Dealing with fast block after topspin

[tabletennismaniac]

Hi All,
I’m looking for tips and experiences how you are dealing with opponent blocking fast at you when looping with forehand?
Some people like to really pound on the ball during warm up and this really mess up my timing and ability to get required feeling with my strokes. However, it seems that for many it is not a problem and they very quickly adjust. I know that majority is down to how efficient is your technique, but I’m still looking for a tip or two which can make things easier.
Do you try to shorten your strokes or go further from the table or…?

 

[dingyibvs]

Hi All,
I’m looking for tips and experiences how you are dealing with opponent blocking fast at you when looping with forehand?
Some people like to really pound on the ball during warm up and this really mess up my timing and ability to get required feeling with my strokes. However, it seems that for many it is not a problem and they very quickly adjust. I know that majority is down to how efficient is your technique, but I’m still looking for a tip or two which can make things easier.
Do you try to shorten your strokes or go further from the table or…?

Shorten the stroke to adjust for the different speed, and adjust your height if necessary as the ball coming back may be of a different height as well.

 

[blahness]

The way to measure efficiency is with the backswing speed - time yourself how long it takes for you to get to the backswing - the shorter the time the better. Stuff that matters include using the body for backswing not the arm, and keeping elbow very close to waist during backswing.

 

[Topspinslinger]

Against blocker/ flat hitters i loop the ball 10 meters up and watch them struggle. 10/10 not effective but easily angers anyone

 

[S-Pin]

Stuff that matters include using the body for backswing not the arm, and keeping elbow very close to waist during backswing.

Exactly

 

[IB66]

Essentially, recover faster to ready position, not just for expected fast block returns but for ALL returns. then you gain a few micro seconds regardless. if you ingrain a fast recovery it will become your norm.
Shorten stroke length, use your body etc as the others have said, will help.
Moving further away, giving some ground can help from a practical point of view, but the opponent also gains some time without moving back!!

If this happens during warm up, with a team mate, or whilst practicing, ask them to start slow and gradually increase the speed of their block. It's important to get your feel and confidence higher as you warm up. in fact warm up says it all !!! it's not red hot from the off!!

If you are struggling during a match and making errors, lets say 10 fast blocks result in 80% errors by yourself, then perhaps give yourself some time, move 300mm further back, if your success rate goes from 20% up to 50%, with the 50% having higher shot quality and precision, then it's a bit of a no brainer, they now have to play 5 strokes rather than 2, and against a higher quality ball. Don't rely on this though, it's an option. You can also play a slower loop / top spin, don't give them as much free energy to work with, mix it up, fast and slow top spins, perhaps throw a heavy side spin loop in there, they may block that into the net, take a look at their rubber and think what the hell happened there!!

During training sessions or practice matches, retain a close to the table position and when your shot success rate rises, implement more in matches.

 

[Attitude]

Exactly what IB66 said.
Get more compact, faster especially in recovery and movement.

Another thing to avoid is playing your opponent where he can easily block. Find weaker spots and try to improve your placement overall.
In general you can start by attacking into your opponent, ideally into the elbow and/or wide backhand.

I have several trainingpartners in my club who are really good at blocking. Therefore im currently training on becoming faster, improve my placements and try to hit harder than ever before (consistent ideally xD).
Those things help to end the rallye right away or at least stay in them.

 

[pingpongpaddy]

!Hi All,
I’m looking for tips and experiences how you are dealing with opponent blocking fast at you when looping with forehand?
Some people like to really pound on the ball during warm up and this really mess up my timing and ability to get required feeling with my strokes. However, it seems that for many it is not a problem and they very quickly adjust. I know that majority is down to how efficient is your technique, but I’m still looking for a tip or two which can make things easier.
Do you try to shorten your strokes or go further from the table or…?

Learn to counterhit and play early yourself! Drive off the bounce is the basic fh not looping.
when you loop with heavy spin and you find yourself letting the ball drop you will get into trouble especially against sp.
when people play this early ball hitting shorten your stroke and don't allow yourself to be forced back off the table

 

[lucatt]

Hi All,
I’m looking for tips and experiences how you are dealing with opponent blocking fast at you when looping with forehand?
Some people like to really pound on the ball during warm up and this really mess up my timing and ability to get required feeling with my strokes. However, it seems that for many it is not a problem and they very quickly adjust. I know that majority is down to how efficient is your technique, but I’m still looking for a tip or two which can make things easier.
Do you try to shorten your strokes or go further from the table or…?

I think shorten the stroke is an good idea. In the game you can also try to mix up the placement so if you see hes ready to block with his forehand just play it spinny in the backhand or even spinny in the forehand, try to also mix the speed so also sometimes a slow spinny ball can be really hard to defend. You should also train to do youre topspins randomly thats dood fore both of you the blocker and the guy who topspins the ball.

 

[blahness]

The other thing is swift recovery. After your stroke you should recover explosively using the body again to pull your arm back into neutral position (elbow close to body) with a reset of your feet. Never stay there watching your shot.

 

[mil]

Maybe your topspin does not have enough spin? Give it a more spin and less pace and maybe even try to play into the FH half, a lot of people can deal with fast shots but struggle against strong spin. Mixing spinny and powerful loops can be a nightmare for the opponent.

 

[KiwiPong]

I suffer with this issue too! Thank you for all the useful information!

 

[dingyibvs]

Keep the ball low. If your ball just barely clears the net then it won't bounce high on the blocker's side of the table where he can get an easy block. If the blocker must hit the ball from below net height he will need to hit the ball up over the net. In this case the ball can't be moving too fast or it will fly up and off the table.
Don't loop at your opponent's paddle so he doesn't get an easy block. Make him move. Better yet, loop the ball where he can't get to the ball to block it.

Too many people always wait till the ball is at its highest before hitting it. This is OK if you your are going to make a line of sight smash shot. The downside is if you hit the ball when it is 30 cm above the table, it will bounce up about 80% of that which is higher than the net. This also assume you are not hitting the ball down into the table. If you hit the ball down into the table it will also bounce hit and be easy to block. That is why waiting until the ball is at about net height when you hit it and use the top spin and Magnus effect to land the ball. This results in low ball that doesn't bounce higher than the net.

He's not asking about how to prevent the opponent from blocking his shot, he's asking how to re-loop the blocked shot. He's talking about warm up/practice here.