I'll give you a few basic strategies or tactics you can try to use against your opponents:
1) if you have a serve that is really killing your opponent, do that serve 60-70% of the time until they prove to you they can adjust and return the serve. For example, by same serve, I mean a pendulum serve that is fast, long and dead. but you can't aim for the same spot every single time you do the serve, you have vary the location of the serve slightly to keep them honest and guessing. yes, it is a good tactic to do the same serve two times in a row if your opponent cannot return the serve. just vary the location. as you increase your level, you will do the same serve but add variances into the speed and amount of spin as well, so even after they "adjust" they can still mess up.
2) Do your best and or most reliable serves if the game score is 8-8. that is not the time to experiment with a high risk high reward serve. if you try a high risk high reward serve and miss, you're down 8-9 and you have a lot of pressure on you to score the next serve otherwise youre down 8-10 and your opponent has two serves
3) aim for the elbow! this is effective in both your serve game and rally game.
4) in rallies, besides aiming for the elbow, try to alternate the location of your shots once to your opponents forehand, and then next to their backhand and so on. many players are not consistent when transitioning from forehand to backhand.
5) your serves should set up the kind of points you want to play. for example, if your forehand is your best shot, serve to your opponents forehand because their return will be across the table (back to your forehand) a majority of the time. then you get to do your good shot- the forehand.
6) learn to do the same motion for your serves, but be able to switch the spin you impart of the ball. this is called DECEPTION and its one of your best techniques for serving. if you can "set up" your opponent to thinking you did a heavy underspin ball, but really it was dead, you're going to get a popped up return from your opponent that is easy to kill on the third ball.
7) aim all of your shots so your opponent has to at least take some kind of step or hop to return the ball. if your opponent is in motion, a better chance for them to be off balance and hit a bad quality ball. if you hit right into their strike zone, they are easily going to return the ball with a high quality.
8) Kind of like point #1, try to play the same pattern of point that is working well against your opponent until they prove they can beat you in that kind of point. for example, if your rallying with an opponent, and you notice that if you go 2 or 3 times to his backhand, you win the exchange, keep doing that until they make an adjustment. In reality, tactics and strategies in table tennis are unique to each match/opponent. what works well with one opponent might not have the same result with a different opponent. your tactic or strategy is to play the game gives you the best opportunity to win. you dont need to switch up something that is not broken, likewise, if youre current tactic is not working, you need to try something else ASAP or you will lose fast. be warned, sometimes it cant be helped ....we've all experienced it lol
9) more on understanding the basics of serve and return: if you serve fast and long, expect as fast and long return. if you serve shot, expect a short return, if you push long, expect your opponent to loop the ball back. knowing what kind of return to expect will let you recover from your serve and get your footwork in the best possible position. However, the best serve returners are the ones who do the kind of returns you simply dont expect.
10) have fun. you're playing the greatest sport on earth.
