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3 Tips to get better at Table Tennis

Follow these 3 tips to become a better table tennis player!

Are you passionate about table tennis but feel like you're stuck in a rut, unable to improve your skills? Don't be despair - Splink is here! This blog post will give you three key steps to start improving your games. Whether you're a complete beginner or have been playing for a while, following these simple tips will help you to take your game to the next level. So let's get started!

player holding tennis racket ready to serve

1. Observe

To master the important skill of table tennis, carefully observe your opponent's racket when it hits the ball. You can tell the type of spin by watching the direction their racket is moving:

  1. If the racket is going low to high, the spin is topspin.
  2. If the racket is going high to low, the spin is backspin.
  3. If the racket is going left to right or vice versa, the spin is sidespin.

Each action, depending on it being a long or short spin, can determine your next move when countering your opponent's move. In the next point, we will learn how to do so.

player holding racket ready to serve

2. Learn how to counter

After mastering observation, you now know what kind of spin your opponent is executing. What now? The obvious answer would be to learn how to counter it.

  1. If it's a topspin serve, the best way to counter act is to exert the exact same move back. Make use of the pace of the serve and top spin to put yourself back on the offensive instead.
  2. If it's a backspin serve, typically, the best option to counter would be a loop. This allows you to pressure your opponent and at the same time, allows you to place your opponent where you want them to be and puts you on the offense.
  3. A sidespin serve is trickier. It depends on whether it's a short or long serve. If it's a short sidespin serve, you could counter with a touch or a flick. However, if it's a long serve, you ideally want to attack the ball with a loop. If you play it right, you will be able to overpower a lot of the side spin placed on the ball.
ping pong rally between two table tennis players

3. Muscle Memory

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. When you first start learning table tennis, it can be tough to get all the strokes down. But with a little bit of practice, you'll soon be able to do them without thinking about it. That's when you'll have achieved muscle memory or if you watch Dragon Ball like me, Ultra Instinct! Jokes aside, having muscle memory of the fundamentals is the key to becoming a great table tennis player.

player hitting ping pong ball

TIMTOWTDI. Any idea what this means? In programming language, this means "There is more than one way to do it". The meaning is pretty straightforward but definitely true. More often than not, we learn the best things through others. This goes the same for sports. Get out there and play more with other players! Before you know it, you would've already improved tremendously.

So, what better way to do it than through Splink?

Connect with other sports player based on your own preferences such as time, location, skill level and more! Launching in a week's time, sign up now at Splink | Find and Play Sports in Singapore to join this amazing community today!

Follow these 3 tips to become a better table tennis player!

Are you passionate about table tennis but feel like you're stuck in a rut, unable to improve your skills? Don't be despair - Splink is here! This blog post will give you three key steps to start improving your games. Whether you're a complete beginner or have been playing for a while, following these simple tips will help you to take your game to the next level. So let's get started!

player holding tennis racket ready to serve

1. Observe

To master the important skill of table tennis, carefully observe your opponent's racket when it hits the ball. You can tell the type of spin by watching the direction their racket is moving:

  1. If the racket is going low to high, the spin is topspin.
  2. If the racket is going high to low, the spin is backspin.
  3. If the racket is going left to right or vice versa, the spin is sidespin.

Each action, depending on it being a long or short spin, can determine your next move when countering your opponent's move. In the next point, we will learn how to do so.

player holding racket ready to serve

2. Learn how to counter

After mastering observation, you now know what kind of spin your opponent is executing. What now? The obvious answer would be to learn how to counter it.

  1. If it's a topspin serve, the best way to counter act is to exert the exact same move back. Make use of the pace of the serve and top spin to put yourself back on the offensive instead.
  2. If it's a backspin serve, typically, the best option to counter would be a loop. This allows you to pressure your opponent and at the same time, allows you to place your opponent where you want them to be and puts you on the offense.
  3. A sidespin serve is trickier. It depends on whether it's a short or long serve. If it's a short sidespin serve, you could counter with a touch or a flick. However, if it's a long serve, you ideally want to attack the ball with a loop. If you play it right, you will be able to overpower a lot of the side spin placed on the ball.
ping pong rally between two table tennis players

3. Muscle Memory

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. When you first start learning table tennis, it can be tough to get all the strokes down. But with a little bit of practice, you'll soon be able to do them without thinking about it. That's when you'll have achieved muscle memory or if you watch Dragon Ball like me, Ultra Instinct! Jokes aside, having muscle memory of the fundamentals is the key to becoming a great table tennis player.

player hitting ping pong ball

TIMTOWTDI. Any idea what this means? In programming language, this means "There is more than one way to do it". The meaning is pretty straightforward but definitely true. More often than not, we learn the best things through others. This goes the same for sports. Get out there and play more with other players! Before you know it, you would've already improved tremendously.

So, what better way to do it than through Splink?

Connect with other sports player based on your own preferences such as time, location, skill level and more! Launching in a week's time, sign up now at Splink | Find and Play Sports in Singapore to join this amazing community today!