Personally I've got no problem with coaches pushing high quality books or websites on this forum, especially if they're willing to hang around to answer some questions. On that note...
Larry, do you think table tennis is unusually momentum-heavy, or does it just feel that way because serve/receive and first-ball patterns can swing point probability so quickly? When a player loses three or four points in a row, what’s your quickest diagnostic checklist for figuring out whether the problem is tactical, technical, psychological, or just normal variance — and what are the best ways to reset before the match gets away?
This is a very good question that comes up regularly for players and coaches. And sorry about the long response – once I get going I can’t stop! 😊
Momentum in table tennis is mostly a combination of confidence and tactics, as well as fitness for older or out-of-shape players. It’s also a two-way dynamic, as both players have varying degree of all three. For now, I’ll leave fitness out of the equation. There's always going to be some random streaks where a player scores a bunch in a row, but since you can't really stop that if both players are roughly equal, you should focus on how to stop an opponent from scoring a bunch in a row that's *not* just mathematical chance, while increasing your own chances of doing so.
If you and your opponent are roughly the same level, but suddenly the opponent is dominating (i.e. has the momentum), it’s likely one of two possibilities.
- Most often, you are playing poor tactics and the opponent is taking advantage of it. This hurts both because of the poor tactics, *and* because it leave you in uncomfortable situations at the start of or during rallies, which leads to misses or weak shots. This makes you nervous or hesitant, and so you think you are losing because of that, when it is the poor tactics that leads to your being nervous or hesitant.
- You are nervous, leading to slight hesitation. There are many reasons for this. While this is often because of poor tactics (as noted above), it could also simply be plain nervousness, perhaps because it’s a big match, first-round jitters, or (perhaps most commonly) when you realize you have a chance to win a big match and start thinking about it . . . and so the momentum changes and your opponent starts winning. This is especially true for younger players, but it can happen to anyone. If this is the problem, then you need to work on sports psychology. I’ve often pointed out that a confident player playing poor tactics usually beats a nervous player playing good tactics. If you aren’t nervous and play good tactics . . . then you have momentum!
Lack of confidence often means you are uncomfortable with what’s happening, which is a tactical issue. Fix the tactics so the rallies start and continue in a way you are more comfortable, then you gain the confidence to execute your shots at your highest level, which leads to momentum. Note that when attacking, 1% hesitation is 100% miss. When opponent is attacking, your 1% hesitation means you miss or make weak shots.
So, how to fix this? There are books on sports psychology. But there’s actually a relatively simple way to fix both problems: smart tactics. This solves #1 above. But it often solves #2 as well, since smart tactics put you in comfortable situations, which gives you confidence, and so you no longer hesitate.
If you are in a situation where your opponent is suddenly dominating, the first thing you do is figure out *why* he’s dominating. Make sure you are playing tactics that put you in comfortable situations, especially on serve, receive, and placement in opening shots and rallies. Then blank your mind out and let your training take over.
Here are three personal examples of where I lost winnable matches because my opponent gained the momentum and I failed to stop it. It illustrates all three possibilities - psychological, tactical, and physical.
- I once led a 2400 player 20-16 match point. I was about 2250 at the time, and I couldn’t help but think about this at the end. This made me super-careful – and that led to my playing soft, and he won six straight points because of it. It wasn’t tactics, it was slight hesitation at the end that led to my playing too soft in rallies. He jumped on them, got the momentum, and won. That was a case of 1% hesitation = soft play = lost six straight points.
- I played a match against a 2150 player where I should have been a big favorite. I was told in advance this guy would loop everything. I went into the match tactically ready for a looper. Early on I led, and so I stuck to my tactics. He started to smash winners, and gained the momentum. I’ve been kicking myself for years for not changing my tactics. By the time I realized I’d been misinformed and he was a more of a hitter, I’d pretty much lost. A simple change of tactics and I would have regained the momentum and likely won. The worst tactical match of my life.
- In my 50 years of tournaments, I had only one comeback that was worse than that 20-16 lead on Kaichi. (I’ve come back from 10-5 or 20-15 match point nine times.) I was once up 20-10 match point in the third. I was playing all-out forehand attacking, and by the end, I was exhausted and my legs were dead. My opponent started winning points – and when I realized I could no longer move effectively to attack forehands, I got hesitant, and even when the shot was there, I was indecisive, and I lost, 23-21.
I could list a few hundred examples where I coached a player who stopped the opponent’s momentum, but I’ll stop here. 😊
-Larry Hodges
