Ask The Experts: Han Xiao, No. 141 Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer Blade: Stiga Allround Classic Forehand: Flextra Backhand: Flextra Question: I read the article written by Han Xiao (Modern Topspin Stroke) that compares the old technique and the modern technique for doing topspin. Basically, the modern one requires less backswing due to more modern […]
Han Xiao, Athlete Services Coordinator for 2016 Olympic Games
Posted onHan Xiao Selected as Athlete Services Coordinator for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio Courtesy of USA Table Tennis Han Xiao, former National Team Member, Men’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles Champion and current USATT Athlete to the USOC’s Athlete Advisory Council, was recently announced by the USOC to have been selected as one of […]
Playing With Purpose Early in the Point
Posted onPlaying With Purpose Early in the Point Butterfly Table Tennis Coaching by Han Xiao One of the biggest differences in skill level between players is how they are able to play every shot with purpose early in the point to set up points in their favor. It’s quite easy to pick out players who have […]
Transitioning More Quickly
Posted onTransitioning More Quickly Butterfly Table Tennis Coaching by Han Xiao Usually, players above a certain level can practice very comfortably when they know where the ball is going. Although the quality of each player’s shots may vary, generally players can drill quite consistently when the drill is fixed. When drills become more randomized, some players […]
Playing Less Predictably
Posted onPlaying Less Predictably Butterfly Table Tennis Coaching by Han Xiao One of the biggest issues that players have is that sometimes they don’t feel that their practice level translates into their competition level. They feel that they hit great quality shots in practice and are very consistent in all their drills, but really struggle when […]
Brief Tactical Analysis of Fegerl vs Ovtcharov
Posted onBrief Tactical Analysis of Fegerl vs Ovtcharov Butterfly Table Tennis Coaching by Han Xiao Recently, one of the more exciting matches I’ve seen is a match in the European Championship men’s team finals between Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany and Stefan Fegerl of Austria. There were a number of excellent rallies in this match leading to […]
Effective Use of Timeouts
Posted onEffective Use of Timeouts Butterfly Table Tennis Coaching by Han Xiao Most players know that each player has one timeout over the course of the match. However, too many times I have seen matches between beginner or intermediate players where time outs are not used at all or are used ineffectively. In almost every match […]
Receiving Hidden Serves
Posted onReceiving Hidden Serves by Han Xiao Today’s topic comes courtesy of Larry Hodges, who is a coach at the Maryland Table Tennis Center. Larry has been talking to me a great deal lately about the huge problem of many high level players serving almost exclusively illegally in competition without umpires willing to fault them on […]
Player Archetypes: Defensive Styles
Posted onPlayer Archetypes: Defensive Styles Butterfly Table Tennis Coaching by Han Xiao Last week, we focused on identifying common attacking archetypes, what their characteristics are, what traits a player needs to excel with the archetype, as well as some general tips for excelling with each play style. This week, we’re going to do the same with […]
Player Archetypes: Attacking Styles
Posted onPlayer Archetypes: Attacking Styles by Han Xiao Recently, I received a question from Adam Formal about player archetypes. Since Adam does some coaching, he wants to know what some of the common player archetypes are and how to decide which style or archetype fits a particular player. To answer Adam’s question, I will do a […]
How to Perform a ‘Hack’ or ‘Swipe’
January 14, 2026
Robot plays one topspin ball to long Backhand, Logan Backhand chop block (HACK) close to the table off… Read More
When Champions Fall: Mental Strategies for Preventing and Managing Injuries
January 14, 2026
by Dr. Alan Chu, PhD, CMPC The table tennis world watched in dismay last when both World #1… Read More
Smell the Ball?!?
January 12, 2026
Robot plays one long backspin ball to Backhand, Logan Backhand push to Backhand, robot plays one long backspin… Read More
Every Shot Sets Up the Next Shot By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame,
January 12, 2026
(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame, www.tabletenniscoaching.com/blog) Unless it’s a put-away shot,… Read More
WAB CLUB FEATURE: North Texas Table Tennis
January 11, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) North Texas Table Tennis is a premier table tennis club operating three locations in Plano,… Read More
Amy Wang Chooses Butterfly
January 11, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) Butterfly America would like to announce the signing of elite American table tennis star, Amy… Read More
A Final Day of Surprises in Doha
January 11, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) The first WTT Champions series event of the year ended in a flurry Sunday in… Read More
Final Four in Doha
January 10, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) The first WTT Champions series event of 2026 is down to its final day in… Read More
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