start practicing table tennis at 18

[Luisboy11]

hi i am 18 and want to start practicing Table Tennis know if I can start at this age and become a professional and compete in Olympics games : D

 

[Shuki]

at 18 it would be VERY tough to start playing. you'll need at LEAST 6 hours of table tennis alone per day aswell as working out

 

[Matt Hetherington]

It's absolutely possible. The game is changing a lot and particularly the European players seem to have more longevity in the professional game.

I played for a period of time before I was 18 but no serious training. I started training regularly in University and the rest is history. I'm 25 and I still play. I'm playing the National Team Trial in 2 weeks from now for the World Team Champs next year so we'll see how that goes

 

[izra]

you will need insane amounts of practice, good practice partners, smart coach(es) and you probably still won't reach pro level if you are not immensly talented. that doesn't mean you shouldn't try though, you may find the experience well worth it even if you don't make it. good luck!

 

[NextLevel]

hi i am 18 and want to start practicing Table Tennis know if I can start at this age and become a professional and compete in Olympics games : D

Table tennis is like a language - you are very much behind on the hours in getting comfortable with the vocabulary. If you played or got some coaching before now, then maybe there is a chance. But if you just started, you have a lot of work to do. You can invest some time this year and see the progress before deciding - you would have to see some really good returns to focus on it.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Yep. Very hard. Possible to get to a semipro level. Possible to get to a lower level pro level. Could you get to a higher pro level like top 100 in the world or even top 2 in your country? Well, it is possible. But seriously not likely.

What Matt says has some merit. But, it is crazy how hard it would be.

But, could you get to the Olympics? I think the way the Olympic trials work in your region you would have to be in the top two or three in Central and South America and you would have to win your spot at the trials! That would be very hard.

I could be wrong but I think three players from your region are eligible to qualify. Same for North America. Three players can qualify. But the three cant all be from the same country, or, really, if three qualify from one country, only 2 can play singles. The 3rd qualifier, qualifies for the team event only.

But NextLevel is right. If you want to aim for this, start with a serious regimen of coaching and training.

You would need to be training with players that are pretty darn good. You would also need to be getting coaching from someone who is an elite coach. Well, perhaps need is not the right word. But that would really increase your chances.

2000-2300 (USATT rating system) is an expert amateur level. That would be darn hard but pretty possible.

2400-2500 would be semi-pro level playing. That would be extremely hard to get to but still doable. But this level is probably not good enough to get someone into the Olympics in most regions.

2600-2700 is a low level pro and if you are in the higher 2600s or lower 2700s you may have a good chance to get to the Olympics. Guys at this level are actually pretty amazing. There may be some regions in the world where a 2200-2400 level would get you into the Olympics. But I am not so sure. And that player would not be able to handle to competition at the Olympics in any meaningful way.

The top pros (like top 100 in the world) would be 2800+.

That realistically wouldn't happen unless someone started real training before the age of 10 years old.


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[ajtatosmano2]

It's possible, but you must REALLY love the game. Find a good training partner and a coach. See a lot of videos and train-train-train! The videos help you to understand the spin and the game at all. If you are fanatics enough and have enough will you can become a pro player maybe in 5 years with maybe 20 hours practice per week, but only if you train HARD. (These numbers are only my thoughts.) Don't be afraid from our posts. Ádám Pattyantyús, the highest rated Hungarian player begun playing ping-pong at 10-years-old, but when he became a PRO player (get a silver in adult's man singles) he was 26! Now he's 37 and in this year he beat Chuang Chih Yuan (World Ranked 11) Playing ping-pong for fun also a really good thing, so you can start in at any age! Good luck and sorry for my English!

 

[d3m0n14k]

This is an interesting question...... how good can you get if you start later in life? I didnt really start playing/training seriously until my mid 20s, I'm 41 now and still think I'm improving.....

 

[NextLevel]

The problem is not loving the game - the problem is the ability to read and manipulate spin at a high level. It's not the rallying that is the issue. It's all the serves that he has to gain experience reading and touching and returning. That's where the pros separate themselves from the rest of us - that's the part of table tennis that makes it impossible to score points of Koki Niwa or Ma Long if they ever play you. It's not the rallies as awesome as those are - it's the serve and serve return that makes you look like an idiot when you learn the sport later. If he can master that, he can get good at any age.

 

[ajtatosmano2]

Yes. At dis age, reach the top 200 level is nearly impossible. When I wrote "pro", I was thinking on a high level National 2nd League player. I'm 17 and I started playing at 14. I train 3.5 hour per week. From that 1 hour is physical training. Now I can beat (not in every match) the 13 years old National Ranked 11. player. (I don't say, that I'm equal with him, his shots are much more consistent and much more safe. But in serves and third ball attacks I'm better.)

 

[izra]

The problem is not loving the game - the problem is the ability to read and manipulate spin at a high level. It's not the rallying that is the issue. It's all the serves that he has to gain experience reading and touching and returning. That's where the pros separate themselves from the rest of us - that's the part of table tennis that makes it impossible to score points of Koki Niwa or Ma Long if they ever play you. It's not the rallies as awesome as those are - it's the serve and serve return that makes you look like an idiot when you learn the sport later. If he can master that, he can get good at any age.

that is indeed the problem: one needs years of experience of playing on a very high level. someone looking to improve quickly at a later age can't even get the chance to practice this stuff before he is on a level that already took years to get to.

so let's say you start at 18, practice 6 hours a day every day with the best coach that money can buy... after around 5-10 years (depending on how talented you are) you LOOK like an elite player and can hold your own in rallies, but you have almost zero experience playing the elite level serve and serve return while the rest of the elite players have slowly been accumulating their knowledge by competing with their peers.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Yep. And it is interesting how it takes a while for your brain to wrap itself around certain things and see the spin through the deception.

Even sidespin on loops. I train with a lefty and I remember a point where I could not see or figure out where the ball was when he gave me the lefty hook. It took a while for my brain to start seeing it accurately. And then I remember when I started seeing the hook and where the ball would end up and how much curve it would have on it as he was hitting it. Your brain needs time to see that kind of thing over and over for you to adjust to the curve and the arc.

I also had a friend who is righty who has a huge hook. I remember starting to see the hook as he was contacting the ball as well. It is hard to describe. But it feels like your eyes are playing tricks on you and you are like: "where did the ball go! What just happened? It looked like it was here but it wasn't." And then all of a sudden your brain processes what you are seeing more accurately.

Same thing with good serves. You put your racket out and the ball isn't where you thought it was. You see backspin and it's topspin or dead and vice versa. And then over time, you start seeing those things better.

Even pushes though. I practice opening off third balls and I could think I am decent at it if I lived in a vacuum. If I face guys my level my percentage of landed balls off a well placed and executed push is pretty high. Then I do the same drill with one of my 2600 level friends and the ball just isn't where it looks like it is until I've tried for 5 min or so. Then I get adjusted and he pushes earlier off the bounce and all of a sudden I can't see where the ball is again. Hahaha.

You have to do a lot of training with guys that level to really get better. Trouble is, guys who are 2600 don't usually train with guys who are below 2000. Good thing I know how to fix people's backs and can invite friends to take yoga classes packed with beautiful women.


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[ProPetrov]

It is possible, but very hard. You must start training like 6-8 hours a day with a very good coach. Plus I recommend you watching pro players that use your play-style.

For example if you are penholder --> Wang Hao

if you are chopper --> Joo Se Hyuk

 

[NextLevel]

Yep. And it is interesting how it takes a while for your brain to wrap itself around certain things and see the spin through the deception.

Even sidespin on loops. I train with a lefty and I remember a point where I could not see or figure out where the ball was when he gave me the lefty hook. It took a while for my brain to start seeing it accurately. And then I remember when I started seeing the hook and where the ball would end up and how much curve it would have on it as he was hitting it. Your brain needs time to see that kind of thing over and over for you to adjust to the curve and the arc.

I also had a friend who is righty who has a huge hook. I remember starting to see the hook as he was contacting the ball as well. It is hard to describe. But it feels like your eyes are playing tricks on you and you are like: "where did the ball go! What just happened? It looked like it was here but it wasn't." And then all of a sudden your brain processes what you are seeing more accurately.

Same thing with good serves. You put your racket out and the ball isn't where you thought it was. You see backspin and it's topspin or dead and vice versa. And then over time, you start seeing those things better.

Even pushes though. I practice opening off third balls and I could think I am decent at it if I lived in a vacuum. If I face guys my level my percentage of landed balls off a well placed and executed push is pretty high. Then I do the same drill with one of my 2600 level friends and the ball just isn't where it looks like it is until I've tried for 5 min or so. Then I get adjusted and he pushes earlier off the bounce and all of a sudden I can't see where the ball is again. Hahaha.

You have to do a lot of training with guys that level to really get better. Trouble is, guys who are 2600 don't usually train with guys who are below 2000. Good thing I know how to fix people's backs and can invite friends to take yoga classes packed with beautiful women.


Sent from MountOlympus via Hermes'Caduceus

Yes, as the levels of spin and spin variation get higher, it just gets harder to consciously do what a guy who has been doing this as a kid now has automatically built in as pattern recognition.

I call my serves lousy for my level. And in some ways they are. But when I serve to my students or to someone 300+ pts below me, I see them whiff my basic serves and then I remember what it was like to not be able to track balls.

And when you master one level, then comes the next. A guy told me that after he practiced with a top 20 player for a week, everyone else seemed slow for a long time (even top 100 players). So if Ma Long is your cousin and you can get his time and attention, or Timo Boll owes you a life debt, and they are willing to play with you everyday, then start now and you will be fine

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

So if Ma Long is your cousin and you can get his time and attention, or Timo Boll owes you a life debt, and they are willing to play with you everyday, then start now and you will be fine

LOL. Yep. That pretty much sums it up.

Ma Long as your cousin, Timo Boll owing you a life debt and Liu Gouliang having decided he wants to do an experiment and see how high a level he can get you and giving you access to the full National Team training regimen plus coaches and training partners.

But I have heard that when a westerner goes to China and wants to train, sometimes they send him off to a corner to practice serves and leave him there if they don't feel it is worth investing time to train the person.

I know Wang Chen has two guys from China who work for her and give lessons at her club. They both are over 2500 and they both are around 25 years old. She won't waste time training them because she doesn't feel either of them can get to 2800 anymore.

But, I still am going to try. My goal is 2600 by 60. Hahaha.


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[mr. tom]

I don't know how old the oldest participant is in the olympics for table tennis is, but if you look at that age and being 18...you have heaps of time to get there. It's all a question of how much time, talent (perseverance is a big part of this) and money for coaching you have.