Jumping to smash

[mahomedy13]

I noticed that many pros eg Ma Long,Fan Zhedong,Dmitrij Ovtcharov jump when smashing and wondered whether this gives any additional advantage eg more control,power etc.
I smash when im on the ground ,but noticed that the ball sometimes goes off the table. Is this problem removed by jumping?

 

[asherd]

Well, it depends. When the ball gets too high then it's best to jump. Also, if you're higher you have a better angle, and you can smash with a lower angle. Although, you have much more power on the ground.

 

[ping fun]

mostly i've seen this among short players ... but as you said pro players mostly do it . i think jumping brings more power for smashing .. but i guess you should use your wrist as well as your arm

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Smashing lobs:

It may seem like jumping, but it is more importantly shift of weight from one side to another.
The contact point requires to have all weight pushing down towards the shot.

You will mostly see this with Chinese style of play, most Europeans do it differently and rely on the power of the forehand stroke rather.

Smashing against normal balls, they won't do the above in the air, but still weight transfer to help the accerlation of the ball.