Does training in the basement make sense?

[SilverCup77]

What is your opinion about this? Can an advanced or even professional train in the basement and benefit from it?

or is it even harmful due to the lack of space? My thought is that you get into the habit of bad movements or always standing too close to the table due to lack of space.

But I also think you can work well on your serve in the basement. work on the serve and return game and Multiball

 

[Aizen]

My thought is that you get into the habit of bad movements or always standing too close to the table due to lack of space.

You clearly answered your own question but even serve and return requires some space. how small is the basement we are talking about?

 

[Fnub]

What is your opinion about this? Can an advanced or even professional train in the basement and benefit from it?

or is it even harmful due to the lack of space? My thought is that you get into the habit of bad movements or always standing too close to the table due to lack of space.

But I also think you can work well on your serve in the basement. work on the serve and return game and Multiball

Standing close to the table is a good habit.
Of course, the table standing on the concrete has a different bounce but it's not that crucial.
The main problem is the knees. On the concrete if you will wear specialized TT shoes, your knees won't say thank you. The concrete is hard and the sole is hard. You'll have to find shoes with soft sole.

As for me I always had a dream to practice in the basement with a robot. But I have neither the robot, nor the table, nor the basement.

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

In TT community, the term garage / basement player has a certain connotation / association...

I'll leave it to your imagination.

 

[longle]

What is your opinion about this? Can an advanced or even professional train in the basement and benefit from it?

or is it even harmful due to the lack of space? My thought is that you get into the habit of bad movements or always standing too close to the table due to lack of space.

But I also think you can work well on your serve in the basement. work on the serve and return game and Multiball

Zhang Jike said that if you can get used to the narrowed space you will improve your speed a lot

 

[Haraold]

If you train daily,you will get better,simple fact.
It was the difference in every sense even if others partied and those guys got really good.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

many professionals from Asia grow up training in the basement, because there is more space in the basement (land and space is generally very expensive and rare)

some gets as high as top 10 world ranking in the junior age groups, so, I am talking about proper players that train 35~45 hours per week

 

[SilverCup77]

You clearly answered your own question but even serve and return requires some space. how small is the basement we are talking about?

You clearly answered your own question but even serve and return requires some space. how small is the basement we are talking about?

about 7.5 meters long and about 3 - 4 meters wide

 

[Aizen]

about 7.5 meters long and about 3 - 4 meters wide

It is more than enough for robot,
Good enough for multi-ball training,
Enough for training,
Okayish for matches.

I had a basement/small room robot setup where backhand side of table was just next to wall, FH has half meter side space, depth was 1-2 meter. So I can only work from middle, and can’t hit longer balls.

Also as you said, you can setup your training drills according to your space.

Overall, it’s better than nothing unless you don’t do drills you can’t correctly position. (Like reaching balls, wrong footwork, hesitating backswing etc)

We had also a table in office at very narrow space, usually people were hitting bat to wall, or hitting themselves in matches which can be dangerous.

Lastly, I've just remember we had a home made table tennis table at my parents home's basement/garage much earlier, spacing was not bad similar to yours. Okay, the table was crappy (surface, height, levelling etc)

but a real problem was the floor, it was like ice skating, even TT shoes were not enough. So it's also dangerous. These type of floors needs some covering (it has also some cost)

But in the end, at worst case, you can practice serves.

TLDR:
Safety (avoiding injury) > Proper training > Bad training > No Training

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

I know a couple of US players training in the basement at home.
they would also train in the table tennis center

i guess training is better than no training

 

[SleepyMaster]

I have a robot and a tt table in my apartment, but I only have used robo for once, and put it away. I’m using table exclusively for serve practice - all other part of the training I’m doing in the club.
But if I had big basement - no doubt I would using the crap out of the robot too 🫡

 

[Airoc]

It is more than enough for robot,
Good enough for multi-ball training,
Enough for training,
Okayish for matches.

I think you couldn´t have said it better.

 

[Aizen]

I think you couldn´t have said it better.

Thanks,
of course I've considered as the floor is good enough to be play too.

 

[vvk1]

Lack of space behind the table is what made Desmond Douglas develop his unique close to the table playing style and consequently become the most successful British player of the last 50 years or so.

 

[NetProphet]

about 7.5 meters long and about 3 - 4 meters wide

Makes a lot of sense.
You'll have ~3m behind each table end and 1+m either side, I can't see too many problems at all. Enjoy!

 

[Aizen]

Makes a lot of sense.
You'll have ~3m behind each table end and 1+m either side, I can't see too many problems at all. Enjoy!

~1,9m still not bad although

 

[NetProphet]

~1,9m still not bad although

Yes, sorry, a typo up there, it should have read ~2m 🙂👍

 

[pongbotrobots]

Great question! Training in a basement can definitely be a double-edged sword, especially for advanced or professional players. On one hand, limited space can make it tricky to practice full strokes or footwork, and you’re right—there’s a risk of developing habits like standing too close to the table.

However, there’s still a lot of value you can get from basement training. Like you mentioned, it’s a perfect environment to work on your serve and return game, which are crucial parts of any player's toolkit. Multiball training can also be really effective, even in smaller spaces, because it allows you to focus on precision and consistency.

One thing to consider is making slight adjustments to your setup if possible—like using a shorter or adjustable table to simulate more space, or focusing on drills that don’t require as much movement. Also, incorporating a robot can be a game-changer. It’s designed to be flexible in different environments, so you can still get high-quality training even in a smaller space.

So, while basement training has its limitations, it can still be super beneficial if you’re mindful of how you use the space. Just mix in some larger space training when you can, to keep your full game sharp.

 

[_ak]

Hugo Calderano definitely needs some training in limited space

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

if you want to stay a basement player no problem