Backhand counterhit, hit, brush or both

Hi Pingskills,

Thanks for the video on youtube about backhand counterhit.  I am a beginner and I don't totally understand the stroke.  In the video, is it not clear whether the stroke would brush the ball after hitting the ball and follow through.

From my personal practice, I found that if I do brush the ball and give strong top spin to the ball, the stroke is more consistent.  But someone told me that what I did is called loop drive, not counterhit.  When I only hit the ball, my stroke is not consistent.  Sometimes the ball either goes to the net or too far from the table.

So I am really confused.  Shall I brush the ball in this stroke or not?  Should the ball have top spin or no spin at all?

Many thanks and merry xmas

Yang

Hi Yang,

To start with you can have the stroke quite flat.  With all of the strokes though you need a little topspin to add consistency.  The topspin will give the ball a definite direction and a bit more safety.

All of the strokes are extensions of each other.  The counter hit if extended and with added topspin becomes a topspin stroke.  They are not necessarily different strokes, just different variations.