Trouble against a lefty

rajd1234 · Oct 26, 2014

Hi there,

I am right-handed player and I always face some difficulty while playing against a left handed player in a game.
Somehow my tactics don't work and I loose the points.
Even worse I start to become defensive which is not at all my style when loosing points against a lefty.

What should I do to overcome this?

Any suggestions on technique or mind set improvement is welcome.

Thanks.

ttmonster · Oct 26, 2014

do you have a recording , where you are playing a lefty ? that will help us analyze and try to help you with our observations ...

Rajah* · Oct 26, 2014

Understand the ball rotation of your opponent, anticipate the direction and the manner your opponent brushes the ball..
Play with a lefty to be familiar. It will take time but im sure you can catch up.. lets just say you are up against a mirror image of yourself

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rajd1234 · Oct 26, 2014

@ttmonstet: i wish i had a recording device...maybe someday i will....but any suggestions in general??

...Rajd...

rajd1234 · Oct 26, 2014

@rajah: i agree with u.. But understanding the opponent quickly is something that u develop by playing with the same style players..and unfortunately...we dont have any lefty players in our club...(strange right???)

...Rajd...

ttmonster · Oct 26, 2014

its not strange to not have lefties in an indian club, rajd, we know that our culture has weird stereotypes against using the left hand and pretty much kill the lefties in the bud and it messes them for the rest of their lives !! but that aside , here are some generic tips :

1. Stand towards the middle of the table a little more than you do normally, this will help you see the ball better during serve receive.
2. remember that lefties in general hate getting moved around, because of their natural angle they are the ones who make people run around so , if you can play wide cross court balls on either wings and control the game and make them move , they get into trouble
3. try to block your backhand down the line instead of playing it cross court, if you play cross it has to be really cross and not in his sweet spot in his forehand.
4. vary your serve and try to learn the knuckle buster serve , the regular pendulum serve where the third bounce is on the forehand side line of the lefty , they hate it. also i personally find the regular side spin pendulum short to their forehand spinning away fast tend to open up their backhands ... so see if you can do that as well.

but these are all stereotypes and most accomplished lefties would have got around these problems by the time they meet you, so the real solution is to play more lefties that rajah suggested.

rajd1234 · Oct 26, 2014

ttmonster said:
its not strange to not have lefties in an indian club, rajd, we know that our culture has weird stereotypes against using the left hand and pretty much kill the lefties in the bud and it messes them for the rest of their lives !! but that aside , here are some generic tips :

1. Stand towards the middle of the table a little more than you do normally, this will help you see the ball better during serve receive.
2. remember that lefties in general hate getting moved around, because of their natural angle they are the ones who make people run around so , if you can play wide cross court balls on either wings and control the game and make them move , they get into trouble
3. try to block your backhand down the line instead of playing it cross court, if you play cross it has to be really cross and not in his sweet spot in his forehand.
4. vary your serve and try to learn the knuckle buster serve , the regular pendulum serve where the third bounce is on the forehand side line of the lefty , they hate it. also i personally find the regular side spin pendulum short to their forehand spinning away fast tend to open up their backhands ... so see if you can do that as well.

but these are all stereotypes and most accomplished lefties would have got around these problems by the time they meet you, so the real solution is to play more lefties that rajah suggested.

thanks ttmonster...i will try to implement the points u covered.

ttmonster · Oct 26, 2014

rajd1234 said:
thanks ttmonster...i will try to implement the points u covered.

You are welcome, let me know if you improve ...

Rajah* · Oct 26, 2014

Ohh ic now that is a problem..in order to be familiar you have to train with a lefty no matter if he is shakehand or penholder..

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Der_Echte · Oct 26, 2014

Ur BH will be your best friend along with your mind.

raazzz · Oct 26, 2014

ttmonster said:
do you have a recording , where you are playing a lefty ? that will help us analyze and try to help you with our observations ...

Analyzing your matches is always a good advice! Do you have any left handed player you can practice against?

Tinykin · Oct 27, 2014

At my lower level, I am still surprised by the fact that so many lefties don't like serves into their bodies.
Try it.
Simply stand in the middle and using a BH serve, swerve the ball into them or
BH serve again, but stand closer to your end and serve straight at them or
Pendulum serve into the body. The swerve again gives them problem especially if you can get the ball to land close to the white line and swerve towards their left elbow.
Pendulum again but go to their wide FH corner or off the side. They will expect this now and then. But combine with the serve above and doubt is now in their mind as to which serve is coming. Let's be truthful, the pendulum into their body is basically a hidden serve.
Finally, develop a sidepin/topspin loop going away from them. They tend to not like that.

UpSideDownCarl · Oct 29, 2014

Der_Echte said:
Ur BH will be your best friend along with your mind.

Yep. That is good info. And Der_Echte knows that my favorite lefty training partner is one reason why my backhand is a fairly strong shot for me.

And, as so many people have already said, you really need to train with a lefty to get used to how the ball comes at you and standard tactics that they use to get you to set them up.

Why don't you chase down one of the lefties who has given you trouble, even if they are from another club or hard to get to, and get them to do game simulation serve and receive with you. Just like a regular game without counting points. If you do a few hours of that, 4-10 times, you will start playing lefties much better.

See if you can do whatever you need to to get one of those lefties who has given you trouble to do some training with you.

The biggest advantage lefties have is that they are always playing righties. But righties are rarely playing lefties. I have a favorite lefty training partner for a good reason. Hahaha.

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Der_Echte · Oct 30, 2014

Lefty players seem to hookshot the ball more than many RH players, which of course means more balls to your BH. If you can hold the table (like Carl does) you can counter the lefty loops.

What is cool about the BH is that is requires little to ZERO backswing. If you need some power, all you really need to do to generate that power is a little step forward. Anything that starts the weight transfer going will result (if your timing and mechanics are spot on) in a very fast and / or spinny ball that the opponent will have little to no clue where you are hitting it (unless he knows your tendencies). The shot is quick off the bounce and can have very good pace. Your own BH attacks can use this advantage vs lefty players. Not so many of them face a RH player with a good quick BH they can place well.

The BH shot that takes the ball early is a huge weapon vs the lefty crowd and keeps them guessing and eventually feed your ready and eager beaver FH sum moar, just what the doctor ordered.

What Carl is describing is that one of the guys he trains with at SPiN hits a TON of balls to the BH, often very medium pace loaded spinny balls which Carl has learned to graze over the top off the bounce and place it where he wants.

Myself, I do not do that as consistent as he does. If I get a more shallow loop I can, or is I get any kind of underspin, short or long I can and that helps me out a HUGE HEAP vs lefty players in rallies.

Der_Echte · Oct 30, 2014

Another reason lefty players seem to feed your BH like pilgrims feed trolls on the internet is that MANY RH players want to be FH power macho vs the lefty player to finish them off early so they don't have to cope with a "Weird" rally to their detriment as the RH player will miss more often trying this tactic. A lefty player often adds sidespin so the RH player stepping around is often still out of position by the time ball reaches him.

Maybe the biggest reason lefty players get away with going to the middle BH or slightly wide BH is that many RH players of the same playing level as the lefty player simply do not have a reliable BH attacking shot that lands often enough /strong enough to put pressure on the lefty player or threaten him to lose the point. So... since RH player isn't showing the lefty player any of his graveyards, it is Open Season for the lefty player to pin the RH player on the BH side.

If the RH player is more patient and reads the ball a little better, they can be ready to employ their BH.

ttmonster · Oct 30, 2014

Can you tell us that least what you feel , meaning when you lose , what goes on in your mind .. what do you think you need to improve ? I guess that should give us some more clues and the community will try to help you specifically

rajd1234 · Oct 30, 2014

ttmonster said:
Can you tell us that least what you feel , meaning when you lose , what goes on in your mind .. what do you think you need to improve ? I guess that should give us some more clues and the community will try to help you specifically

The last one I played against was relying on fast serves to my right hand corner. I did return them with my loop but then he came too strong with counter loops and finishing many points at my backhand. I was getting freeze at that moment. I think Der_echte and Carl is right...BH has to be my best friend along with my mind.

Rajah* · Oct 30, 2014

Yeah your bh should be 30-40% better than your fh.. so you wont be needing to move too much on your left forcing you to make a fh attack leaving you open

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ttmonster · Oct 30, 2014

rajd1234 said:
The last one I played against was relying on fast serves to my right hand corner. I did return them with my loop but then he came too strong with counter loops and finishing many points at my backhand. I was getting freeze at that moment. I think Der_echte and Carl is right...BH has to be my best friend along with my mind.

Were your looping them to the same point or varying their placements ?

rajd1234 · Oct 30, 2014

ttmonster said:
Were your looping them to the same point or varying their placements ?

Unfortunately, I was placing them down the line which was his forehand and hereby throwing the advantage to him. I know i should have done better in placements.

Trouble against a lefty

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