How to beat someone when I’m not playing my best?

[Chunkyrock]

A couple days ago I lost to someone who when I’m playing well I easily beat. I played bad table tennis, (wasn‘t aggressive enough in service, missed some easy points were I had the advantage, .ect) in the middle of a match how do I overcome this/find other ways to win.

 

[doppelmoral]

You have to step up you B-game. You cannot always play your best.

Focus on consistency, a reliable serve-receive strategy and possibly the mental aspect of the game. Don't get frustrated when you can't bring your A-game because those days will always exist.

 

[zeio]

Try to develop a different game for those off days. Do different serves, focus more on defense etc. Keep the point in play even when you have the chance to kill it and try to outlast your opponent by upping the pressure one shot after the other.

 

[Topspinslinger]

I do the same thing that I train, serve short into either forhand or backhand or long into backhand. After that step around forehand attack but 70% insted of 100%. power.

Mostly focusing on what works and not getting mad is the key.

 

[Egon]

If you had a fast setup, I would advise you to have a second, slower racket. But judging by your signature, you don't have a fast inventory anyway... Maybe you just underestimated your opponent? And he just got the right setup. So my advice is to get your game in tune regardless of your opponent.

 

[Tyce]

My advice is usually to just have your racket slip out of your hand "accidentally" and hit your opponent in the face

But seriously, the rare times I don't struggle with that is when I keep my game very simple. Serve/receive, place the ball in an annoying spot and stay close to the table to keep pressure up on them with minimal effort on my end. Conserving my physical energy also preserves focus in this situation.

 

[Chunkyrock]

If you had a fast setup, I would advise you to have a second, slower racket. But judging by your signature, you don't have a fast inventory anyway... Maybe you just underestimated your opponent? And he just got the right setup. So my advice is to get your game in tune regardless of your opponent.

I have a faster setup but as an all around player I value controls just as much as speed

 

[Julzig]

What I notice works against me, is to just play it with minimal quality, not super spinny, not super fast nor long. Then I somehow struggle to play quality myself and make more easy mistakes, making me loose angainst "worse" players.

And if I have a bad day I push the ball as often as possible, no risks just consitency. Should my opponent be good enough to open up effortlessly I play blocks.
My absolute favorite are bad serves with no spin or fast towards the body and just smash the next should it come back.

 

[NextLevel]

When you aren't playing well, it is usually for an attacking player that your attacking plays are not working. The focus should shift to disruptive play - trying to do things that bait the opponent into making mistakes, like making them move large distances with short and long pushes/serves or deceptive spins/placements or really wide angled serves etc. All these things require some practice and may not work the higher the level you are playing at when opponents are drilled to deal with these things, but at the lower levels, they cause opponents to play much slower and can be incredibly effective.

 

[Der_Echte]

@NextLevel wanted to add that one may give no-spin pushes in ur face and become HTSB (TM phrase by NL).

 

[Angerer]

A couple days ago I lost to someone who when I’m playing well I easily beat. I played bad table tennis, (wasn‘t aggressive enough in service, missed some easy points were I had the advantage, .ect) in the middle of a match how do I overcome this/find other ways to win.

Imo, the best way to maintain stable wins is to be aggressive. Most people crumble under pressure, so if you keep attacking (even without full force), it will make the opponent play the guessing game and become fearful of your aggressiveness.

For me, the biggest step-up was moving away from H3 and other hard, tacky rubbers. Not having to rely on physical fitness and mental focus for continuous aggressiveness also helps during long tournaments.

Another great perk of being the aggressor is that you always know why you lost a point. So you have something to analyze and adjust the game.

 

[Amaken23]

For me, at least, advice I was given when I was a teenager and was angry after losing points or edges/nets during rallies, whether against better or 'worse' opponents, was : 'Let it go, don't think about last point, reset your mind.' If you linger on last point while playing new rally, your confidence will falter and you'll begin to play worse. You can have bad points often but do not lose confidence in your technique or strokes or you won't score at all in the end. Missed points will happen all the time but do not lose confidence in your skill.