When playing table tennis matches there are a few unwritten behavioural conventions which players should observe. We can call this collection of behavioural conventions ‘table tennis etiquette’. Without these behavioural conventions, there would be a lot more conflict / players punching each other in the face! Keep reading The post A guide to table tennis etiquette appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching ..read more

It’s time for my end-of-year table tennis quiz! How good is your table tennis knowledge? I have 20 questions about table tennis during 2024. Each question has four possible answers for you to choose from. At the end of the quiz you can see how your score compares to others on the quiz leaderboard. Good luck! Keep reading The post Tom’s Table Tennis Quiz 2024 appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching ..read more

I started playing local league table tennis in 2007. I have worked my way up from the bottom of the bottom division to the top of the top division (nearly). During this time I have developed a number of easy ways of winning points. There are hundreds of tactics which can potentially be used. Any tactic could work, in any given scenario, but I have found there are a few which consistently work far more often than not. Keep reading The post Top 10 tactics to win points in local league table tennis appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching ..read more

At local league level players use a lot of long serves. These are serves which land very deep on your side of the table. These serves are usually topspin or sidespin, but can be backspin too. What’s the best way of returning these long serves? There are some common errors players make, but also some very simple adjustments. Follow the tips in this article and you’ll find it much easier. Keep reading The post Hate long serves? These simple tips will help you return these nasty serves appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching ..read more

It has been a rocky few months for Chinese table tennis. I’ve been following the professional game for the past twenty years and I don’t recall a time when Chinese players have been beaten so regularly. By China’s phenomenally high standard - near complete domination for 25 years - these recent losses are a little concerning. So what’s going on? Keep reading The post What’s going wrong with Chinese table tennis? appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching ..read more

Some players seem to have absurdly quick reactions. You probably know the sort of player. He is always in position. He seems to know what shot you are going to play before you do. But we shouldn’t accept that this is a fixed skill. All players can improve their reaction speed. Here are three tips which will help… Keep reading The post 3 tips to react quicker when playing table tennis appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching ..read more

Every now and then, I get the itch to try new equipment. It’s the same for many of us. We get settled on our rubbers and blade, and then a thought starts to flicker inside our brain - what if there is something better? This summer, I got the itch big time. It started with a speculative email from a custom blade maker. Keep reading The post How much? My costly blade testing experiment appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching ..read more

I don’t mind admitting that I am completely fascinated with Truls Moregardh. He has had a sensational Olympics in Paris, reaching the singles final and helping Sweden to the team final. Is there anything we mere mortals can do to play more like Truls, other than buy a STIGA Cybershape blade? Keep reading The post How to play more like Truls Moregardh appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching ..read more

In previous articles I have explained why it’s not necessary for local league players to have ‘perfect’ technique. Sure, if you want to make it to pro level, your technique needs to be damn good. But for most adult players, with more modest aims, aspiring to play with the same speed, spin and intensity of a pro player is almost always out of reach and can potentially make you worse. You can read my previous articles on this topic here and here. To build on this discussion, I want to talk about a concept I use in my coaching sessions called ‘useable technique’. The idea is to develop technique ..read more

I like table tennis robots. Not everyone does, but I think they can be very useful if you use them in the right way. My table tennis robot (Power Pong Omega) has helped me improve several areas of my game, including my topspin technique, rallying skills and footwork. Without doubt, I have become a better player by using my robot. In this blog post, I look at the different types of table tennis robots you can buy. I’ve split robots into three different categories: entry level robots, mid-range robots and top-of-the-range multi-spin robots. I also make recommendations on which table tennis robo ..read more