Constructing a point for defense

Table Tennis Match Strategy

Last updated 11 years ago

Duncan Wraight

Duncan Wraight Asked 11 years ago

Hi both,

Thanks for posting your recent defensive training plan. Much appreciated.

I had a bit of an eye-opening experience in training tonight. I played against a lad I don't know particularly well, other than to know that he plays two divisions above me, and asked him if he'd be OK with me practicing my chopping. He agreed and we had a good knock for around 20 minutes, with my chopping steadily improving on both sides to the point where he was making more errors than I was.

We then played a match. All of the games were quite close, but it was mostly because of my serves - I was clearly outclassed in general play.

That's absolutely fine, but the main thing that came up for me was how I stop him from ripping through my pushes.

This can be broken down in to two questions:

  • Is the idea that, if I'm trying to construct a "defensive" point so I can wheel out my chop, I put varying amounts of backspin on my pushes to make my opponent read that and hopefully either hit a high one (to attack), in to the net or be forced to lift/loop it over the net with less pace than a drive?
  • Should I be using my LPs to receive, or the inverted?

I'm not sure I'm getting anywhere near enough backspin on my pushes to stop him from doing this at the moment. Is there a knack? Or am I simply approaching the construction wrong?

Let's take attacks out of the equation - apart from missing a few simple forehands my third ball attacks worked out well.

Thanks in advance,


Jeff Plumb

Jeff Plumb Answered 11 years ago

Hi Duncan,

That's great that you were able to hold your own. Serving is a really important part of table tennis so it's good to see you gaining an advantage there.

As a defensive player you do want to get your chop working for you. This means you need to stop your opponent making a strong attack while you are still close to the table. You can stop this by attacking as a lot of modern defenders do. Or you need to place the ball well and/or use a lot of backspin. If you are returning with long pimples then it's hard to generate your own spin but you can reverse your opponents spin. So if they serve with a lot of spin, you can use the pimples effectively. If they serve with no spin you can't really generate your own spin so you need to place the ball the best you can. You can also twiddle and then get plenty of backspin with a push.

The other thing to consider is how quickly you can get back from the table and into a good position to return their topspin. Perhaps you can take the push a little later and further back, place it deep and then you are already further back from the table. You can then move back quickly and into position to return their loop.

It sounds like you've got the strategy working pretty well and just need to fine tune the execution. Keep up the good work.

Let me know if these ideas help you out.


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Duncan Wraight

Duncan Wraight Posted 11 years ago

That's great Jeff, thanks.

Few more questions to follow up if you don't mind:

  • Is there a knack - or a slightly different technique - to getting more backspin on pushes?
  • Is there any area on the table that most offensive players struggle to hit "through" the ball, i.e. should I be aiming for the baseline in the middle of my opponent's body?
  • Should I be trying to "chop" from on the table when the ball comes long toward my backhand? If so, is the technique the same, just smaller.. and probably using my inverted?

And, a slightly lighter question, do you enjoy playing a defensive game? I've noticed you're always the one doing the chopping in the defensive videos!

Thanks :)


Jeff Plumb

Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago

Hi Duncan,

Getting more spin on your pushes is just like getting more spin on your serve. You need a fast brushing contact.

As for a good area, you'll find different players prefer different areas. Usually the hardest places for players are wide to either the forehand or backhand or right into the elbow area in the middle.

As for the long ball to your backhand it depends on the shot of your opponent. I think it is easier and more consistent to chop a topspin when you are back from the table. if you get caught close to the table you can either block the ball with your normal rubber or as you suggest, play a kind of mini chop with your long pimples. If your opponent pushes then you can use either your long pimples or twiddle and use your normal rubber. Again it depends on your opponent. Some players prefer the ball off the long pimples and some off the normal.

And yes I do enjoy chopping. It is great fun to get back from the table and trying to outlast your opponent!


Duncan Wraight

Duncan Wraight Posted 11 years ago

In terms of the "on the table chop", I'm just thinking for when an opponent pushes (or serves) long. I found that when I was receiving a slow-ish ball to the end of the table (deep push or long serve), I was just pushing it back and not getting a lot of backspin on the ball which allowed my opponent to hit through the ball.

Some players seem to enjoy playing against defensive players where others struggle. Watched a superb 2012 final (might've been the Hungarian open? not sure) on YouTube of Joo Se Hyuk vs Ma Long last night and although Ma Long won in the end (4-3), at times he really struggled to read Joo's spin.

In your playing days, were you good against defenders?


Jeff Plumb

Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago

Hi Duncan,

There weren't many defenders in Australia though so I didn't get a lot of opportunity to play against that style. This made it difficult to become really good against them but I usually enjoyed the experience.  



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