Site Products
Judging the Depth of a Serve

Top Ten Ways to Be a Professional at All Levels

Top Ten Ways to Be a Professional at All Levels
(By Larry Hodges)

This tip won’t help you win more matches. In fact, it might cost you a match where, by playing unsportsmanlike, you might have psyched an opponent out of a match. But if you do that, did youreally win the match? Here are the Top Ten Ways to Be a Professional at All Levels.

  1. Dress neatly.
  2. Show up on time.
  3. Let both sides warm up in the two-minute warm-up at the start.
  4. Play fair. Duh.
  5. Don’t act like a baby.
  6. Don’t make excuses.
  7. Shake hands afterwards.
  8. Do not scream at the top of your lungs every point. Use common sense. If you are one of a dozen or more players playing, then every time you scream you are disturbing all those other players. If, however, you are the only match being played, then you have more discretion – but within limits.
  9. Keep gamesmanship to a minimum. Some gamesmanship is fine, such as playing a little faster when your opponent is falling apart, or slowing things down to throw a hot opponent off. But others are not, such as talking to the opponent to distract him, or stepping on the ball so as to force a break to get a new ball.
  10. Keep arguing to a minimum. If you can’t reach a quick agreement on something during a tournament, call an umpire. If it’s practice, is it really worth arguing over?

Latest News

Play 60% of Your Maximum Power

July 23, 2025
Robot will play RANDOM top spin balls anywhere on the table, either Forehand topspin or Backhand topspin to… Read More

Don’t Hang Out

July 21, 2025
Robot will play RANDOM top spin balls to 2/3 of the table (Forehand), only Forehand topspin to Backhand… Read More

#4 Heavy Pushes that don’t let the opponent take the initiative (final episode)

July 21, 2025
Feature] [Special feature] America’s star! Jha’s strong points #4 Short Pushes that don’t let the opponent take the… Read More

Three Things You Want To Do In The First Game

July 21, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) Establish your game. For example, if you have a strong third-ball attack, such as short… Read More

Kevin Doyle – Counterloop Variation

July 21, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Kevin Doyle https://youtu.be/wBDNHVdu33w Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis… Read More

Major League Table Tennis: New Rules for a New Season

July 20, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) As Major League Table Tennis (MLTT) prepares to launch its third season this September, the league… Read More

Latest Rankings

July 20, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) Despite some surprises at the United States Smash, the World Rankings saw very little changes… Read More

European Youth Championships

July 20, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) Ostrava, Czech Republic is host to this year’s European Youth Championships.  In the… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.