Memoriam: George Braithwaite

October 28, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) USA Table Tennis has lost a legend. George Braithwaite excelled in Cricket and Track and Field before starting his career in Table Tennis. In our sport, George was a part of the U.S. Team the launched Ping Pong Diplomacy from the World Championships in Japan. His list of table tennis accomplishments included […]

Ask The Experts: Shahin Akhlaghpasand, No. 361

October 28, 2020

Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer Question: I am using Timo boll ALC with Tenergy 05 on forehand and backhand. Looking to move to DIGINICS 09C. Along with looping / topspin will this rubber be good at returning server and chopping the ball back when its on the table. Tenergy pops up the ball sometimes […]

RESTART in TT Minus 11 Days: Lily and Jennifer

October 28, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins, photo by ITTFWorld) NASA coined the term “T-Minus” for space launches with the “T” indicating “Time” as the countdown proceeded. Many of their iconic broadcasts include statements from Launch Control indicating that all systems are “go” before changing over from a countdown of minutes into the final countdown of seconds. The momentous […]

PINGPOD DIVISIONAL LEAGUE – SEASON TWO

October 27, 2020

Dear Table Tennis Lover, Find below a few new announcements! JOIN PINGPOD LEAGUE SEASON TWO – “DIVISIONS” Season Two will be played in 4 divisions based on skill level. Details can be found here. As always, there will be prizes for the top finishers per division. The top 2 finishers in each division will […]

Timo Boll VideoBlog – “Comeback”

October 27, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) Timo Boll posted this video blog this morning. It follows his trip to Dusseldorf for his first league match in 5 months. Aside from hearing from Timo (in English) and seeing a behind the scenes view of preparation and warm-up with his teammates, the quality of the video is very good. In […]