Serve & placement to minimize opponent options

Minimising placement options with the serve is only ever going to be a statistical thing.

If your opponent is determined enough, they are always going to be able to place it anywhere on the receive, barring not having certain angles to work with. Eg if you serve to their backhand corner (assuming both right handed), the furthest they can hit to your forehand side is down the line.

Predicting placement of returns is mostly a combination of knowing what can't be done (certain angles are not possible, they probably can't return a long serve short), and banking on your opponent going for the safer return. Eg. Flicks against under spin usually go cross court to give them more table length to work with, pushes against sidespin often go against direction of spin to avoid pushing off side of table. If they are determined enough, they can choose not to do these, so sometimes you will get burned, but it is also riskier for them, predicting return placement is really just a statistical game, you are hoping to get more advantage out of it than you will lose from being suprised.

As for forehand loop placement on return, there's no way to predict where they will go. People should not be commonly forehand looping a serve, because you should not be predictably serving long to their forehand. If you serve this way, and your opponent is not caught off guard, being loop killed is the risk you accept. The only exception is the half long serve that only just clears the table, these slower spinny loops go cross court more often than not, again, due to more table length to work with.

Their placement is strongly connected to their level and experience. If they're good they're gonna aim for your elbow and corners, to test your footwork, which since you ask I suspect has some flaws No offense

Serve low and near to the net with the ball sinking very near to the side of the table. No matter to his FH/BH, the opponent will have the only option to take the ball under the table level and lift it. If your serve goes a bit longer and the ball doesn't sink fast, be prepared for a cut from his BH and a cut/loop/attack from his FH, so try to keep it short and spinny. The same serve with added side spin with direction taking the ball away from the table would be even more disturbing, as the opponent doesn't have the option to counter it.

Try looking at the opponent and not the ball so much. Better to focus on your style of play and adapt little to the opponent. So it is different from opponent to opponent.

Probably work out your footwork and anticipation to increase your skills.

Maybe if your opponent is often able to return the ball all over the table without difficulty/taking risk, it may mean that your ball lacks quality. Especially with serve, if he can place it anywhere he wants, maybe your serve had not enough spin/height/placement/speed/deception.. otherwise he would need to play the safe spot most of the time

Turdytree said:

[emoji23] Anticipation cant be practiced like technique

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It comes from learning the game, understanding the percentages and likely play patterns. So it can be practiced, though it requires mental analysis and not so much physical. Once you have those ingrained, then you can try to dictate the play based on your hits. For example, if I hit a quick drive to their backhand... where will the ball most likely be returned to?

If you hit cross court to their forehand, where will it go? There are basic play patterns that most everyone uses, and then there are player specific ones which you will need to unearth quickly when playing them.

Turdytree said:

[emoji23] Anticipation cant be practiced like technique

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In fact it Can be practiced.

In fact Every Human activity is based on some portion of anticipation.
Anticipation is much more native for other creatures, who we call "animals", but we, humans still are capable to use it without thinking. Its native and No living creature can survive without it. More abstract - its the only vessel of time.
There are cultures that really Do relly on anricipation and there are cultures that have changed suddenly their future lines because of that, and there are cultures which have exploied the previouse.

But back to the question - in fact the most important thing to develope in TT aside from technoque, is Anticipation.
And Top of the Top are on the Top exactly because if that.

Have you even tried random multiball drills??

QUOTE=Turdytree;278341][emoji23] Anticipation cant be practiced like technique

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No wonder you are saying that.

Think about the angle and spin you gave them, this will dictate the likely return.