In a fascinating interview on Australian television, Matthew Syed, a 3 times Commonwealth Mens singles champion and highly world ranked player talks frankly and openly about his thoughts on talent, hard work and opportunity. He’s also the author of a book called ‘Bounce: How Champions Are Made’.
Here is an excerpt of the transcript from […]
Watching the last group matches of the Men’s teams event and the thing that stands out to me straight away is the variety of styles that are possible in Table Tennis.
I am currently watching Samsonov, one of my favourites of the moment because of his tremendous feel for the ball. He is tall, with […]
Read more....It is evident as always that it is the crucial points that will make or break your game, match and even tournament or perhaps career.
Tonight talking to the Slovenian women’s coach he talked about the missed opportunities that his players had had in this tournament. At the moment they are sitting at 1 win […]
Wang Liqin misses the cut
The upcoming World Team Championships will be played in Russia from May 23rd to 30th at the Moscow, Olympiyskiy Sports Complex.
When you think of World Championships one of the names that springs to mind immediately is Wang Liqin. However this World Championships will see him missing for the first time […]
I see players benefit most from their training when it is done regularly and with a focus.
Training like a maniac for a week and then not touching your bat for a month will only have minimum benefits for your game. Similarly, training only once every month will mean that you will find it […]
I recently read a book by Malcolm Gladwell, The Outlier. I am sure some of you will be familiar with his books. I found some interesting points that are relevant to sport in general and also to Table Tennis.
The 10,000 hour Rule
In his book he talks about the 10,000 hour rule. This rule relates […]
Read more....Wow, I love watching it when the players are 10 feet back from the table smashing the ball back and forth
I read the blog “Why Table Tennis Is A Horrible Spectator Sport” the other day. It was a very interesting article and I’ve heard a number of people agree with most of what was written. […]
Has anyone tried the game of Table Tennis video game that is featured on the ITTF website or the Table Tennis Wii Game?
If you have and had any luck please give us some tips here at PingSkills.
After giving the game on the ITTF site a try I can honestly say that I need […]
In the last few weeks we have had a few requests for Online lessons.
Here are some of the suggestions:
• Fitness Training
• Counter Smash
• Warm Ups
• Sidespin topspin
We would love to know which of these you think would be most beneficial.
Add your comments below to let us know.
You may have another idea that you can add.
Also, […]
The officials of Table Tennis are encouraging women to wear skirts rather than shorts in an effort to sex up the sport of Table Tennis.
Steve Dainton who I lived with in 1998 is now the director of the ITTF Asia Office. He commented on the overall changes occuring in Table Tennis and said: “Although the […]
Photo courtesy of ITTFMark Smythe in action at the Sydney Olympics
Discusssion Paper
The discussion paper presented here was written by Mark Smythe on the 4th February 2008 and has been presented to Table Tennis Australia. As of yet Mark has not received a response from Table Tennis Australia
The intention of this document is to give TTA […]
Read more....New Rules
The ITTF are bringing in a new rule to stop players moving to a new country and representing that country at ITTF World Title events. The new rule states that if a person is over 21 years of age when they move to their adopted country, they can never play Table Tennis for that […]
Read more....Photo courtesy of ITTFVictory is sweet!
I was playing Paul Langley in the round of 32 at the Australian National Championships and had never beaten him before. However I had been playing well all week and really thought that this was a good opportunity for me to cause an upset.
The First Two Sets
It was a best […]
Read more....Photo courtesy of ITTFDefeat is always hard to take
The year was 1989 and I was playing in the final of the Australian U/17 National Table Tennis Championships. I was unseeded for the event but had played extremely well to make the final. I wasn’t overly nervous about the match and all the pressure was on […]
Read more....Photo courtesy of ITTF
Recently we got a question in our ask the coach section on what type of Table Tennis blades and rubbers we used here at Ping Skills. We thought it would be a great idea to throw this question open to everyone. So pop on over to the original question and let […]
Read more....The question I pose is, ‘how much practice is necessary to perform at your best’?
If you are 8, 12, 18, 25 or 32 years old, if you have been playing for 2, 10 or 20 years, is the answer to the above the same? Surely the answers are very different.
I believe table tennis players are […]
Read more.... 21 is Best
Photo by Jeff Plumb
Having played games up to 21 for most of my career, I personally like that method of scoring better. I think it suited my game more by giving me time to settle into each set.
2001 Rule Change
In 2001, the rules were changed to play games up to 11. The […]
Read more....Photo courtesy of ITTF
Who is the Greatest Male Table Tennis player of all time?
While impossible to answer this categorically, the question will always be posed. For me, it is out of Guo Yue Hua, Kong Ling Hui, Chuang Tse-Tung, Wang Liqin and of course Jan-Ove Waldner?
Chuang Tse-Tungs’ 3 World Singles titles in a row […]
Read more....