Cross court

Hi Alois and Jeff,

in many situations, i pivot and play strong forehands or even backhands from the backhand corner. a second ball down the line is easy for me from the backhand corner. but i cant even play an opening topspin from forehand corner! many of my opponents use this to upstage me by pushing to my forehand... how can i improve my game at the forehand corner? i feel as though i cant get a fulll swing there. Also how do i alter my position to make the ball go cross court in the forehand corner?

i hope you could understand my question. i really appreciate what you are doing!

thank you

Hi Shripathi,

This is a common problem.  I think it comes from the leg position first. If you get quite side on to the table then it is harder to hit the ball from the forehand corner.  When you are square on to the table you can get over to the forehand corner a bit easier using the sidestep footwork.

As far as where you hit the ball again everyone has a preference.  The main thing is to get into a good balanced position to hit the ball and be relaxed with your arm and your fingers.  A small change in finger or wrist position will mean a change in the direction of the ball.  It doesn't take a big change to make the ball go in different directions.  It can also be a slight timing change.  By hitting the ball later the ball will go down the line, by hitting it a little earlier it will go cross court.

I hope this helps.