OOAK Table Tennis Forum

As a fairly standard Chinese-style player (2-wing looper), how can i improve from 2000 to 2200. I think i could definitely improve my service returns, such as receiving the side-underspin serves with lower and and shorter placement. I also want to learn how to counterloop 3rd balls close to the table (the opponent serves and then i push and he loops a slow/spinny loop, how do i FH counter that ball? what is the proper timing and distance i should be from the table and what should the racket angle be and should i be brushing or hitting the ball more or contacting the side of the ball more?)

Also, I think i have a very consistent BH and FH, but im certainly not playing kill shots past the opponents, which means 2100s can block me down and control the pace of the rallies and eventually I will miss after 4 loops or so. How do i improve my power while preserving my consistency of shots?

Also, how do i improve my blocking? i think 2200s should be able to block any ball as long as its within their reach.

Big can of worms here.

It's almost impossible to give advice without seeing videos of you playing real matches. I think that's the first thing you should do - record some matches so that you can do a self review, and post the videos on the forums so others can review.

You mentioned:

Service returns: yes, improving this is always good. If you have tacky rubber on the FH, you should be able to comfortably return very low and short, but also mix it up with very long and fast, in multiple placements. But you should also work on attacking serves. Go for spin and placement instead of speed and you'll have greater consistency. Go against the spin for better grip and experiment.

Forehand counter: Will need videos for this, I think. There's no hard rules for this, it's whatever allows you to consistently produce a high quality ball. You need to be very relaxed.

Power and consistency: You say you're consistent, but you can't loop more than 4 in a row in a match? Without a video it's hard to say, but if your opponent is blocking you down, it means that they can predict everything about your loop and use your power against you, as well as adding their own. Rather than adding killing power, you need to add precision and variation to your loops, so your opponent can't predict everything and use your loops against you. Check where your loops land, they should be away from the opponent's power zones, preferably closer to the white lines. Vary the arc of the ball, so that the opponent needs to adjust their bat angle for every block. Maybe add some subtle side spin every now and then, play with the depth, produce a slightly slower ball every now and then, to mess with your opponent's timing. You can't stop a blocker with power, it's what they want.