Table Tennis News: Players, tournaments, products, tips & more

Coaching Tip of the Week: Tactics Early In a Match: Explorers and Dominators

September 7, 2020

(By Larry Hodges) There are basically two ways to play tactically early in a match. You can either feel your opponent out to see what he can do and then adjust your tactics based on this (“The Explorer”); or you can force your game on the opponent right from the start, making tactical adjustments as […]

WAB Club Feature: Los Angeles Table Tennis Club

September 6, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The Los Angeles Table Tennis Association (LATTA) is located in El Monte, California, just to the east of Los Angeles. The facility is just off of the 10 with easy access to the greater Los Angeles area. LATTA is a non-profit organization established in 1998. The center is one of the largest table […]

History of College Table Tennis: Leparulo Part 1

September 5, 2020

(Intro by Steve Hopkins) In an interview last month with Willy Leparulo, President of National Collegiate Table Tennis Association, he referenced a research paper that he created that followed the development of table tennis on college campuses. You can view the full interview here. Willy Leparulo has provided the document to Butterfly for us to […]

ITTF Announces November Restart Events

September 5, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) ITTF announced on Friday that three of the most prestigious events of the year will be scheduled for November. These events, the Uncle Pop 2020 ITTF Women’s World Cup, the Liebherr 2020 ITTF Men’s World Cup, and the 2020 ITTF Finals will all be held in China. The World Cups will feature […]

PongNow: Larry Hodges

September 5, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The PongNow interview series discusses table tennis with some of the best players and personalities in the sport. This edition features USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame member, Larry Hodges Larry Hodges is a table tennis player, coach, promoter, writer, classic style specialist, and USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame member. […]

Ask The Experts: Byung Jung An, No. 354

September 4, 2020

Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer Question: I have a good backhand flip against short underspin balls. My backhand flip is fast and very effective. I am now contemplating, developing a forehand flip but I am not sure if it would be as effective. What I see from players is not as fast and hard […]

BUTTERFLY FAVORITE: Marcelo Aguirre – Opening With Power

September 2, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) This video is a German Bundesliga match last Decmeber. It was uploaded by TTBL and shows Marcelo Aguirre traded big shots with Bastien Steger. Steger is known for hitting big shots, and is especially known for his long, full backhand loop technique. However, in comparison to Aguirre, there’s a noticeable different – […]

Table Tennis and (k)Pop Culture: BTS

September 1, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) Table tennis regularly finds its way into Pop Culture in the US. In April, we ran an article here that referenced table tennis as a part of the plot of episodes of MASH, Last Man Standing, Friends, Girls, The Office, The Gary Shandling Show, The Big Bang Theory, King of Queens, Everybody Loves […]

Johnathan McGinty’s Collegiate Table Tennis Article (Part 1 – The Pursuit of Belonging)

August 31, 2020

(Intro by Steve Hopkins) Augusta-based sports writer Johnathan McGinty has released Part 1 of his series about the early history of college table tennis in the US. The article is titled “The Pursuit of Belonging: The amazing and untold story of the Anderson College and Augusta College table tennis dynasties”. This article includes quotes from […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Move Like a Pro

August 31, 2020

(By Larry Hodges) Most players go through the following sequence during each shot of a rally: Opponent is about to strike ball. Opponent strikes ball. Player sees incoming ball. Player decides if he has to move. Player moves. He’s slow to get to the ball and complains he’s too slow. Top players go through the […]