Basic Skills

1.The Grip

In table tennis, professionals play with either the shakehand grip (see fig. 1, 2) or the penhold grip. The shakehand grip is aptly named because you hold the paddle as if you were shaking someone's hand, with your index finger extending over the bottom part of the rubber on the backhand side (see fig. 2)and your thumb slightly touching the rubber on the forehand side (see fig. 1). Notice how only 3 fingers wrap around the handle.

The penhold grip is also aptly named because you hold the paddle just lika pen, only grasping the paddle at the top of the handle. Because of this, "penholders" often use paddles with special handles more comfortable for them. It is your choice which grip you want to use, but I strongly suggest you use the shakehands grip, because very few people use the penhold grip now and it is difficult, if you play penhold, to play against someone who uses shakehands. Also, the shakehands grip makes table tennis a lot easier to play, because it gives you freedom of wrist and allows you to hit easily from both forehand and backhand sides.

2.Spin

To play table tennis, it is essential that you first learn how spin works in affecting the balls trajectory and bounce. Also in this section are a few paragraphs on how to create different kinds of spin.

Every professional in the world uses spin while attempting to hit the ball over the net and onto the opponent's side The three spins most commonly use are topsin, backspin and sidespin. To hit a forehand "no spin" ball with topspin, you must angle your paddle so the forehand side faces downward 45 degrees (closed face). With a forward motion, swing through the ball. The sound should be a low "pop". To make topspin you must always swing over the ball.

To hit a "no spin" ball with back spin, you should do nearly the opposite of a topspin ball. Angle your paddle upwards so that the forehand side faces the ceiling, facing upward 45 degrees(open face). Swing through the ball, but don't use as much speed as you would using topspin. A backspin ball tends to rise, and a topspin ball tends to drop downward. To make backspin always remember to swing under the ball. A ball hit with backspin is most commonly called a chop.

Almost no players use sidepin shots in there strokes, but many use it in their serve. You could probably infer that you'd angle the paddle sideways and swing sideways. That's how pure sidespin is used, but professionals mainly combine topsin and sidespin, or backspin and sidespin in their serves.

You might ask, why use spin? Spin affects both the trajectory of the ball, and how the ball bounces. When an opponent tries to hit a ball with topspin, the ball will most likely hit his paddle and go relatively high in the air. This is why the opponent should always angle his paddle downward (closed) when blocking back a topspin ball. The most common way to return a ball with topspin is to hit it back with topspin. A topspin ball, after the first bounce, will speed up and jump forward very quickly.

If an opponent attempts to return a backspin ball, the ball with come of his paddle going downward, onto the floor or onto his side of the table. To return a backspin "chopped" ball, the opponent must angle his/her paddle upward, and swing through the ball. If you don't swing through a backspin ball, the ball will go into the net, no matter how open the face of your paddle is. A backspin ball, after the first bounce, will most likely go farther up into the air, with much less momentum.

Always remember: a backspin ball is the opposite of a topspin ball. The amount of topspin or backspin depends on how hard you swing at the ball. Learn how the opponent moves his paddle in making the different kinds of spin. This way, you'll know how to hit it back.

In table tennis, it is essential that a player understands spin. There is no way to win, without knowing spin.

To know about the different strokes and the serve, see "Advanced Skills"