Playing with or without glasses...

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Hi all

I am looking for some thoughts from others with a similar challenge.

I wear glasses for long vision, so typically to watch TV or drive my car - anything over about 4-5 ft away is clearer with my glasses on. For reading and computer work I don't require them and in fact my sight is blurred close up with my glasses on.

I have not previously worn them for any sport but have lately begun to question if my TT might benefit from them - effectively, without them on I find that I cannot clearly see what the ball is doing until it is over my side of the net - but my vision of it as it approaches and makes contact with my bat is good. With glasses on (when I have tried) I benefit from a clearer view of my opponent and his impact, but it becomes blurry as I see it on to my bat.

As I have improved I have found that I look at my opponent and what they are doing more, hence this question arising again.

It will ultimately come down to trial and error but I wanted to see if anyone else has faced a similar problem and what you found to be the best compromise - when is it more important to accurately and clearly sight the ball.

Thanks

Peter
 
My eyes are the same way actually even more accentuated. I always wore my glasses playing. When the ball is in trajectory it doesn't matter much, You will see a blur anyway. It is probably easier to adjust to distance with glasses.
However I have a problem hitting balls that are slow and not in front of me with my glasses because I cant see them sharply enough.

Cheers
L-zr
 
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I started wearing glasses when I was in the 6th grade... and I started wearing glasses when I play table tennis since 7th grade. It's not the nearsightedness that's the problem, it's the astigmatism, the ball looks blurry and the size of a tennis ball.

Also, a lot of the players on the Chinese national team wear contact lenses when they play, for example Xu Xin says he has about -1.5 sph and -1.5 cyl, and wears contacts when playing. There were some interviews a long time ago where he said he plays without, but in the recent years he has been wearing contacts. The most recent interview I found was in Aug 2021, it's in Chinese though so I'm not posting it here, you can search around if you really want to read it.
 
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says Table tennis clown
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a good optometrist can make a prescription that can cater for and optimize the lenses for the distances we need .
A friend in the club had it done, insisted that he can see the ball much better , on either side of the table - but he still sucks 😂

I got a handful of glasses with different prescriptions and check them to find which one feels better - on the day.

With cataracts on both eyes and glaucoma on my left eye I get a lot of problems with artificial light , also weird reflections


I tried contacts and they were great but it was a real drag to put them in and especially to get them out. I stopped wearing them when once i had one of the lenses in my eye for 31 days.Just could not get the sucker out.

Hot and humid lately here and I can not play without a furry headband to prevent sweat dribbling down my forehead and onto my glasses. This is great, i now look like timo boll - but of cause I still suck at TT 😂
 
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I started wearing glasses when I was in the 6th grade... and I started wearing glasses when I play table tennis since 7th grade. It's not the nearsightedness that's the problem, it's the astigmatism, the ball looks blurry and the size of a tennis ball.

Also, a lot of the players on the Chinese national team wear contact lenses when they play, for example Xu Xin says he has about -1.5 sph and -1.5 cyl, and wears contacts when playing. There were some interviews a long time ago where he said he plays without, but in the recent years he has been wearing contacts. The most recent interview I found was in Aug 2021, it's in Chinese though so I'm not posting it here, you can search around if you really want to read it.
Hey Duke, so you are nearsighted but get on well with glasses? Interestingly I also have an astigmatism so that doesn’t help.
 
says Spin and more spin.
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I see close well without glasses and far I see better with glasses. I wear my glasses and it is fine. But, I can play just fine if I don't wear my glasses as well.

What you are looking at from the opponent when you play, I see that well enough with my glasses off. But I still like playing with my classes on better.

Some of how you judge spin on the ball is how the racket makes contact with the ball. But some is also the the trajectory of the ball. For reading serves, serves with topspin (despite the opponent's deceptive racket movements) will have a rounder quality to their arc and will accelerate after the bounce. Backspin will have a flatter trajectory and should slow down after each bounce. No spin (empty....really it is little spin) will have a float quality and will not have a flat trajectory or a rounded trajectory.

With shots when someone is looping, it should be easy to read the spin on those. Chopping, if you watch you can see the difference between a lot of spin and less spin and that is a little like the difference between empty and backspin on a serve but you have more time to see the arc of the ball when someone is chopping.

So, at least for me, I can see enough of those kinds of details whether my glasses are on or off. But, again, I still like glasses on better.
 
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Tonight I played again without my glasses and won all three of my single games .
I have glasses what we call vario focus here in the Netherlands the bottem bit of the glasses are for reading the top bit is for far away.
But my sight is good enough to play ping pong without the spectacles. So for now I rather play without them.
😎😎😎
 
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I have had two cataracts replaced and wear progressive lenses. They were a bit of problem for TT, as the area of vision that was in focus was quite small. So I had my ophthalmologist prescribe single vision lenses that makes things in good focus at about 10 feet. Seems to work for playing, but filling in score cards is a bit fuzzy.
 
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I also do have eye related challenges especially with my left eye. I can hardly see things close to me, however, wearing glasses to play has become a big problem due to the moisture that constantly builds on the glasses during play as a result of heat. Ghana is a very hot area.

In that case I play without my glasses most of the time and could hardly tell which spin is on the ball except looking closely at the racket movement which in some cases are very deceptive. Losing on the ball on the backhand side is what my opponents dwell on now as they now know it’s my weakness.

Sticking to the the back hand side leaves my forehand vulnerable as am not very good with footwork considering and my age and weight. 48yrs and about 94kg. Lol. Hoping to learn how to read spins in future as I continue to train. Cheers.
 
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I see close well without glasses and far I see better with glasses. I wear my glasses and it is fine. But, I can play just fine if I don't wear my glasses as well.

What you are looking at from the opponent when you play, I see that well enough with my glasses off. But I still like playing with my classes on better.

Some of how you judge spin on the ball is how the racket makes contact with the ball. But some is also the the trajectory of the ball. For reading serves, serves with topspin (despite the opponent's deceptive racket movements) will have a rounder quality to their arc and will accelerate after the bounce. Backspin will have a flatter trajectory and should slow down after each bounce. No spin (empty....really it is little spin) will have a float quality and will not have a flat trajectory or a rounded trajectory.

With shots when someone is looping, it should be easy to read the spin on those. Chopping, if you watch you can see the difference between a lot of spin and less spin and that is a little like the difference between empty and backspin on a serve but you have more time to see the arc of the ball when someone is chopping.

So, at least for me, I can see enough of those kinds of details whether my glasses are on or off. But, again, I still like glasses on better.

I think that’s about where I am - I can make it work either way, but as I put more time into becoming a better player I want to make sure that I choose the best option. Glasses will take a little adjustment as the lack of clarity up close throws me a little and there’s also the sweat/slip issue.

I could have a pair made to optimise my sight from say 30cm to 300cm as a compromise (my current specs are lower focused on long vision for driving clarity)

Thanks..

 
says Spin and more spin.
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I think that’s about where I am - I can make it work either way, but as I put more time into becoming a better player I want to make sure that I choose the best option. Glasses will take a little adjustment as the lack of clarity up close throws me a little and there’s also the sweat/slip issue.

I could have a pair made to optimise my sight from say 30cm to 300cm as a compromise (my current specs are lower focused on long vision for driving clarity)

Thanks..

If that is the case, I would go with not wearing them. What you are seeing from across the table, you don't need to see super clearly. It is the angle of the racket as it contacts the ball and the body language which helps you tell where the opponent is going to aim their shot, where the ball is likely to go.

 
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If that is the case, I would go with not wearing them. What you are seeing from across the table, you don't need to see super clearly. It is the angle of the racket as it contacts the ball and the body language which helps you tell where the opponent is going to aim their shot, where the ball is likely to go.

Thanks, I guess that’s the way I have been leaning.

 
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I have geezer eyes. They don't change focus quickly. I have problems when balls get too close to my face. With glasses I can see the ball just fine across the table. Also, changing glasses before playing requires some adjusting because different glass can change the depth perception. I sometimes have problem over reaching so the ball hits my hand or thumb instead of square in the middle of the paddle. This problem seems to be worse when the ball is going far to my left or right. Glasses change your depth perception.
 
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