OOAK Table Tennis Forum

For reasons I don't want to get into right now I ended up playing as part of a team that competes at a level I can't match. I have lost all 15 of my singles matches, up to this point.

I have never played in a league before so I didn't have "real" match experience up until the start of this season, apart from one tournament I played (and won easily, at the lowest level). I've done 1.5yrs of training once/week as a teenager and recently started playing again after about a 15 year break. My opponents all have multiple decades worth of matchplay experience.

The odds are stacked against me to say the least, so I can't fault myself for losing, it's just really annoying. Only the best players take easy wins against me, so you'd think I would at least be able to win a few matches here and there.

I came close a few times, but no cigar. Sometimes I start out strong (e.g. an 11-3 first set win against one of the top players in our league by pressuring him non stop) but they learn and adapt and then simply out play me on every level . I can't keep up my "in the zone" very best play for long enough. Today I started one match being outclassed by a very very very strong looper/hitter. (He hits so hard I couldn't even get my racket to the ball in time to block most of them, whereas normally against people at or slightly above my level I'm particularly strong in open play counter topspin rallies.) I got better and better against him by playing short angled shots, but still lost in 3 sets, the last by 8-11 or 9-11. My doubles matches aren't quite as bad, winning over half of them.

Even if I come close, they seem to cope much better with the pressure, especially ending a set, even more so if it's the last set. My shots are not consistent enough. Sometimes they just play a bit passively and let me make the mistakes, and it works. However, changing tactics to a more pushing, passive/opportunistic game I have tried to do but the longer a point goes on, the lower my chances because I'm much more likely to make the first mistake than they are. So playing a safe game doesn't seem to work either. It seems I have to pressure them, play the angles, and be "in the zone" enough to be hitting the ball very well, in order to win. Problem is, I can't keep that up long enough to win a whole match. When it gets to 2-2 and the fifth deciding set is played, they always take it. (They go up a notch and I get tense and therefore down two notches.)

All I want at this point, is to win one match against one of the weaker players.

I won't be able to make all my shots more consistent overnight, so I guess if there is anything I can do about this before the season is over it'll be something psychological (tension is definitely one issue) and/or training specific things needed for matchplay that people don't normally tend to train for.

Any clues?

Edit:
Summary of what's been suggested in this thread thus far:

Train serve return and serve with my coach (largely dictates your level).
Find a partner to do drills with.
Lock in on your opponent's elbow and keep hitting it there. NEED TO DO THIS MORE
Train block, push, flip/flick.

Nothing to lose. Let go and you could play better. CHECK (doesn't seem to produce results)
Take notes on HOW and WHY you lost a match. CHECK
Stay aggressive, unafraid to attack toward end of set/match (without being reckless). CHECK
Focus, focus, focus. Get book "the mindset" to deal with tension. CHECK
Actually finish reading it.
Set longer term goals and forget about losses in the interim. CHECK
Play lots of real matches against stronger players than you. CHECK
Consider all of your losses as part of your training. CHECK
Stop flat hitting into the net, add topspin.

Change your game and tactics after you've won a set, so the opponent doesn't know what is coming next. This may mean trying to keep some of your weapons off display in the first set. The second thing to think about is finding a different way to attack the weaknesses you must have exploited in winning the first set.

Make them believe you are the better player even if you doubt that.
Follow up psychological momentum with your trickiest serve, to help crush your opponent's spirit.
Look for your opponent's mistakes and punish them.

What style do you play? How close are your close losses?

Based on what you have said you need to be aggressive. Other than that it is probably likely that you are losing the close ones because you are afraid to attack toward the end of the match. Even a weaker attack on the table can win a match. However this all depends on what kind of player you are.

Remember if you are outclassed most of the time you have absolutely nothing to lose. Let go and you could play a couple levels higher than you know you are capable of.

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-Teddy

Testing- Donic Persson Seven FH: Juic 999 turbo 2.0 BH: Bomb talent ox
Defense- Donic Defplay senso FH: Globe 999t 38 deg BH: P1r ox (currently)
Attack - Jack Miller Custom FH: Tenergy 05 2.1 BH: octopus ox

My style is: attacker. Short pip backhand, inverted forehand. My backhand is inbetween a short pip and inverted technique as I haven't mastered it yet. I try to use it to open up the point early by playing flicks/flips. With my forehand I top spin as well as flat hit.

I've always been a very aggressive player. I tend to stay at the table. Being aggressive on shots that I shouldn't is a weakness so I try to pick and choose to the best of my (dis)ability but if I wait too long I lose. Some of my losses were very close, 11-9 in the 5th set. Most losses are not close, most of them are what I would describe as somewhat close.

You are right in that I have nothing to lose, for some reason I get tense anyway.

Unfortunately I don't think there is any quick fix that can help you. Maybe set your goals more long term and not worry about losses in the interim. As you say, you dont have a lot of experience and so you really can't expect miracles. Give yourself a year or so of solid training and when playing matches try to go for shots that you would go for when your play becomes more advanced. As tabesamis suggested, be more aggressive but of course aggressive doesn't have to be reckless.

I played some Dutch league matches years ago and it's pretty tough there! Even though you might be getting close sometimes always bear in mind that your opponents might have a fair bit in reserve.

Do you have a coach and/or a regular practice partner?

I have a coach, we do some drills once a week. The last few weeks I got a few other people to do drills with me (so twice a week training in total), but I really need a more permanent practise partner who wants to do drills, because most players just want to play practise matches.

Edit: the reason I get tense is probably that I don't want to look like a complete noob who doesn't belong in that league.

So many people have the same problem. They get coached but struggle to practice drills because club members just want to play games. It makes it very hard to gain significant improvement. Maybe your coach can hook you up with someone keen and of a similar standard?

There won't be (m)any for my coach to choose from, but I guess there's always the robot. Or maybe one of the juniors.

One idea is to lock in on your opponent's elbow and keep hitting it there. That bothers a lot of good players, especially if they're not in the best condition (a common theme among recreational players).

Also your serve and serve return largely dictates your level. Even one session with a good coach could pay big dividends in this area.

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Thanks mate. As you can see I am adding your suggestions (and any future ones) to the first post for reference, so keep them coming. Some great ones already!

The last 3 points of your first writing are the best answer as far as I think.

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If you suffer from high tension, nerves, faultering concentration I would recommend reading and working with ´the mindset´.
Best 18 euros I´ve ever spend http://www.bol.com/nl/p/nederlandse-boeken/mindset/1001004011109083/index.html

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I'd say start off with simple tactics - see what your opponent is like long, and if they handle that well, play them short. Try using angles and width, and also put some into his body. try and get your own game in too, so don't be afraid to attack, but pick the right ones. Sometimes I think a change of speed works really well as a lot of players tend to get into a rythm so mix everything up now and then. Apart from that, focus, focus, focus - concentration is the most important thing along with practice and a good mindset. A lot of matches can be won mentally - especially close ones - so don't get too disappointed with yourself, considering your playing guys with far more experience than you. Keep practising!

I'd maybe recommend a look at an interview with Guoliang - haggisv I think is the author - because he talks some great tactics!

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15 years old & hoping to become a half decent player!

Blade: Joola Flame Fast
FH: Joola Explode Sensitive
BH: Tibhar Grip-S Europe

Change needed dramatically!

Thanks guys.

I got a book titled "the mindset". It's probably one of those books that helps you in other areas of life too. Actually finishing it will be a bigger challenge than winning my first match this season, given my track record.

I'll check out that Guoliang interview too. Tactics is probably not the area I can improve my game with right now though, because technique and "mindset" need to be up to par (pun intended) in order to make tactics work in the first place. There is also the danger of thinking too much. I do a LOT of thinking too much. Takes me out of my game.

Kind of off-topic, but "BOUNCE" by Matthew Syed is also meant to be a good read on the same kinda things

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15 years old & hoping to become a half decent player!

Blade: Joola Flame Fast
FH: Joola Explode Sensitive
BH: Tibhar Grip-S Europe

Change needed dramatically!

I started as a total newbie and began learning from Day 1 with a coach giving me 2 hour lessons once a week. I started playing in our club's weekly tournament in the lowest division from the start and I think at one point I was about 10 wins and 100 losses (again, this was at the LOWEST level).

After about 6 months I had "completed" the coach's training curriculum for new players. I felt I still wanted/needed more training and found a second coach. This second coach identified quickly what the first coach didn't give me. That was "tactical" skills. Coach #1 was all about multiball. Thousands of forehands and thousands of backhands. A tiny bit on serving and receiving, but not a single session of blocking, pushing, or similar tactics. His philosophy is all-out attack at all times. But after a few sessions with coach #2 who did not use multiball drills at all, my play took a dramatic leap. The new coach didn't want me to be passive, yet he taught me when it was just smart to use defensive shots or to just block rather than trying to over-power a strong loop attack with a counter-loop. With coach #2 our drills involved a serve and receive and some type of action. So he might give me a short underspin serve and I had to push it back and then he would loop hard and I would block. We would do that with the 5 or so balls he had in his pocket, then we'd repeat the drill but play the rallies out. Then after a while we work on receiving long serves for example or I'd serve to him, etc.

So I have two points to make.

First, when watching the better players at my club I can tell the BEST players when I can see they've mastered pushing, blocking, and flicking/flipping. There are some pretty good players who can loop the hell out of the ball but don't have a tactical game at all--they just depend on overpowering their opponents. When they lose to the BEST players because they get out-pushed or watch a strong third-ball loop get blocked to the opposite corner for a winner they start to fall apart. So these are skills one can work on to neutralize powerful attacks.

Second, formal training and drills only go so far. I had some fellow players who started training the same time I did but were too shy or egotistical to accept losing as part of the learning process. So they never played competitively "until they were good enough." Maybe some practice matches with nothing at stake, but never anything serious. This is a mistake! They hampered their training by not playing games. So sure, a year later they started at the beginner division and won most of their games. But by that time I'd already moved up to higher divisions! If given a choice, I always play in a higher division even if that means I go 0-6, rather than 6-0 against weaker players.

Games, games, games! That is the only way to get experience and learn to play a stroke and watch your opponent at the same time. Anticipation is hard to teach in coaching sessions. You are doing the right thing and if you consider all of your losses as part of your training you will realize how great an opportunity it is to be going up against players better than you. In practice sessions these players might avoid you or not play "serious" and then you think you are doing better than you actually are just because the score is close. In these kind of practice matches (maybe even in competition if the level of your opponent's skill is much higher) you may have noticed that whenever the score gets close your opponent has a run of 4 or 5 points in a row. Or you get the game to 8-8 and then suddenly it's over and you've lost 8-11. If someone is better than you, they will just need to "get serious" or give you a few deadly serves they know you can't handle and the match is over. So try to make at least mental notes about HOW and WHY you lost a match and then you will know where your weaknesses are and what to work on.

 

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