Chopping

Lanes Lienster Asked 16 years ago

Can you give us some tips on playing a chopping style with long pips on the backhand and inverted on the forehand? Also is this an effective way to play?

Alois Rosario Answered 16 years ago

Hi Karl,

This certainly is an effective way to play.

The idea with the pips is to reverse the spin and to help with the control on the chop.

One of the basic principles of chopping in general is to give the attacker as little as possible to play a strong stroke. This can be done by keeping the ball low and also placing the ball well to ensure they don't attack strongly.

Try to be aggressive with your chopping play. This will give the attacker less time to play their strokes.

You should also try to change the side you are using or twiddle. This again makes it more difficult for the attacker to know what is coming back.

Finally, also try to develop your forehand attacking stroke. All the best players in the world that are using a defensive style have a very strong attacking forehand which keeps their opponent off guard and doesn't allow them to play weak topspin strokes.

This is a whole subject of table tennis but I have tried to give you a brief idea of some things you can work on. Work on them and see if it helps you to improve.