How to return pure flat shots

Hello Alois,

I have been playing table tennis for almost two years and my game has been improving tremendously. My only struggle is when I play with a friend who likes to hit pure flat shots I always struggle to hit them back. My favorite shot to play is topspin but I know there's more to it when it comes to flat shots. What can I do? I love your videos and tutorials.

Hi Raul,

Hitting against a flat shot can be difficult.

The main thing is to have a slightly more vertical stroke to lift the ball over the net.  The speed of the ball means that the ball comes out of your rubber quickly and will want to go forward rather than up.  That is why you have to compensate by lifting the ball more.

The principles are like playing short pimple players.  Take a look at this tutorial on Help Playing Short Pimpled Rubber.