Play against close to table players

Al Unknown Asked 16 years ago

I always lose to people who play close to the table, they seem to return every shot I make with minimal effort until I miss and I look silly. Any suggestion that I can improve my game against these type of players? thanks

Alois Rosario Answered 16 years ago

The trick against these typs of players is to vary the speed. A lot of the close to the table players use the speed you generate and will outplace you. They sometimes do not like it if you spin the ball slower and then play fast. Also do not give them too many angles to work with as they use placement well usually.

Try playing one slow topspin followed by one fast topspin when you are in the right position.Do not give them too much pace to work with.

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Thoughts on this question

Ji-Soo Woo Posted 16 years ago

For me, I divide this style into two subgroups: blockers and crowders. Blockers tend to be a bit more passive and block balls a little past the end of the table. Crowders are players who try to block the ball as soon as they bounce, and force you to scramble by giving you sharp angles. In the past, I used to be able to beat blockers easily by just doing massive topspin slow loops. However, these days I have a lot of problem against them (especially crowders). I don't know whether it's because my topspin loops are less spinny than before, or whether the caliber of my competition is higher (or both, as is likely). One thing I've noticed is that crowders like to tempt you into hitting crosscourt at an angle...because they love angles and can usually out-angle you. And because they are so close to the table, they have less distance to cover than you do (especially if you are like me and tend to back up a bit). I find I have much more success therefore hitting balls deep and down the middle (or to the backhand sometimes) at various speeds

niel Unknown Posted 16 years ago

what i do is i play the ball long and fast because theyre standing so close they dont have enough time to move back.

Alex Unknown Posted 16 years ago

with an opponent that stands close to the table try and hit the ball to his/her forehand armpit this causes the player to try and tuck thier arm and makes it hard to return