3rd Ball

Well it depends how the ball is coming back. You need to have serves which allow you to expect a certain return. For example I serve a short side top kick serve short to the forehand which breaks the table (im left handed), I expect that ball to come back topspin crosscourt back to my backhand because playing the short part of the table down the line is much more difficult, I pivot and use a short stroke forehand loop down the line. It's a basic 3rd ball set piece. So my advice to you is to find serves which allow you to play your best shot for the third ball. If the ball comes back with lots of topspin you need to close your bat angle and have a more horizontal swing. The angle of your bat should be equal to the angle of the swing i.e 45 degree bat angle 45 degree swing. If the ball is coming fast close the angle and shorten the swing for the third ball counter. If the ball is backspin, open the bat angle and use power from your legs and core to get topspin on the ball, try and place the ball somewhere difficult for the opponent and aim for depth on the table. I'm not sure what your level is or what you are really looking for advice on perhaps try looking for some videos on youtube. I would strongly recommend having a look at www.ttedge.com at the basic videos, the basic registration is free, you can also find those videos on youtube and you may find them helpful.

The best advice I can give is do as much serve and receive drills as you can. You get a bucket of balls. You get a friend. You serve underspin. He pushes back. Then you loop his push and play out the point. You finish a bucket and then switch so that he is serving and you are pushing.

Here are examples that are more specific:

1) First player serves underspin to receiver's backhand.
2) Second person pushes to the server's forehand side.
3) First person tries to loop the underspin.
4) Play out the point.

Obviously the serve can go to the forehand or the backhand side depending on if the receiver wants to work on pushing with the forehand or backhand. The push can also go to the forehand or backhand side for similar reasons but also if you want to work on using footwork to loop with the forehand from the backhand side, or banana loop with the backhand from the forehand side like Zhang Jike.

When you are first learning to loop underspin it is worth making it so that the push is coming to the same basic place over and over again so you work on that shot without worrying about where the ball will go on the return of serve. Once you are solid with looping short balls from the forehand and backhand, then it is time to do serve and receive drills with the random element of not knowing where the push is going.

By doing these kinds of drills you learn how to loop underspin and if you can do that, you can loop topspin. You also are forced to improve your strokes because you need decent mechanics to loop short, low underspin. When you practice this a lot, and then you start doing topspin rallies you start realizing how much more power and spin you get from your strokes just from practicing looping underspin.

By the way, it sounds like the equipment you are using should be fine for developing these skills and if you just keep practicing trying to loop underspin you will get the technique eventually. When the ball starts going on the table with good spin consistently you are doing something right.

If you know someone who has long pips and is a good blocker and chopper, hitting with them and practicing looping while they chop is really good for these skills as well. You practicing returning their shots with topspin and trying to get as much spin on the ball as you can rather than just smashing it which can work but does not help you develop the skill or control of looping or 3rd ball attacks.

If you want a good third ball attack the best way to practice is what Carl said, the next best thing would be to have someone multiball you with varying dead, light top, or under spins so that you can recognize the different pushes that will come back for you to attack. The key is to use your legs to either lift the ball with underspin or drive the ball forward with a top or dead ball. The next thing to focus on is speed. The faster you swing your forehand the more energy is transferred into the ball and therefore the more spin and speed on the ball.

"Bad" loopers often don't use their legs. --> You have to bend your knees BEFORE you hit the ball and come back up WHILE stroking the ball.
Another big mistake is the "tennis" swing, in which players hit the ball with a fully stretched arm.
Always keep your elbow near your ribs and don't let your elbow come alongside your shoulder.
Finally, a lot of people tend to loop with a "stiff" arm. Keep your body flexible!

You should get spin-power from:
- Legs
- Torso rotation
- shoulder
- elbow
- wrist

Neglect any of the above, and thou shall never be a good looper