tabletennisJunkie.com - table tennis and ping pong forum for equipment junkies!

[adriel623]

Can someone evaluate a surefire way to read or counter any spin, is there a default stroke that can be used for any spin! what i have tried is to do a slight underhand push and it has worked but not always! so go ahead share.....

[varghese]

There is no default stroke to counter any kind of spin. Between low to medium spin (top, under and side) you can counter with open paddle having some hard Chinese rubbers. When the amount of spin varies to very higher, it is hard to do countering with open paddle.

As a first step, I would recommend mirror what your opponent do. If he is top spinning, counter with top spin. If he is pushing, try to push.

[729 fx]

Yes, I concurred with varghese in mirroring what your opponent's do. Only when you are comfortable you should do the opposite, example, if your opponents give you a back spin and the ball is comfortably high for you to loop then you can either loop or push-loop or slow-topspin back.

[ejunkie]

adriel623, it was more or less possible before the frictionless long pips (FLP) were banned to return everything the same regardless of the spin (correct me if I am wrong but that's my understanding although I had used only very little of FLP). Using the slow FLP it was possible to return everything with an open angle, kinda like the push you are talking about--same kind of angle. Some players still use slower friction lp to play this kind of game. Even Some shorter pips like Dr evil can be effective when play with no sponge, OX, but not as deceptive. I hope this is what you are asking.

[varghese]

adriel623, it was more or less possible before the frictionless long pips (FLP) were banned to return everything the same regardless of the spin (correct me if I am wrong but that's my understanding although I had used only very little of FLP). Using the slow FLP it was possible to return everything with an open angle, kinda like the push you are talking about--same kind of angle. Some players still use slower friction lp to play this kind of game. Even Some shorter pips like Dr evil can be effective when play with no sponge, OX, but not as deceptive. I hope this is what you are asking.

The frictionless pips and anti top spins behave neutral to the incoming spin, but smart opponents can control you easily. Then can give you faster no spin to your pips and they take control. The slower frictionless long pips help in such situations. What your opponent gonna do when the ball drops short over the net. You can be assured that your opponent is not going to attack fast.

The above theory applies to hard Chinese rubbers on carbon blades. The rubber is less prune to the incoming spin. I have played hell against some of those Chinese rubbers. I cut some top spin with heavy cut, and it comes back with a simple drive from my opponent.

As I suggest to a lot of players, use friction rubbers and develop skills to counter the spin.

It may be a good idea to extend this discussion to countering specific spin. The videos are much helpful.

[adriel623]

thanks guys your comments made proper sense to me, i will definitely try watch the ball carefully and try to mirror my opponents.

1- where on the table should you try to return a sidespin serve- this area is where i have the most difficulty. I do a forward push to the middle of the table and it ends up going off.

if is played long i loop the ball but if short what should i do? thanks

I found this article on how to read spin!
http://tabletennis.about.com/od/spin/ht/readspin.htm

Actually here is the whole page i found!
http://tabletennis.about.com/od/beginnersguide/u/beginners_guide.htm

[729 fx]

It depends on what sidespin serve your opponent dish out to you.

Let's assume only side spins are used (in reality side+top or bottom spin). If the opponent gives you a left to right side spin (from his point of view), the ball will bounce off to your left if you block the ball perpendicular to its path. In this case you should try to return to your right side in order for the ball to be in play. Vice versa for a right to left side spin.