Good result leads to poor performance

Alois and Jeff,

As ever this is the best tables tennis Q and A message board on the net.

On to my question, a month ago I played a division up in my local league and managed to win against a player who is in the top half of the averages. I am a right handed forehand oriented player but in this match my opponent played mostly pushes to my backhand. I had one of those matches where I couldn't seem to miss! My pushes were deep or angled and I waited for the right ball to backhand loop, this won the match for me. Since then I've been getting my foot work wrong (neutral stance rather than forehand) and been trying to win points with my backhand while neglecting to use my forehand. My form has been terrible. Any advice how to put this right?

Hi Nigel,

This is a common trap.  I think the main thing is that you realise the strength of your game.  It is about now, in matches, setting yourself up to win points with your forehand and hunting more forehands in the match.

This can be as simple as a subtle change in your position at the table, turning slightly to your right so that you are ready to play forehands.