Countering a Loop

Table Tennis Strokes and Technique

Last updated 16 years ago

Andrew Unknown

Andrew Unknown Asked 16 years ago

Hi. I would like to first thank you for your services. I had a question dealing with countering an incoming loop. When a slow incoming loop comes, should I wait some time after it lands to swing back flat at the ball or should I take it off the bounce? Also, how do I handle this when a faster loop comes at me? I would expect to take the faster ball off the bounce to counter with a flat hit but i just wanted to make sure.

There is a player at my club that waits for my underspin to sink and then loops a extremely slow archy loop at me. I can usually get around the ball and I end up just slapping it over but I was curious on the timing of the ball. Should I wait for the ball to rise to the peak before countering this slow spinny loop or should I take it off the bounce. Thank you for helping.

-Andrew


Jeff Plumb

Jeff Plumb Answered 16 years ago

Hi Andrew,

With a slower spinny loop, the key is to get into a good position. Because the ball is a bit slower, it doesn't come through as fast and you may need to try and get closer to the bounce of the ball.

As the ball is very spinny you need to be firm with your block and try and punch the ball. You need to get the angle right to do this which can take a lot of practice. If you try to guide the ball too much, often it will grip into your rubber and you may hit it off the end. From your comments above, it sounds like you already do this by slapping the ball over.

With a faster loop, you can counter with a much smaller stroke. Also as the ball is travelling quicker it will come through to you a lot more than a slower loop so you won't need to worry about moving in on the ball as much. 


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