Creating side spin (loops) in table tennis
Professional players can generate side spin loops & counter-side-loops instinctively without having to think.
Side spins are one of the most critical elements of tabletennis but are the most neglected at the amateur level but unfortunately side spins can be far more helpful to amateurs than the pros. Yet all I see is most amateur players (or even coaches) wasting their time spending most of their ttime just conter-driving at each other or straight spin counter-looping at each other. Straight spins are of course important skills for beginners & intermediate players to master first but it is an absoluet waste of time if you keep forcing the issue of consistency on just startight spins but you just are not get past your saturation point based on your innate natural talent however hard you try or spend 24 hours a days 7 days a week. For an amateur, diversity of strokes is the only salvation compared to pros who may focus on their strengths & their consistency . But even pros spend lots of time on improving their wekaer strokes but it is hardly seen in prublic.
Side spins are more important in table tennis than is any other racket sport because of the size of the table-tennis court. In tennis for example, the slice & twist serves (mostly 2nd serves) have side spins in opposite direction (as opposed to the usually flat & fast first serve) . But you hardly see any side spins once the rallies proceed. It is usually mostly straight top spins or an occasional slice & you don't even see flat hit style anymore in tabletennis (just like the vanishing block & smash style using short pips forehand in tabletennis) .
I have explained the basics of side spins in detail in two other articles I wrote more than 15 years ago
https://tacticaltabletennis.blogspot.com/p/s.html
https://tacticaltabletennis.blogspot.com/p/understanding-attacking-side-spins.html
This paper discusses only side spin loops (top spin + side spin) as executed by some top pros.
A righthander's forehand hook loop breaks towards the right of a righthander
A righthander's backhand fade loop breaks towards the right of a righthander
A righthander's forehand fade loop breaks towards the left of a righthander
A righthander's backhand hook loop breaks towards the left of a righthander
A righthander's forehand hook loop goes in the same in direction as a lefthander's fade loop
A righthander's backhand fade loop goes in the same in direction as a lefthander's hook loop
A fade loop is the opposite of a hook loop
Fade loop is also known as the inside-out loop or windshield wiper loop
You get the idea & I do not have to explain other 3 combinations (lefty to lefty, righty to lefty & lefty to righty)
Below is video of legendary chopper Hou Yingchao's forehand hook loop
Below is 3 time world singles champion Wang Liqin's forehand fade loop
Below is 2021 world singles champion Fan Zhendong's forehand fade loop
Lot more ridiculous than Wang Liqin.especially all the more so because Fan's is with the less spinny 40+ plastic ball
Below is Alexander Karakasvic demonstrating the backhand fade loop
Below is Wang Chuqin demonstrating the backhand hook loop.
There is another way to do the backhand hook loop. I will add the video when I find it
Then there are those snake shots which are sort of unorthodox that carry extreme side spins as well
Below is a video with French International Enzo Angles
Adam Bobrow in USA has lots of videos as well
I see player after player & coach after coach wasting away spending most of their time working in their possibly their strongest shot, the forehand straight top spin loop for hours. I am not saying it is not important but for an amateur side spins are more critical. But as I pointed out earlier, pros can execute these shots almost instinctively but amateurs have to train hard at it
Straight spin loops are much more easier to block than side loops because most amateurs even at advanced amateur levels do not understand or know how to adjust their racket angles to return side spin loops. I have addressed this in the paper I mentioned earlier & I will post it later
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