Loop arc height over the net

[Dominikk85]

I noticed that if I try to loop often it goes low over the net and sometimes even hits the top of the net. Obviously my technique isn't great so I wonder what you can do to make your loop arc higher.

And is it even good to hit a higher arcing loop? It seems like pros often nowadays hit very low loops but also sometimes higher especially when they are 2-3 meters behind the table.

 

[ttarc]

Loops against topspin or backspin or empty balls, open ups, close to the table, way back from the table?
New rubbers or old rubbers? Some rubbers like the Victas V>11 which even new have a quite flat trajectory tend to produce an even flatter trajectory when they are worn out. Soft rubbers tend to have a flatter trajectory when hit too hard/when they bottom out.
High or low arcing loops? Depends... if I can't judge e.g. how much backspin is on a ball I try to loop it safely especially against defenders that can chop well but can't counter attack well and wait for the next chance to finish the point. Just loop a bit more upwards with a bit more open bat angle.
Same in matches against attackers. It's all about variation and finding placements, shots etc. an opponent has more problems returning, that keep them moving (e.g. short, long, diagonal, down the line, with/without kick) and that enable one to make a good next shot.

 

[LordPippington]

Loops against topspin or backspin or empty balls, open ups, close to the table, way back from the table?
New rubbers or old rubbers? Some rubbers like the Victas V>11 which even new have a quite flat trajectory tend to produce an even flatter trajectory when they are worn out. Soft rubbers tend to have a flatter trajectory when hit too hard/when they bottom out.
High or low arcing loops? Depends... if I can't judge e.g. how much backspin is on a ball I try to loop it safely especially against defenders that can chop well but can't counter attack well and wait for the next chance to finish the point. Just loop a bit more upwards with a bit more open bat angle.
Same in matches against attackers. It's all about variation and finding placements, shots etc. an opponent has more problems returning, that keep them moving (e.g. short, long, diagonal, down the line, with/without kick) and that enable one to make a good next shot.

Woo, throw it down, baby! Throw it down!

 

[NextLevel]

I noticed that if I try to loop often it goes low over the net and sometimes even hits the top of the net. Obviously my technique isn't great so I wonder what you can do to make your loop arc higher.

And is it even good to hit a higher arcing loop? It seems like pros often nowadays hit very low loops but also sometimes higher especially when they are 2-3 meters behind the table.

Questions like this are usually best posed to good players around you. In general, if you need more arc/spin relative to your equipment, brush more. If you want more speed relative to your equipment, drive more.

A lot of it comes from practice and training and trying to see what happens with different techniques. Usually, when you loop/spin, your stroke path shapes the ball so to speak. But you practice it and see what happens to learn what works for you. You can also try other people's setups/rubbers to see whether it makes a difference.

 

[Haraold]

the first simple answer that came to my mind was "as low as it gets and as much rotation as possible".
Cause i think more rotation is even harder to return then Speed and Power but it depends.
And then there are players who have problems with high arcing shots,but those are the minority.

 

[Dominikk85]

Yeah I can see a low shot being more dangerous but also more risky because you can hit the net. Of course it is also true that it depends on positioning and type of shot.

 

[pingpongpaddy]

The thing is that height of arc indicates different things depending on the level of the players:

weak amateurs trying to open with topspin against a chopped ball often like Dominikk veer betwen hitting the net and then by over correcting send over something too high and slow which gets punished.
Pros on the other hand are often exchanging big loop drives which pass easily 18 inches above the net coupled with wide angles which skim the net as they break the side lines. In this case the high ones are the ones which land deep within a hands breadth of the end line.
Because such shots land deep they rock the opponent back and must be seen as effective in helping the looper to command the table.
So if such a shot lands shorter (say mid table) it will have passed lower over the net. Because it enables opponent to step in it can be seen as weaker to be corrected by aiming higher. Note that a faster lower drive which bounces mid table can sometimes be counter productive because the extra speed can add value to opponents early timed counter. So the effective lower arcs are probably those which break the side lines.

For Dominikk I think his technical problem probably could be fixed by trying to loop drive off the push by contacting the ball as near to peak as he can manage and avoid letting the ball fall low before contact. Its common sense:- If you contact at above net height your drive does not require a high arc. If contact say table height or below then a steeper arc is necessary to clear the net. Its very difficult to be consistent in that case

 

[IB66]

I think that the arc height over the net, both high and low should be in your arsenal of shots. I agree with Next Level, practice and experiment!!!
Taking the ball earlier at the top or just before the top of the bounce, as PPP states, usually results in a lower arc, maybe not even an arc in some instances.
taking the ball later, but not too late or too low means you have to ‘lift the ball more.
You’re not going to be in position 100% of the time, so the bounce height of the incoming ball is going vary.

 

[Lula]

- get lower in the legs
AND
- more open angle
- loop more up
to make the ball go higher
OR
-close angle
- brush more
- use forearm more
to get more spin, and therefore more arc

 

[Gozo Aruna]

I noticed that if I try to loop often it goes low over the net and sometimes even hits the top of the net. Obviously my technique isn't great so I wonder what you can do to make your loop arc higher.And is it even good to hit a higher arcing loop? It seems like pros often nowadays hit very low loops but also sometimes higher especially when they are 2-3 meters behind the table.

This topic something that I wish to say a few words on:

1. To make your loop higher for that extra safety margin, it should be natural to open the bat higher. However, I have no idea what rubber you use, I'll use my own experience with ESN tensor rubber to comment. There is a tendency to overshoot if one uses ESN tensor rubber and uses an open angle say 45 degrees. My coach always remind me to close the angle, he even advocate a flat angle or parallel with the table to prevent this overshooting problem for me. If I do that, a very flat angle, and if I manage to brush the ball well, the ball trajectory is a very beautiful arc that is just a few centimeters above the net. Caveat: One must brush the ball to get the arc with such an extreme close angle. The emphasize is the term brush.

2. If one uses a tacky chinese rubber, I suppose you need to open the angle more or else there is a tendency to land the ball into the net.

 

[strangeloops]

I noticed that if I try to loop often it goes low over the net and sometimes even hits the top of the net. Obviously my technique isn't great so I wonder what you can do to make your loop arc higher.

And is it even good to hit a higher arcing loop? It seems like pros often nowadays hit very low loops but also sometimes higher especially when they are 2-3 meters behind the table.

I think it is important to be able to control the arc of loops, so you can adjust to different situations, but I don’t really see much in it that relates to technique. You get a higher arc simply by swinging more upward.

If you feel that hitting higher arc loops is difficult, you should practice. You don’t need to be aggressive right away, just loop the ball on the table and increase the pace by adding more spin. When you get good, you can try to alternate between flatter loops and more arcing loops.

Distance from the table also matters. High arc loops from close to the table require very high spin to make the arc tight enough. Because of this, high arc loops from close to the table tend to be slow. When you loop close to the table, the distance the ball has to travel is small, which means that you won’t see much of the arc even if the spin is great. Hitting with low arc from 2-3 meters behind requires a very flat trajectory that is much harder to land on the table from such a distance.

 

[NextLevel]

This topic something that I wish to say a few words on:

1. To make your loop higher for that extra safety margin, it should be natural to open the bat higher. However, I have no idea what rubber you use, I'll use my own experience with ESN tensor rubber to comment. There is a tendency to overshoot if one uses ESN tensor rubber and uses an open angle say 45 degrees. My coach always remind me to close the angle, he even advocate a flat angle or parallel with the table to prevent this overshooting problem for me. If I do that, a very flat angle, and if I manage to brush the ball well, the ball trajectory is a very beautiful arc that is just a few centimeters above the net. Caveat: One must brush the ball to get the arc with such an extreme close angle. The emphasize is the term brush.

2. If one uses a tacky chinese rubber, I suppose you need to open the angle more or else there is a tendency to land the ball into the net.

You make a good point which gets into the subtleties of equipment - Butterfly had a very good video comparing the 05,80 and 64 pimple configurations that was one of the best tutorials on how some rubbers support brushing/looping better than hitting/blocking and vice versa. Of course, with inverted it is all relative. But if one is at a certain level, it is interesting to understand if one is trying to do certain things or wonders why some pros prefer certain rubbers to others.