THE DROP SHOT
You will have difficulty in driving the ball through a good defensive player. The harder you hit, the farther back of the table he will retreat. The answer to these tactics is the drop shot, a short shot played close to the net so that your opponent cannot reach it on the first bounce. The drop shot can be made, either forehand or backhand, by tilting your racket back slightly and contacting the ball just after it bounces on the table. The shot is actually a block shot, but because your opponent is far behind the table when you employ a drop shot and because he has a great amount of backspin (chop) on his return, you should tilt your racket face up slightly to counteract his spin and make sure the ball clears the net. (Figure 37.) A sense of timing and touch is most important in making the drop shot, and naturally developing that requires practice. Remember: Don't rush your shot. You are on the attack and your opponent is the one who must rush into position. Play it safe and make sure the ball drops over the net rather than into it.
ERRORS IIS MAKING THE DROP SHOT
Errors commonly committed in making the drop shot are listed below:
1. Not tilting the racket face back far enough. This results in netting the ball because, as pointed out previously, your opponent has backspin on his return. The harder your previous drive, the more chop his return will have, because it has been made from farther behind the table; consequently you must allow for the additional backspin by tilting the angle of your racket farther back.
2. Letting the ball rebound too high before making the drop shot. This is the old error of bad timing again, but here it may be due to faulty knowledge. The drop shot is not a drive, to be allowed to rebound as high as possible. It is a special case of the block shot and thus should be trapped at the table (that is, hit directly after the ball bounces). The remedy is to quicken your preparation.
3. Trying to make a drop shot from a ball that bounces too deep on the table. Keener anticipation will correct this difficulty. In most cases a drive would be preferable to a drop shot on a ball which bounds deep, because a drop shot made from the end of the table would lack deception, would lack angle (because of the difficulty in angling a deep return) and would lack shallowness (because of the difficulty in determining the precise touch neces sary to clear your half of the table and then drop short over the net). If the ball comes too deep, topspin it and wait for a shorter ball.
THE DROP SHOT
Figure 37. Preparation for a drop shot. Deception is essential to its best use. Figure 38. Note that the body is not turned sideways to make this stroke. Figure 39. Concentration is required. The ball will be taken early, before it has a chance to Teach the height of the bounce.Figure 40. Point of contact. A delicate touch is required to drop the shot just over the net.
Figure 37. Preparation for a drop shot. Deception is essential to its best use. Figure 38. Note that the body is not turned sideways to make this stroke. Figure 39. Concentration is required. The ball will be taken early, before it has a chance to Teach the height of the bounce.Figure 40. Point of contact. A delicate touch is required to drop the shot just over the net.
THE DROP SHOT—continued
Figure 41. The racket travels straight on after the ball. We do not want to impart spin here Figure 42. Keep your eye on the ball and be sure you contact it in the center of the racket. Figure 43. A long follow-through is not necessary on this shot. The shorter the stroke the more deception. Figure 44. Completion of the shot should not find the driver off balance or in an awkward position.
4. Trying to use a certain amount of chop on a drop shot. The idea behind this is usually to deaden the bounce of the ball and make it drop short on the other side of the net. But this is a very serious mistake and will result in either missing the ball entirely or pushing it into the net. Remember that a drop shot is a block shot with the racket tilted slightly back. Remember that, in discussing the use of a block shot to return a chop, we demonstrated (Figures 4 and 37) that the racket face must be tilted backward to counteract the tendency of your opponent's chop to go into the net. By chopping an original chop, you are doing more than just failing to counteract backspin. You are put ting more backspin on the ball and are aiding its tendency to find the net.Figure 41. The racket travels straight on after the ball. We do not want to impart spin here Figure 42. Keep your eye on the ball and be sure you contact it in the center of the racket. Figure 43. A long follow-through is not necessary on this shot. The shorter the stroke the more deception. Figure 44. Completion of the shot should not find the driver off balance or in an awkward position.
THE SMASH
If the ball is returned to you with a high bounce and you have time to get into position, you should employ a smash to win the point outright. A smash is merely a drive minus the topspin. (Because the ball is so high, it is unnecessary to counteract the backspin with topspin.) We have advised you previously to play the smash on the forehand because it is usually a more secure stroke. Hit forward and downward with a very flat swing. Because the swing is flat, on the follow-through your arm finishes straight across your body and not up near your ear as in the ordinary topspin drive (Figure 51).
A smash from the high-bounding ball is a simple shot to make, but you can usually tell the difference between an expert player and a fair player by watching a few smashes. The expert player handles high balls with confidence born of much practice and without hesitation.
From the very beginning don't hold back on your smashes. Decide how high the ball should bounce before attempting a smash and when it reaches that height make the shot, regardless of the score. Many players become tense in a close match and fail to take advantage of their opportunities to make a successful kill shot. This type of action is never successful against a good player and finally will result in the entire loss of your offensive game. It will do you no good to outmaneuver your opponent with topspin drives only to fail to take advantage of his weak return and give him a breathing spell in which to regain his proper defensive position.
Anticipation can play a vital part in successful smashing. When you hit a very good topspin drive, you should realize that your opponent may have difficulty in returning it and you should be prepared for a favorable opportunity to get in a finishing smash. Keep alert and on your toes for the weak return. If it is on your backhand side, do not hesitate to run around into forehand position; if necessary, run all the way around the left-hand side of the table and up toward the net. Anticipation will make possible an aggressive answer to many balls bounding high and near mid-court.
ERRORS IIS MAKING THE SMASH
Errors commonly committed in making the smash are:
- Attempting to smash a high-bounding ball when not in proper position. In their eagerness to score quick aces, many players pile up errors by attempting smashes when completely off balance. An illustration is the high-bounding ball to the backhand which, by the time you have run around it, has dropped too low to be handled aggressively. Another illustration is the second smash when the first one has been successfully returned by your opponent, leaving you momentarily off balance from the violence of your own swing. In either case, if off balance, be wise—push, chop, or loop your next return and wait for another opening.
THE SMASH OR FOREHAND STRAIGHT DRIVE
Figure 45. Preparation for a smash shot is similar to that for a topspin drive. The racket is just starting back. Figure 46. The arm comes back slowly to measure the ball. There is usually plenty of time to make a forehand smash. Figure 47. Note sideways position of the. body and deliberate action of the racket just before actual stroke.
Figure 48. The ball is at the height of its bounce. The racket comes forward and straight into the ball, to gain maximum speed.
Figure 45. Preparation for a smash shot is similar to that for a topspin drive. The racket is just starting back. Figure 46. The arm comes back slowly to measure the ball. There is usually plenty of time to make a forehand smash. Figure 47. Note sideways position of the. body and deliberate action of the racket just before actual stroke.
Figure 48. The ball is at the height of its bounce. The racket comes forward and straight into the ball, to gain maximum speed.
THE SMASH OR FOREHAND STRAIGHT DRIVE—continued
Figure 49. Point of contact. The racket should contact the ball in the center and as flush as possible. Figure 50. From the facial contortions the reader can guess that a great deal of effort and speed go into this shot. Figure 51. Follow-through is straight across the body, never up as in the case of an ordinary topspin drive. Figure 52. The follow-through ends here, full across the body. Forward position of the body indicates weight was properly transferred.
Figure 49. Point of contact. The racket should contact the ball in the center and as flush as possible. Figure 50. From the facial contortions the reader can guess that a great deal of effort and speed go into this shot. Figure 51. Follow-through is straight across the body, never up as in the case of an ordinary topspin drive. Figure 52. The follow-through ends here, full across the body. Forward position of the body indicates weight was properly transferred.
Your stroke repertoire is fairly complete by now. You should have a good idea of the game you are most successful in playing—chop or drive— and of your likes and dislikes as regards forehand and backhand.
However, you may quite frequently be puzzled by opponents who do not play the ball deep enough for you. You cannot employ your chopping strokes unless the ball is speedy enough to drive you back of the table. You cannot use your drives, with preparation and follow-through, unless the ball is deep enough to permit you to turn slightly sideways and reach it without straining.
Short shots are often awkward to handle unless they bound high enough to be smashed. You can use a block shot on them, or a drop shot, which amounts to the same thing. But this is a negative, not a positive, answer. In looking for a positive one we must discuss the backhand flick.
Use no backswing in this stroke—the backhand flick. Complete deception is the objective and thus you can allow no time for preparation. Start with your racket blade tilted slightly back. As the ball bounces, bring your racket forward swiftly, and at the point of contact turn your wrist completely over so that on the follow-through the palm of your hand is facing upward.
This is the only shot in table tennis (besides a wristed backhand) in which the wrist must be used. (Other shots may or may not be executed with wrist movement, but the wrist is the essential element of the flick.)
As a consequence, this shot is the most difficult of all for the average player to master. You will note the similarity to a backhand topspin drive, particularly a topspin drive employing some wrist. Indeed, certain players use this flick shot in place of a backhand drive and do not fare too badly. But because of the intricate wrist play involved and because of the inability to force sharp angles when returning deep-bounding balls, we recommend the orthodox backhand drive for those balls which bound deep enough on the table to be reached from a natural driving position.
We recommend the use of the backhand flick only on balls that drop so close to the net that it would be difficult to perform a full-arm stroke. When you are restricted in this way, the backhand flick gives you a means of dealing offensively with short shots which do not bounce higher than the net. (Note: A forehand flick could be made under similar circumstances on the forehand side. It is not used because of the extra time involved in preparation—the forehand not being automatically in position, across the body, like the backhand.)
ERROR IN MAKING THE BACKHAND FLICK
The most common error in making the backhand flick is not turning the wrist completely over, particularly at point of contact. If the wrist is turned over too soon, the ball will go into the net. If turned over too late, or not completely turned over, a short jab stroke results which will probably go off the other end of the table if hit with any speed at all. Proper wrist play is your only means of control. Remedy: Constant practice.
We have spoken of the value of the flick in returning short balls. There are two ways in which these short balls are obtained: (a) by accident; (b) by design. Your opponent may accidentally miscalculate and give you a short return. He may attempt a drop shot which is not played close enough to the net. In such cases your flick—always ready for action, involving no preliminary backswing, widely angled and deceptive when played close to the net—should win the point for you outright.
By design, too, you can often force a winning position, combining your flick with a good drive and drop shot to hit the ball past the defender after drawing him in close to the table. First comes the drive, forcing him out, then the drop shot bringing him in close again. Then, before he can regain his former position, a fast flick will win the point. The flick is valuable here because of the time element involved. You may win the point with the flick, while a stroke (assuming the ball landed deep enough to make one) would give your opponent time to regain defensive position.
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