Smashing Out

I always face a problem that whenever I smash the ball either it goes out by missing the end of the table and when I block I can't really help pushing it. Any advice

Hi Arjun,

It is important to make sure you are hitting the ball at the right height for the smash.  If you hit it too high you will tend to drag the ball into the net.  If you hit it from too low you are reducing your margin for error over the net.

Try to contact the ball at shoulder or head height.  This will give you the best chance of making an effective stroke.

Also make sure you are getting a little bit of topspin on the ball rather than backspin.  If you put any backspin on the ball you will find the ball sailing off into the distance.  It isn't like you are brushing over the ball too much because that will slow the ball down but just make sure you are not slicing the ball at all.

Take a look at the lesson we have on the Forehand Smash to help you further.

For the block it is a matter of using the pace of your opponent's shot to get the ball back on the table.  You still need to have a little topspin on the ball again to get the ball to dip onto the table.  If you push it, the ball will have backspin and go off the end of the table.