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Ask The Experts: Di Yu, No. 381

March 29, 2021

Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer Question: Dear coach, I am a modern defender using tackifire on backhand. (Use Gionis wood ALL+; tenergy 05 forehand.) I chop with Tackifire 60%, block 20% and surprise attack (20%) which is what I love. (There is a player called Wang TingTing whose style I emulate but don’t know […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Power Player Control Shots

March 29, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) There’s nothing an experienced player likes better than facing a player with big shots . . . but little else. On the other hand, there are few things scarier than an opponent with big shots . . . and little else, i.e. without the “little” shots to set the big shots up […]

German League Semifinals Update

March 29, 2021

(by Steve Hopkins) The Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL) season is coming to a close. The final four teams compete in a best 2 of 3 series in a home/away/home format (with the higher seed having the advantage of hosting two matches). The four teams that have made the Finals are Dusseldorf, Saarbrucken, Ochsenhausen, and Grunwettersbach. The […]

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Atlanta International Table Tennis Academy, AITTA

March 28, 2021

(by Steve Hopkins) With their location just North of Atlanta in Johns Creek, Atlanta International Table Tennis Academy has a strong presence in the largest metropolitan area in the Southeast. AITTA is the result of a 2014 merger between Yang’s Table Tennis Academy and Atlanta Table Tennis Academy. They have full-time coaches across and have […]

Butterfly Favorite: The Evolution of Harimoto

March 27, 2021

(by Steve Hopkins) From a very young age, Japan’s Tomokazu Harimot0 was destined to make his mark on this sport. Ten years ago, he was dominating age groups in Japan (age groups that in Japan have cute names like the Bambi Division and the Turnip Division – he won both twice). In 2016 he was […]

PongNow: Angel Luis Naranjo Lopez

March 26, 2021

(by Steve Hopkins) This edition of the PongNow interview series was conducted in Spanish by Estefania Ramirios. The guest is Angel Luis Naranjo Lopez, a rising star who has already accumulated considerable international experience playing for the Puerto Rican National Team. See the Spanish Language interview with English text in the video below. _________________________ […]

USATT’s T2 Season 2: Friend over Pech

March 26, 2021

(by Steve Hopkins) USA Table Tennis’s T2 Challenge Series moved to Ohio this week as Chance Friend took on Seth Pech at the Samson Dubina Club in Ohio. This season of the T2 Challenge Series sill visit six cities as 32 players battle in a team format. See more about the Thursday Night Live T2 […]

Coaching Tip on Mentality by Crystal Wang

March 23, 2021

(By Crystal Wang) Having a set of tactics and plans on how to play an opponent is very important going into a match but having a good mentality both before and during the match is just equally as crucial. Especially towards the deciding points, it is more about the battle of mentalities rather than skills […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Rally Down Faster & Quicker Players

March 22, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) When faced with faster, quicker opponents, many players try to match them in speed, and end up losing because of too many unforced errors. Instead, ask yourself if it is realistic to play at the opponent’s pace. You might decide you can do so for perhaps the first shot in a rally, […]

German League: Final Four Playoffs Finally Set

March 22, 2021

(by Steve Hopkins) After a league hiatus for the Middle East Hub Events, the final matches in the German Bundesliga were played this weekend and the final four are now set. Dusseldorf secured their top seed over a month ago, but they coasted to a 3-1 win in their final match anyway. The win may […]