Dusseldorf Masters IX: Dima Logs Third Title

Posted on August 10, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The 8th men’s Masters event concluded over the weekend.  The winner was a familiar champion, Dimitrij Ovtcharov. Dima cruised through the event logging a 4-1 win in the Quarterfinals, a 4-2 win in the Semifinals, and a 4-2 win over Franziska in the Final.  The event went mostly as expected with four […]

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Coaching Tip of the Week: Two Tips to Increase Forehand Looping Power

Posted on August 10, 2020

(By Larry Hodges) If you have trouble generating power when forehand looping, try out these two tips, and you’ll be surprised at the improvement. First, keep your legs farther apart. This gives more stability and more torque into the shot. Second, contact the ball more from your side. This forces you to use your whole […]

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WAB CLUB FEATURE: Texas Table Tennis Club

Posted on August 9, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The Texas Table Tennis Club (“TTT”) is one of the largest table tennis clubs in the State of Texas.  There are 12 Butterfly tables on red rubber flooring in their 6500 square foot facility.  The ceiling is 13 feet high with excellent lighting.  The club is located on Sovereign Drive on the West side […]

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USATT’s Thursday Night Live Series: Team Butterfly Takes a 2-0 Lead

Posted on August 9, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) USA Table Tennis conducted its second Challenge Series event last Thursday.   This week, “America’s First Virtual Table Tennis Challenge” matched Sharon Alguetti (2634) versus Liu Juan (2662).  Table tennis is one of the few sports where men and women compete against each other in major tournaments using the same rating system – […]

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Take Table Tennis Photos Like a Pro

Posted on August 9, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) In this week’s PongNow interview, USATT’s Photo Historian Mal Anderson shared some tips on how to take the perfect table tennis photo.  A two minute segment of that interview is posted below (click here for the full PongNow interview ).  This article collects tips and tricks from Mal Anderson, Truong Tu, and […]

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PongNow: Mal Anderson

Posted on August 8, 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, Mal Anderson, USATT Photographic Historian and Hall of Fame member. Get to know Mal and some of his 72,000 American Table Tennis photos.    Mal Anderson was a […]

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Dude Perfect (and Adam Bobrow): Ping Pong Trick Shots

Posted on August 6, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) Dude Perfect is a group of YouTubers specializing in trick shots.  Some of their past videos have included card throwing, water bottle flips, blindfolded archery, golf with a soccer ball, and many others.  This week, Dude Perfect focused on table tennis trick shots and they were joined by ITTF announcer and table […]

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Ask The Experts: Larry Thoman No. 352

Posted on August 6, 2020

Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer Question: Hello, I purchased the Practice Partner 20. Is there a way to adjust so when the machine throws the ball it’s without any spin. Just to shoot out normal, with no spin? Are there any particular adjustments. Answer:  This Ask the Experts question was answered by Larry Thoman. He […]

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More NBA (table tennis) Updates

Posted on August 5, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The NBA restart is underway, and table tennis side games continue. Most recently, fans were treated to photos of  Dallas Mavericks Luka Doncic and Boban Marjanovic (photo above) making a full size table look really, really small.   Not to be outdone, the Utah Jazz posted photos of their team table tennis […]

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BUTTERFLY FAVORITES: The Control of Tiago Apolonia

Posted on August 5, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) This is a 2014 video posted by TT Tributes.  The focus of the video is the control of Portugal’s Tiago Apolonia.  Tiago is known for great technique and great movement.  He is an exciting and mobile player who has developed a game with many safe and careful shots.  His style makes for […]

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