Playing Defense On Hard Floors And Fast Tables
Table tennis
If you play competition, when moving from one playing area to another, you'll notice that the playing conditions are never the same. Some tables and floors can make playing defense harder. Here are some tips so you can improve your game in those adverse conditions:
1 - Be focused and pay attention to the ball's flight before / after the bounce: This is critical. When you are used to the table, everything becomes easier. Keep your eyes in the ball from the serve motion. Know how much does the ball extra-bounces due to spin. You can miss your shot if you misread a spin by it. At the beginning put a little more spin and play safer strokes to get used to the table.
2 - Counters are much more effective now, but they are a bit harder to do: As the table is fast, aggressive blocking will deliver faster balls. Play those strokes with some care, as you can miss since the table is so fast. You'll adapt to it easier with inverted than with any other rubber. Place your counter to your opponent's body if he's close to the table, or where he can't reach them if he's far from table. Play close to the bounce to get your most effective counters.
3 - When moving far from table, step back a little more than usual, since attacks bounce a bit more. If you are not confident, and really want to play for safety, let the ball drop and chop or fish aiming to your opponent's court center (the longer your shot, the better). Watch how much error are you getting from your shots (no matter if they land in or out table) and try to adapt your strokes to improve its quality. Try to get playing closer to the table.
4 - OX rubber users can have the most problems when dealing with faster balls, as they don't have so much time to set up his best stroke (plus they suffer a lot the consequences of 'bad timed' shot), so they will have to block flat more often (the worst stroke they can do). Is easy to do a weak (too high or long) return or even miss the shot. A thin sponge makes a lot of difference now.
5 - When returning serves don't take so many chances as usual, since a fast table (the surface of the table can have great variation too) can produce 'surprise' 2nd bounces. When serving, long serves can be very effective if are properly angled. Find the best distance from the table to produce them with success. Corkscrew serves change the most its behavior depending on the table conditions. Topspin and backspin are affected by table conditions. Keep that in mind both when serving and receiving.
6 - When attacking, play more for safety. Do not play extreme angles if you are not confident. Attack at 80% of your strength so you don't miss and you can return recover quickly from you shot, in case your opponent replies to your attack.
7 - You can force more errors by spin variation from your opponent if he's not used to the table either. Move your opponent back and forth, so he has to play his strokes when moving.
8 - Lobs are much more effective on a fast table on a hard floor. Keep them high and spiny and watch your opponent's miss.
9 - Mix fishes and varied chops for better defense. Mix spiny and flat shots for better attack.
10 - Warm up the maximum possible time you can, so you can get used to the environment. To do so, do all possible strokes, with all the variations. (If you don't want to show your opponent your secret weapons, warm up with a buddy of yours).
11 - Don't complain. Complaining can be from useless to detrimental for you. It has no positive uses.