OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I'm an intermediate player playing for about 8 years now. My forehand and backhand loop is decent and consistent, I usually do slow spinny loops. I have forever struggled with returning serves, especially fast pendulum serves that come to my backhand. I cannot judge the side topspin or side spin and end up attempting to push it and end up giving an easy kill. Even my slow backhand loops get killed or I miss most times misreading the amount of spin. Add to this that my own serves are bang average and easy to read, I have already lost the game with my peers before the match has begun. I have tried attempting to loop using my forehand but since I move a bit slow, it's not helping me much.

So I have decided to buy a slow rubber like Gambler reflectoid for my backhand and blindly attempt to chop all long fast serves, is learning to do this easier compared to looping? I know that at a high level any amount of backspin can be looped back but at my level I think if I succeed in chopping, I'd mostly get a push back. What do you guys think?

I think you can try to find less spin sensitive rubber among attacking class rubbers. Unfortunately rubbers that are best for slow spiny loops are the worst for service return.

Can you name some? I even had Mark V for a some time, even then my serve return was quite crap and I can't think of a slower attacking inverted rubber than that.

Have you considered short pips?

Yes Mark V is quite insensitive to incoming spin, so I don't think a change to another inverted rubber is going to solve this.

Although coaching and more practice can no doubt improve your returns, if this is not an option you might want to consider antispin or pimples (as ziv also recommended), just on one side of you bat. Although you'll lose the ability of slow spinny loops with these rubbers, you still have the option of flipping over the bat and loop with the other rubber.

BTW If you still want to improve your reading of spin (which you'll still need regardless), the TTEdge App is great for training your brain to read the spin.

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If you want to solve the problem immediately, long pips can do it. You may need to use backhand push or punch instead of loop in future, but you will soon get used to it and your push or punch will soon be better than your loop.

The disadvantage is obvious and you have already known it, your backhand technique will stay at the current level and hardly go further. On the other hand, many players' backhand loop is never better than their long pips backhand push, so it is still worth considering it.

If you still want to improve your techniques and using own techniques to address the problem in future, you don't need to be too worried about it. Fast long serve to backhand side is dangerous to any intermediate players, you are not the only one. My own method is to copy the fast long backhand serve, and apply it to my opponents and then copy the way their handling it. They may show better stance or tips for loop and push.

I speculate rubbers with lower throw should be less spin insensitive as a rule. Rubbers with harder topsheet and harder sponge have generally less spin sensitivity. But those rubbers will not tolerate thin ball contact for slow spiny loop.

Any kind of pips-out rubber makes service return easier. Attacking non-extreme backspin with offensive pips is easier when you catch the technique. But with pips you should forget about counter-looping and avoid slow looping (possible but ineffective).

My FH Palio AK47 Red is the best spin insensitive rubber I found among fast ones. But I doubt it is any better then original Mark V.

I've never seriously considered pips out or anti spin rubbers. I've recently bought a bat with antispin on backhand, but i need more time with it to practise. I kind of like my backhand loops, that's why I'm hoping to not move over to pips out rubbers.

It's always the pendulum serves that cause me so much problems and my pendulum serves are crap, I'm so crap at serve deception and I end with loads of side spin returned to me.

Don't take it the wrong way but changing rubbers to compensate for x, y, z is never a good solution. Chopping vs looping when receiving can be just as challenging. If you are an attacker, a textbook response to a long serve is to loop. Can you chop -- sure, but that imho would be a much more difficult return, a passive one too. Most long serve are topspin serves and pushing them would pop up the ball and your opponent would have an easy kill.

Serve return is an important skill which takes time to develop and master. When I play lower level opponents, I don't have to loop or do much. I can win 3-4 points per game outright, just from serving. Practice, practice, practice....

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Attackers: "All pips players are cheaters who can't loop, move, or read spin"
Me: I beg your pardon?