About Table Tennis / Ping-Pong

Is it OK to be a Basement Ping-Pong Player?

2009-11-23T22:20:21Z

Welcome to my "Basement" Photo � 2008 Greg Letts, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Despite the fact that the vast majority of ping-pong players around the world are those who enjoy a friendly battle against their family, friends or workmates, there perception exists amongst some serious table tennis players that these casual players are not playing "real" table tennis, and are somehow inferior.

Is this true? Is it really OK to be a basement ping-pong player? Check out my thoughts and then feel free to add your opinion to the article.

Is it OK to be a Basement Ping-Pong Player? originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 22:20:21.

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Serve and Return of Serve - Thoughts from the Australian National Coach

2009-11-20T03:41:49Z

Timo Boll - an example to follow Photo by R�my Gros, by courtesy of the ITTF

Brett Clarke, the current Table Tennis Australia National Head Coach, has written two thought provoking articles regarding serve and return of serve at the advanced level.

Having analyzed world class play extensively, in his first article on returning serve (Note: this is a link to a .pdf file) Brett recommends copying the short backspin return technique of Chinese star Ma Lin, and the low bouncing backhand sidespin flick German heroes Timo Boll and Dimitrij Ovtcharov. Brett also outlines his method of teaching the short backspin return technique.

In his second article, Brett studies the importance of the short but fast serve, discusses why it is important, and suggests how best to practice this important stroke.

While Brett is discussing advanced techniques, players of all levels would benefit from reading Brett's thoughtful analysis of serve and serve return in the modern game.

Serve and Return of Serve - Thoughts from the Australian National Coach originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 03:41:49.

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ITTF World of Table Tennis - Episode 7 is Up

2009-11-19T00:05:07Z

TT on the TV - well, itTV! Image courtesy www.ittf.com

Episode seven of the ITTF World of Table Tennis is now available for viewing from the ITTF website. In this episode, they have footage from the World Cup, talk with Werner Schlager about his academy, and see how table tennis is helping to build bridges between people in Jordan. Good viewing for readers with broadband connections.

ITTF World of Table Tennis - Episode 7 is Up originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 00:05:07.

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Guide to Basement and Family Ping-Pong

2009-11-18T04:51:42Z

A $10 bat and a $200 bat - can you tell the difference? Does it matter? � 2009 by Greg Letts, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Strangely enough, most of what is written on the Internet about table tennis caters for that small percentage of serious players, and the vast majority of basement or family ping-pong players are left out in the cold. There is very little good advice online about how to play better ping-pong without spending a fortune on custom bats, expensive coaching, or attending training camps. Most information that you will find that is aimed at complete beginners is either written by other beginners (which results in some strange advice!), or is written in the expectation that the new player is planning to start playing with expensive custom equipment and become a serious table tennis player as soon as possible. (And yes, I've been as guilty of this as anyone in the past!)

But what about those ping-pong players who simply want to play for fun in their garage, family room or workplace, using their trusty Wal-Mart bats, but who would also like to play a bit better and beat their buddies more often?

If you are one of these players, then this Guide to Basement and Family Ping-Pong is for you. This guide is written by an advanced table tennis player for the ping-pong player who has only ever played for fun, who doesn't know the real difference between basement ping-pong and advanced table tennis (and who probably doesn't care!), but who still wants to improve his game and win more matches against his family, friends and work mates.

Guide to Basement and Family Ping-Pong originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 04:51:42.

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Follow the Bouncing Ball...

2009-11-12T05:36:31Z

Don't just phone it in... Image copyright Apple

In the What will they think of next? category is this nifty product from Terranova Scientific, who have produced an iPhone application to measure the Coefficient of Restitution (COR) of table tennis balls, by "listening" to the consecutive bounces of the ball, and then calculating the COR by analyzing the time interval between the bounces.

Seeing as the current test for the COR of table tennis balls is done by dropping the ball from 305mm, and then measuring the height of the bounce (which is not as easy at it sounds - try it sometime), this could be a useful product for table tennis officials around the world. Initial pricing looks to be around $25 US.

The actual table tennis ball COR measurer iPhone application is not released quite yet, but you can check out the equivalent product for golf balls from the company here.

Now if they could only come up with a similar iPhone application to measure the fastest rubber...

Follow the Bouncing Ball... originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 05:36:31.

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Table Tennis Rubber Review - Killerspin Fortissimo

2009-11-09T07:36:37Z

Fortissimo - if it's too loud, you're too old! Image courtesy www.megaspin.net

Once again, the people at Megaspin were generous enough to send me some rubbers to review - this time it was 2 sheets of FORTISSIMO - one of Killerspin's latest rubber innovations. I've been using this rubber for a number of months on my main bat, so now I'm comfortable enough to offer my thoughts on Killerspin Fortissimo.

Table Tennis Rubber Review - Killerspin Fortissimo originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 07:36:37.

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First Major TV Agreement for the Oceania Region

2009-11-04T23:04:07Z

Taking Table Tennis To The TV Image courtesy ITTF, www.ittf.com

Table tennis fans in Australia have received an early Christmas present with the news that Fox Sports in Australia are going to TV broadcast a number of the top ITTF events from 2010-2012, including the World Title Table Tennis events, the World of Table Tennis, and the Oceania Cup.

After many years of limited coverage of table tennis on television in Australia, this agreement is something to celebrate. Well done to all concerned in getting ping-pong onto TV screens in Australia at last.

More details about the agreement can be found on the ITTF website.

First Major TV Agreement for the Oceania Region originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 23:04:07.

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Should Table Tennis Beginners Use Junk Rubbers?

2009-02-23T03:03:27Z

Most coaches and experienced table tennis players would recommend that new ping-pong people should stick to using inverted rubber on both sides of their racket, until the basic strokes have been mastered. But is this truism good advice? Or can table tennis beginners use junk rubbers?

Should Table Tennis Beginners Use Junk Rubbers? originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 03:03:27.

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Common Grip Errors in Table Tennis

2009-02-20T00:01:04Z

They say that there is a thousand ways to skin a cat, and sometimes it seems that there are almost as many ways to hold your table tennis bat! And while variety is the spice of life, most table tennis players are better off sticking to conventional grip types. Today I'm examining some common ping-pong grip mistakes made by new players - is your grip on the list?

Common Grip Errors in Table Tennis originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Friday, February 20th, 2009 at 00:01:04.

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Table Tennis in the News - 18th February 2009

2009-02-18T01:25:53Z

Table tennis has been making headlines in a number of different areas of the media of late, including the following articles:

ITTF President Adham Sharara admits that 90% of top table tennis players are cheating by boosting their rubbers.
Killerspin, a Chicago-based table tennis manufacturer and distributor, have signed an exclusive endorsement contract with Shareth Kamal Achanta of India.
Ping-Pong Playa is out on Blu-ray DVDe
The Longview Table Tennis Community has made the news, talking about their traveling to tournaments all over the USA.
Watch out, the Ponginator is coming! (Warning: noisy video link). This is a gigantic robot that shoots ping-pong balls at 170mph (any faster and they apparently disintegrate!). You can see the inventor of the Ponginator talking about the machine in this video.

Table Tennis in the News - 18th February 2009 originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 01:25:53.

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