Reading The Ball
By: Francisco Mendez

Through the years, table tennis development has experienced significant changes. Our sport is so sophisticated, and the accuracy of the techniques so difficult, that these characteristics may be part of the reason table tennis is not a popular sport. Ironically, the recreational face of this sport, ping-pong, is popular. Hundreds of thousands have tables and play at home. Nonetheless, it is its complexity that makes this sport so beautiful and magical.

Among the great factors of Table Tennis, are Spin, Speed and Placement. Spin is the most complex, the most controversial, and perhaps the most important of the three due to its variety, disguise and difficulty in dealing with it. 'Reading the ball' is the player's capacity and ability to know and identify the following information:

• Type of Spin
• Amount or intensity of Spin
• Trajectory of the ball or type of curve in the air
• Speed

It also includes:

• Height and depth of the ball
• Bouncing effect on the table

Development and mastery of the skills required to read the ball takes years of practice. Complicating this task further, we have to add other difficulties:

• Diversity of rubbers breaking the spin pattern
• Players that have mastered the art of deceptive spin

For all this 'Reading the Ball' is extremely important during the point, especially when receiving, as every point starts with a serve. Following are some basic and advanced steps to develop a good reading of the ball.

A - WATCH THE MOVEMENT OF THE OPPONENT'S ARM AND BAT WHEN CONTACTING THE BALL

This method is the most basic and important one. Mainly, it will help you know the TYPE of spin on the ball (don't forget that each player has a different way to serve, spin, and hit the ball-not to mention the capacity to disguise spin with body movement).

B - WATCH THE WAY THE OPPONENT BRUSHES THE BALL AT CONTACT

This is particularly effective in determining the AMOUNT of spin; remember it is not enough to know the TYPE of spin; you also need to know the AMOUNT or intensity of spin.

C - WATCH THE LABEL ON THE BALL

This method is a good but advanced one to help detect serves with 'no spin', 'dead ball', or 'very little spin'. If you can see the label on the ball, you know it's coming with very little or no spin.

D - WAIT FOR THE BOUNCE OF THE BALL

This method is very effective for curvy serves and serves with a lot of bouncing curve, like the side topspin serve. For this type of serves is best to wait until the ball bounces on your side of the table to make your final spin determination. You will have more time and less spin effect. For short serves, you will typically want to hit the ball at the apex of the bounce for a flick, or right off the bounce with a fine touch for a short receive. Top players, however, can return the serve in many different ways.

E - LISTEN TO THE SOUND AT CONTACT

During the 70's and part of the 80's some players used two different rubbers (a long pips or anti, and a sticky inverted in the other side) of the same color. Liang Ko Liang, Huang Liang, John Hilton and many others switched the side of the racket under the table when serving in order to deceive the opponent. Such difficulty in determining spin forced players to develop new techniques to assist in reading the ball. Chief among them were watching the ball's label and listening to the sound of the ball at impact. It is important to distinguish between a 'Contact sound' and a 'brushing sound'. When you hear a 'contact sound', the ball will be coming with little or no spin When a 'brushing sound is heard, a spinnier ball is coming as the ball has been grazed.Of course, serving players understand that you may listening and may stomp a foot while serving in order to confuse the sound at impact.

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