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 […]
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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 […]
The Beauty of the Wait Function
March 27, 2026
Logan Backhand side backspin serve from middle of the table to short Forehand, robot plays long backspin to… Read More
Laurent Jutras Vigneault – Backhand Smash with “Buggler”
March 27, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Laurent Jutras Vigneault is working on his Backhand Smash with… Read More
WTT Youth Event in Houston Showcase for Young Stars
March 25, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT) Houston was host of the WTT Youth Contender Series event that wrapped up… Read More
Should Adults Train the Same Way as Children When Starting Table Tennis?
March 24, 2026
(By Coach Bob Chen) Many adults who begin learning table tennis ask: “Should I train the same way… Read More
Side Stepping Helps Balance
March 23, 2026
Logan Forehand short backspin serve from Backhand to Backhand, robot plays backspin short in Backhand, Logan plays Backhand… Read More
Reverse Serves
March 23, 2026
(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Many players have at least one strong… Read More
Strong Start for Americans at WTT Youth Contender Houston
March 22, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) Houston is host of the WTT Youth Contender Series event this week and… Read More
WAB CLUB FEATURE: Saint Louis Table Tennis Club
March 22, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) Arch Pickleball and Badminton Club has been in operation in Bridgeton, Missouri – a suburb to the… Read More
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