Trouble with opponents steparound forehand attack

Hi Alois and Jeff,

I have trouble preventing some opponents from using a steparound forehand attack. When I backspin push long, they can smash(loop) the ball. When I push the ball short, they use a forehand(or backhand) flick to return my shot. What is an effective shot I can use to prevent a steparound forehand attack.

Hi Chinmay,

I think one important thing to understand is that just because a player has a good forehand they may not necessarily have a good forehand from their forehand corner or wider on the forehand.  It is worth pushing a ball wide to the forehand and see how they cope with it.

Even if this doesn't work it will still give them more to think about.  They will then have to cover the whole table with their forehand the next time because they know you can push the ball anywhere.