Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer
Question:
Should you close the racket angle when you topspin loop the backspin ball with your backhand? Should you drop down the racket as much as you can? Should you squat a lot or as my couch says, you should squat as long as your waist doesn’t drop below the level of the table, because you lose balance, he says. What is true and what is not?
Answer:
Your Ask the Experts question was answered by Zhou Xin. He is a Coach at the ICC Table Tennis in Milpitas, California. Coach Zhou’s response is as follows:
Hi Alexander,
By definition, looping, backhand or forehand, requires players to close their rackets. However, the angle varies depending on the spin of the incoming shots and what you want to achieve with the loop.
It is difficult to quantify how much you squat. Again, it has something to do with the incoming shots and what you want to do with the return. It also depends on how fit the players are. Ma Long and Xu Xin probably can squat at will. Your coach is right. You have to maintain your balance. An out-of-balance shot often is the last shot of the rally.
Hope this helps!
By definition, looping, backhand or forehand, requires players to close their rackets. However, the angle varies depending on the spin of the incoming shots and what you want to achieve with the loop.
It is difficult to quantify how much you squat. Again, it has something to do with the incoming shots and what you want to do with the return. It also depends on how fit the players are. Ma Long and Xu Xin probably can squat at will. Your coach is right. You have to maintain your balance. An out-of-balance shot often is the last shot of the rally.
Hope this helps!
Keep improving and stay safe.
Zhou Xin
