fastmover wrote:
Since we've been talking about the pivot... Heming, how do you decide on whether to pivot, or play a backhand? What is your personal preference?
Hi fastmover,
that is a very good question. Despite the question sounding like a simple one, the answer is quite complicated and depends on many factors. There is no definite answer to this but I will give you my thoughts/answer on this.
Firstly, until the age of 20, I was always told by other coaches and believed that I had a much better forehand than backhand. I tried to pivot as much as possible and use my forehand all the time. Through experiences, I realised that it was impossible for me to just rely on my forehand and pivot all the time without thinking, hoping for the chance to use my forehand. Key word there: "hoping". I lost many points, even matches because of this. Over time, I started to see that my backhand was actually pretty good and I was not giving it the credit it deserved. I was over-relying on my forehand and not using my backhand enough, in my opinion. I still knew that the backhand shot was less versatile in general and it was hard to play as strong and hit winners with it, compared to the forehand has always been my strongest shot.
My coaches in China advised me to look for chances early on in the points to attack first with a good quality backhand and this sets up the opportunity to pivot much easier than guessing and hoping. This way, I am setting up chances to pivot, instead of "hoping" that the ball will come in the right spot for me to turn around and slam it for a winner. As you know, there is always the possibility that if you pivot (especially too early), your opponent will put the ball down the line and then life is tough.
Think about if someone plays a fast, strong backhand or a very spinny one into your backhand, and now think about if they just play a medium or low paced/quality type backhand to your backhand side. In which situation do you think you are more likely to be forced to return the ball back to their backhand? Definitely against a strong quality backhand. In this situation, you are more much likely to be having difficulty with the quality, and will be happy to just be returning the ball back on the table. The quality of the shot either given you less time(fast backhands) and/or more difficulty(spinny balls). Most likely in that moment, you won't be thinking about where you put the ball back on the table, as the control of the point is not in your hands at this moment. Where someone is playing medium quality backhands against you, you are given so much more room(less spin from opponent=less room for mistake for you), time, etc. You can easily put the ball back anywhere you want to and this is not a great time for them to pivot.
Once I realised this, I started to get much better results in the start of points, rallies and results of points/matches overall. I was playing strong backhands and pivoting after it, and this has become a big strength of mine.
So to answer your question, my decisions are something like this:
-Pivot whenever I have played a good backhand and can see the opponent on the "back foot" (of course there will be times where the opponent knows/sees this in advance and catches you out. Sometimes they can be too good. However, this is more or a less a "general rule of thumb" for Table Tennis. This is a common tactic Chinese and even many other continents' top players use. I tried this a few times against Dima Ovtcharov at the Team World Cup earlier this year in February and in most of them he knew my tactic/idea and as he has one of the best backhands in the world if not the best, he was able to play a good backhand down the line even after I played a very high quality backhand at him. Even the best players(Ma long and Zhang Jike sometimes also) get caught out at times.
-If it is a very fast close to the table rally, I will generally stay on my backhand. Pivoting during a very close table fast rally is difficult and can often result in moving around and being jammed. This results in a far less quality shot compared to if I stay on my backhand and try to be solid there.
-If my opponent steps back far from the table, I will always try use my forehand. When your opponent steps back, their shots will give you a lot more time and space on the table. I will always try to play with forehand in this situation because it is safer and stronger than my backhand. When a point results in both of us going far back from the table(loop-loop), I will always look for forehand.
-Against an opponents long push, I will generally open up with my backhand(unless they push long to my middle of forehand of course) because I can get more spin and it is a very reliable shot for me. Only if I am feeling very confident and extremely good, and/or see the long push is a bad quality one, I will try turn around and kill it with the pivot forehand.
-I also like to push long and fast to opponents backhand and more times than not, they will spin crosscourt and I will try to turn around, take a small(around 20cm) step back and play a forehand counter spin. Here, I am banking on my previous training that I will be fast enough to cover the wide fh ball even if they spin up there. Again, I will make it at times and some times I will get caught out. You lose some you win some. Serving long and fast to someones backhand and pivoting is also a handy tactic and can also work.
-Lastly, I have to add that it does depend a lot on footwork and knowing how to move. The better your footwork is on the court=the more opportunities there are for you to pivot and play forehand effectively.
Over the last couple of year or so, Brett has really emphasised the 'two-step" process on the backhand with me and I feel like I have gotten good at this, improving my backhand dramatically.
I would say that in many ways, my backhand is arguably a bit better than my forehand side. Depending on who I play against, my choices will vary but generally, both of my wings are almost equal and one isn't really MUCH more stronger than the other. I find myself using and staying on my backhand A LOT more now since 2015/2016 compared to previously, as the game has speed up a lot these last few years and its harder for players in general to find as much time and space needed to pivot as much as they did back in 2000-2012 ish. In other words, these days its more and more important for players to be good on both wings and complete players.
For some players they are much stronger on one sideand they want to use their stronger side almost always. For example, Aleks karakasevic and ovtcharov will set up their serves, returns etc to get into points where they can use their strong backhands as much as possible. Somebody like Ryu Seung Min or Ma lin will look to get around with a forehand as much as they can, their amazing footwork helps them do this so well. Now you will see these players (less ovtcharov because he is more modern), struggling A LOT against the likes of Ma long, Fan Zhendong, Zhang jike, etc. Don't forget the banana flick has also made the game even more complicated to pivot against, but this is a whole new topic.
Hope that is clear and helps!
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