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As some of you know, I qualified for NCTTA nationals a month ago, and the NCTTA National Championships start on Friday.
Since there isn't much time left, I don't think I can make drastic changes and improvements, but I hope that the community here can give me some advice that can tweak and adjust my game for the better.
I have a bunch of questions floating in my mind that I can't all think of right now, so I'll probably come back to this thread throughout the week.
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Some information about myself to give you some perspective:
I am a lefty penhold looper. About 2300 USATT in level on an average-good day. I pretty much always do some kind of pendulum serve, which I vary in spin and placement. My points consist of serve & attack, baiting weak loops to counterloop, and a back-up counterloop in case I don't get to attack first. I back off the table a lot since I'm usually expecting fast returns (so this is a good and bad thing that you guys can comment on).
Lately, I've been getting better at backhand blocking, but it is still not as good as I'd like it to be.
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On to the questions:
Usually, on my opponent's serve, if it is short, I will generally try to push short to their forehand. However, I am not perfect, and I won't perfectly read the serve every time (especially against players with a better serve).
Not taking into account severe, super-high popups (just higher-than-normal short pushes), I have two questions on this topic:
1. Do you guys think it is easier/better to prepare for no-spin/sidespin/topspin and then see if there is underspin to push
or is it easier/better to prepare for underspin and then look for no-spin/sidespin/topspin to flip?
I've noticed that with the first, I tend to hit more serves into the net, but with the second, I get more popups. So, the second is more passive (but I don't lose the point right away), but with the first, I can try to threaten my opponent with a flip and make them start serving underspin (but I risk losing the point right away). What are your thoughts? Maybe start out with the first mindset and then adjust from there? Or maybe using the active mindset is better for the long-term?
2. Which is a worse popup: one that goes down-the-line towards the forehand, or one that goes cross-court towards the backhand?
The one that goes down-the-line has a higher chance of becoming long (since down-the-line is shorter distance), but the angles of a strong attack are limited (they will cross-court to my backhand). The popup that goes cross court has two outcomes: if my opponent uses their forehand, they can probably hit anywhere on the table. If they use their backhand, they will probably go cross-court to my forehand. If I can get anticipate where they will hit, I have a chance to get back in the point with a counterattack. As of right now, I usually go for down-the-line short pushes
3. For experienced players and penholders especially (but it's fine if you are shakehand), if you guys forehand flip a short sidespin serve, do you use a soft wrist, or a tight wrist? How much wrist do you use? Do you use your wrist to get it over the net? Do you use it to add power? Do you mostly use your wrist or forearm to gain racket speed? How much brush do you add, if any?
If it's high, I don't have much of a problem, but for the low ones, I'm not that satisfied with the quality and consistency that I have. Maybe, it's because I don't have the confidence to use more racket speed, or I don't have enough spin. I'll try to take a video today of some forehand flips.
Since there isn't much time left, I don't think I can make drastic changes and improvements, but I hope that the community here can give me some advice that can tweak and adjust my game for the better.
I have a bunch of questions floating in my mind that I can't all think of right now, so I'll probably come back to this thread throughout the week.
****************
Some information about myself to give you some perspective:
I am a lefty penhold looper. About 2300 USATT in level on an average-good day. I pretty much always do some kind of pendulum serve, which I vary in spin and placement. My points consist of serve & attack, baiting weak loops to counterloop, and a back-up counterloop in case I don't get to attack first. I back off the table a lot since I'm usually expecting fast returns (so this is a good and bad thing that you guys can comment on).
Lately, I've been getting better at backhand blocking, but it is still not as good as I'd like it to be.
****************
On to the questions:
Usually, on my opponent's serve, if it is short, I will generally try to push short to their forehand. However, I am not perfect, and I won't perfectly read the serve every time (especially against players with a better serve).
Not taking into account severe, super-high popups (just higher-than-normal short pushes), I have two questions on this topic:
1. Do you guys think it is easier/better to prepare for no-spin/sidespin/topspin and then see if there is underspin to push
or is it easier/better to prepare for underspin and then look for no-spin/sidespin/topspin to flip?
I've noticed that with the first, I tend to hit more serves into the net, but with the second, I get more popups. So, the second is more passive (but I don't lose the point right away), but with the first, I can try to threaten my opponent with a flip and make them start serving underspin (but I risk losing the point right away). What are your thoughts? Maybe start out with the first mindset and then adjust from there? Or maybe using the active mindset is better for the long-term?
2. Which is a worse popup: one that goes down-the-line towards the forehand, or one that goes cross-court towards the backhand?
The one that goes down-the-line has a higher chance of becoming long (since down-the-line is shorter distance), but the angles of a strong attack are limited (they will cross-court to my backhand). The popup that goes cross court has two outcomes: if my opponent uses their forehand, they can probably hit anywhere on the table. If they use their backhand, they will probably go cross-court to my forehand. If I can get anticipate where they will hit, I have a chance to get back in the point with a counterattack. As of right now, I usually go for down-the-line short pushes
3. For experienced players and penholders especially (but it's fine if you are shakehand), if you guys forehand flip a short sidespin serve, do you use a soft wrist, or a tight wrist? How much wrist do you use? Do you use your wrist to get it over the net? Do you use it to add power? Do you mostly use your wrist or forearm to gain racket speed? How much brush do you add, if any?
If it's high, I don't have much of a problem, but for the low ones, I'm not that satisfied with the quality and consistency that I have. Maybe, it's because I don't have the confidence to use more racket speed, or I don't have enough spin. I'll try to take a video today of some forehand flips.