Returning Spin

I recently bought a table tennis table for £400 to practice on. when i started practicing on it against my friend, the wind took the ball off in all sorts of different directions. is there any way to block the wind.

Thanks.

p.s I have no room indoors so i cant move it inside.

Also..

Whilst playing with my friends im really good, often winning games against them 11-0/21-0, then i got picked to represent ma school at table tennis. I done well in my first match winning it flying colours with my sidespin/Backspin/topspin(i can do all those :) ) Then the second match. he started doing sidespin/topspin/backspin. and i realised that i had spent all that time learning how to do all the spins, and spending no time practicing how to deflect spins. so every sidespin he'd do if i'd block it, it'd fly right to the side of the table. if he'd do a backspin, i'd end up hitting the net, and if he'd do a topspin, i'd topspin it back and end up putting too much speed on it so it would go way clear of the table. Any information or advice on how to rebound spins for next year so i can stand more of a chance and not look absolutely terrible in front of everyone?

Thanks for the help :)

Hi Luke,

Well done on improving your serves.  It is very rewarding when you get some cheap points on them. 

On your first question about the wind I don't have too many clues apart from trying to move the table into a shletered area or putting up some temporary blinds to block the wind.

On the question of returning spin, here are the basics. 

The main idea is to just use the angle of your bat to get the ball back.  Try to avoid playing across the line of the ball.  Use your bat like a rudder and steer the ball back.  If the ball is going off to the right angle your bat to the left.  How much you need to point the bat to the left will depend on how much spin is on the ball.  Similarly if the ball is going down into the net you need to point your bat upwards to lift it over the net.  If it is going up in the air angle it down slightly to keep it lower.

The best way to improve returning is to get to a club and play against all sorts of different players with weird and wonderful spin.  Once you have faced lots of different spin you will start to get the feel of where you need to point your bat.

Good luck with the competiton next year.  And don't worry you are not the first person to feel terrible because someone got with with spin.  It is why table tennis is so much fun and you can always improve.