Drills to Improve Shot Timing
Training
Rick August Asked 7 months ago
I've entered a bit of a playing slump and I feel that my timing is off when I play shots in matches. What drills would you recommend to help this? I would think that drills that contain balls with different amounts of spin and speed would be the best to work on timing.
Alois Rosario Answered 7 months ago
Hi Rick,
It sounds like you’ve got a good grasp on what might help you climb out of that slump. Improving your timing, especially under varying playing conditions, is crucial. Here are a few drills that specifically target timing and adaptability to different spins and speeds:
1. Listening to the Ball
Try to really listen to the ball bouncing on the table, your opponents racket and your racket. By tuning in to this you will start to get a rhythm of the ball and the timing that is required. Start by seeing if you can keep an even pacing for all of your shots.
2. Hitting Drill
Have a training partner or coach hit to you with even spin and speed to start with. Then as you start to feel comfortable get them to vary the speed of the ball first and see if you can keep the timing of the ball on your side. Then you can get them to vary spins (topspin, backspin) randomly. Your goal is to adjust your stroke and timing to return the ball consistently. This not only improves your reaction time but also enhances your ability to read the spin quickly and adjust your racket angle and stroke speed accordingly.
Recommended Video
On Table Warm Up
After your physical warm up, you should start your on table play by getting your eye in and getting a feel for your strokes.
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I think that the other thing that I don't do well is going between a topspin shot and a block. I'll trade regular topspin shots with an opponent which is fine but then they will hit a very spinny topspin shot and this really throws off my timing especially if I try to hit a counter topspin shot. Many times, I'm too close to the table so I'm trying to change that. Maybe, I should just block these balls back but I have a little trouble changing between topspin shots and blocks. Any thoughts on this?
Hi Rick, try a drill with your robot sending you a few regular top spins, and then a few very spinny top spins. Initially fixed position, then scatter. Hope that helps.
Hi Rick,
The more you practice with the different speed and spins of ball in training and really tune into the sound and feel of the ball the easier this will be. Also focus on the hitting position in relation to your body. Take a look at this tutorial on The HItting Zone. The main thing is usually being too rushed on these change up balls and hitting the ball too early in front of the body which means that you lose some control of the ball.
Also, good suggestion Philip.
Let me know how you continue to progress.
Just a follow up on this topic. I created a robot drill that throws three different balls that require very different timing. One ball is a standard topspin ball, the other is a very spinny topspin ball and the final one is a slow, high, no spin ball. I start off running this as a regular drill where I know the order of the balls and then progress to a totally random drill. I do this on both the forehand and backhand side. In addition, I play with players that hit these very spinny forehand shots and also long pips players that require me to constantly adjust my timing. I have found that this drill has helped me a lot and now I'm timing these spinny or off pace balls much better.
Just an update to this post. I've been doing a robot drill where I have three balls with different speeds and spins. The first ball is a standard topspin shot with typical speed and topspin. The second ball is a slightly slower but very spinny topspin shot. The third ball is a slow, high, no spin shot. All of these require very different timing. I start running this as a regular drill where I know the order of the balls and then advance to a completely random drill. Since doing this drill, my timing has improved and I'm better able to deal with spinny or off pace balls from my playing partners. This has also helped me playing against long pips player where many of their shots have different spins and speed.