Topspin – The Key
Table Tennis has developed over the years and right now the big key to developing your game is the use of topspin. If you are an attacking player, without it you are struggling.
Why is topspin so important?
The main reason is the length of a table tennis table. Because it is relatively short you need to be able to get the ball to dip down when it is traveling at speed. If you think of a bullet, it may have a lot of speed but if you fire it from your hitting position you would have to be very accurate to get the ball to hit the table. Your target is very small. That is because it travels in a straight line. Think now if you could bend that line and curve it downwards. Wouldn’t that be a lot easier to hit the table?
The effect of topspin
This is what topspin does. The more topspin you put on the ball the more you can curve that line downwards. When you put topspin on the ball the ball spins forwards. Without going into the physics of it, this makes the ball fly in a downward curving path rather than a straight path. The curve is the same as a frowning mouth.
Faster
This enables you to hit the ball faster because the topspin will bring the ball down onto the table. Even when you see players playing close to the table and hitting the ball really fast they are still placing some topspin on the ball to get it to dip down.
Equipment
A Pimples in rubber is the best to enable you to achieve topspin. You also need a good quality sponge under the rubber. The surface of the rubber can also effect the amount of topspin on the ball. The tackier surfaces tend to enable you to generate more topspin.
Players who play with Short Pimples sacrifice some of this topspin for speed. Their games rely on accurate hitting.
Technique
If you are starting out make sure your technique is solid. This will enable you to generate good quality topspin. Have a look at free online our Video Lessons on The Forehand Topspin and Topspins Against Backspin to learn how to play the topspin stroke correctly.
Bonnie Joe Thomas
commented on July 15th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
hi,
Ya topspin is the key, and tt game is dominated by the topspin. I would like to know about making my bats more sticky by using some chemicals to generate more topspin
Alois Rosario
commented on July 17th, 2009 at 9:00 am
I think just using water to clean your bat and then keeping it free of dust and away from heat are the most important things. I wouldn’t worry too much about chemicals.
Derrick
commented on July 31st, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Goodmorning Alois, can i first of all congratulate you on your excellant Video on the secrets of serves i look forward on the next DvD’S i’ve ordered from you.I want to make a point about strenghing conditioning,i was introduced to YOGA 4yrs ago and the exercises i practice with as not only helped me in Table Tennis but also in life in general
but also running is a great help to.