Watching ball hit paddle
Jeremiah Sbarra
Submitted on 07-Sep-2010 01:17:40 AM
Last updated on 10-Sep-2010 09:47:10 AM
You Asked
How critical is it to actually see the ball hit the paddle on every stroke?
and Alois Rosario said...
Hi Jeremiah,
It is really helpful to be able to watch the ball all the way to the bat. This is something that you can work on during your practice time. Even when you are doing your forehand warm up, you can have this as your focus.
The better you can watch the ball the better it will be for your game.
If you have even seen a super slo-mo of Roger Federer play a forehand you will see how well he watches the ball all the way to the racket.
At first when you try to do this you will start to feel a bit disoriented. Don't worry, perdevere with it and after a lot of practice you will start to feel more comfortable.
Comments on this question
Ji-Soo Woo commented...
on the 10-Sep-2010 09:47:10 AM
interesting...I'll have a go at watching the ball hit the paddle on every stroke.
I did watch a slo-mo video of Federer hitting the ball and it was fascinating how his head was so still and he eyes just focused on the area of contact the whole time and never looking up to see where he was hitting the ball to. Do world class table tennis players also look at the ball hit the racquet every time? I don't remember specifically but my general impression from watching youtube videos was that they didn't.
