Masaaki
Tajima - U.S. Certified National CoachBy Masaaki Tajima, U.S. National Junior Girls Coach
Mar. 22, 2004 Sept. 16, 2004
Coach Masaaki Tajima answers the following question:
I would like to know how to play a player with pips on both sides of his racket; short pips for his forehand and long pips on his backhand with no sponge? I'm a all around player with a powerful forehand.
Coach Tajima replies:
"I am guessing the pip's player stays close to the table most of the time since he uses short pip's on his forehand and attacks with it and blocks or chop with the long pip's."
"I suggest attacking his forehand (Short pip's) whenever possible because short pip's players are good at attacking backspins like chops and pushes. And if you attack his long pip's, most likely the ball will come back with severe backspin so be prepared to push it back right back to his long pip's, unless you are very skilled at looping severe backspins. When you push back to his long pip's, he most likely will push it back because it is hard to attack with long pip's. When he does push, the ball will have little to no spin so it is very easy to attack it. This is the pattern you want."
"Long pip's players typically rely on
opponents errors than earning the point so being consistent
by reading the pattern is critical. Remember; the harder you
spin (Loop) to long pip's, the more severe the backspin when
it comes back at you. Since you are an all-round power player,
also consider varying your loops with little spin and select
which ones to power."
