BUTTERFLY FAVORITES: Kreanga’s Backhand Highlights

July 2, 2020

This video of Greek player Kalinikos Kreanga was originally published in 2016. It was titled ” Kalinikos Kreanga: The Beast of Backhand”. What could be more motivating that watching the energetic, emotional Kreanga and his free-swinging backhand powering past some of the world’s best players. Kreanga was never World Champion and never won the European […]

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 […]

Ask The Experts: Truong Tu, No. 350

July 1, 2020

Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer Question: Blade: Michael Maze , Innerforce ZLC , Zhang Jike Super ZLC , Viscaria Forehand Rubber: Tenergy 64 Backhand Rubber: Tenergy05 Hi , I’ve played many years with Maze blade, then needed some more speed and switched to IF ZLC , than after new plastic ball needed again something […]

Chopping Lesson Video #4 – DIY Chopping On A Butterfly Europa 25 Table With Coach Sam An

June 30, 2020

Byung Jun (Sam) An is a coach at HAN-IN TABLE TENNIS CLUB in New Jersey Learn more about Coach Byung Jun ‘Sam’ An here Learn more about the Europa 25 table here Official Table of the 2018 ITTF Butterfly Canadian Junior Open Official Table of the 2014-2017 Butterfly North America Tour. Two 5″ wheels easily […]

BUTTERFLY FAVORITES: Liam Pitchford’s Warm-Up Routine

June 30, 2020

This video with England’s top player, Liam Pitchford has appeared with perfect timing. As players across the US are getting back to the tables after a long layoff, fitness and the warm-up are especially important. The video which was posted by Team GB is titled “Liam Pitchford’s Table Tennis Warm-Up Routine”. In the video, Liam […]

Coaching Tip Of The Week: Training Down the Line

June 29, 2020

(By Larry Hodges) One of the lessons I learned from legends like Dan Seemiller and Dave Sakai was the value of down-the-line training. When you hit crosscourt, you have about ten feet and 3.5 inches. Down the line, it’s only nine feet, so 15.5 inches shorter. If you can maintain an aggressive down-the-line attack in […]

WAB Club Feature: Pingpod

June 28, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) PingPod was born as a pop up on Canal St. When the team saw the joy that a ping pong table in a garage brought to so many people, they knew they needed to find a way to make table tennis more accessible to many more people in NYC and beyond. Doors […]

Dusseldorf Masters IV: Video Highlights

June 27, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The fourth installment of the Dusseldorf Masters concluded on the 17th. The top seed was Kanak Jha, but he was upset by the eventual winner, Bastian Steger in the Quarterfinals. The Semifinals matched Benedikt Duda and Bastian Steger and also Dang Qiu against Steffen Mengel. Ultimately, Steger and Qiu prevailed in the […]

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 […]