Styles of play

STYLE

S OF

PLAY

By: Jade Cabañelez

GRIP- The manner in which competitive

players grip their bats/rackets can be classified into

two major family of styles

> Penhold

> Shakehand

But, numerous variations on gripping styles exist.

GRIP - SHAKEHAND

- Try imagining shaking hands with your racket

- Pointy finger pointing downwards & thumb across the other side

- Don’t grip too firmly (it hinders your capacity to generate spin)

GRIP - SHAKEHAND

COMMON QUESTION?

Why not use the forehand grip from holding a lawn tennis racket?

>>It’s a little unstable

>>Having the pointy finger pointing downwards gives you more control over the racket and helps you determine which angle is your racket at

GRIP - PENHOLD

- Try imagining holding a pen using the handle of your racket

Advantage:• No crossover • The wrist has more movement and

flexibility

Disadvantage: • Backhand is a little difficult to execute

GRIP - PENHOLD

UNUSUAL GRIP – V- GRIP

- developed in China - has a noticeable spin benefit

UNUSUAL GRIP – SEEMILLER GRIP

- made famous by Danny Seemiller(American)

- Shots hit the same rubber - variation of Shakehand Grip

2 TYPES OF STROKES OR SHOTS

>> Spin exceptions are smash, block and lob

Offensiv

eDefensive

5 OFFENSIVE STROKES

1. Speed Drive

2. Loop Drive

3. Counter Drive

4. Flip (Flick in Europe)

5. Smash

1 / 5 OFFENSIVE STROKES

- the racket is perpendicular to the direction of the stroke when executed

- focused on speed than spin

- used mostly to keep the ball in play, applying pressure on the opponent to return their shots as fast as they can

SPEED DRIVE

2 / 5 OFFENSIVE STROKES

- reverse of speed drive

- racket is parallel to the direction of the stroke

- it will arc quite a bit

- not as difficult to return as speed drive but will likely to rebound off the opponents racket at a high angle, easy for a smash

LOOP DRIVE

2 / 5 OFFENSIVE STROKES

>> Categorized in 3 variations by the Chinese players:

1. The “Loop” – slower; ultra-topspin; has a higher trajectory; more loopy arc

2. The “Rush” – combination of loop & speed drive; as fast as a speed drive & has a flatter trajectory as a loop if it bounces; it spins

3. The “Hook” – top-side spin; bounces sideways/downwards upon hitting the table

LOOP DRIVE – 3 CATEGORIES

3 / 5 OFFENSIVE STROKES

- it’s usually a counter attack against drives

- racket is near the ball, hit with a short movement “off the bounce” (before reaching the highest point) , hence the ball travels faster to the other side

- with timing & accuracy, it can be effective as a smash

COUNTER DRIVE

4 / 5 OFFENSIVE STROKES

-  a short topspin stroke played from over the table, using mainly the wrist and forearm, typically against a short serve or push

- it can also be a backswing that is compressed to a quick wrist action

FLIP (OR FLICK IN EUROPE)

5 / 5 OFFENSIVE STROKES

-  A forceful shot with an emphasis on speed.

- It is a power stroke that will have the intention of winning the point. Also known as a flat hit or kill.

- Usually executed when the opponent has returned a ball that bounces too high and/or close to the net

SMASH

7 DEFENSIVE STROKES

1. Slice

2. Chop

3. Block

4. Push Block

5. Side Drive

6. Lob

7. Stop

1 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES

 - the racket cuts underneath, imparting a backspin and causing the ball to float slowly to the other side of the table

- it’s used to make it too short to be attacked rather than to over-spin

SLICE

2 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES

 - a chop is bigger & heavier than slice, taken well back from the table

- has so much backspin that the ball rises & is difficult to return

- difficult to execute since it takes a tremendous amount of spin to return the ball over the net

CHOP

3 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES

 - short or simple shot, barely worthy of being called a stroke (since it’s not a full swing)

- it is executed by simply putting the racket in front of the ball then the ball rebounds back toward the opponent

BLOCK

4 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES

 - adding a small topspin movement to the ball

- it entails a little push / and a slanting angle of the racket

PUSH BLOCK OR ACTIVE BLOCK

5 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES

 - this is alternately used as defensive / offensive maneuver

- it puts a spin on the ball either to the right or left

- its execution is similar to slice but the rackets angle is sideward not downward

SIDE DRIVE

6 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES

 - it’s deceptive & the most visually-impressive shot

- it is done by lifting the ball to enormous height before it falls back to the opponents side

- it’s unpredictable because of its heavy amounts of spin

LOB

7 / 7 DEFENSIVE STROKES

 - it’s a high level stroke, used as another variation for close-to-table strokes (like slice)

- it’s done by positioning your body close to the ball and just let the ball touch the racket without any hand movement

STOP OR DROP SHOT

OTHERS MAY SIMPLY SAY

Forehand

Stroke

Backhand Stroke

EFFECTS OF SPIN

Top spin >>

Back spin >>

Side spin >>

EFFECTS OF SPIN

BACK SPIN

EFFECTS OF SPIN

TOP SPIN

• Major Muscles Used: quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus maximus, deltoids, biceps, triceps, etc.

• Hand & Eye Coordination• Quickness on Feet• Endurance

PLAYER DEMANDS

SOURCES:• http://tabletennis.about.com/od/glossary/Glossary_of_Table_

Tennis_Terms.htm . Accessed on 06/19/2013

• Tulio, Doris T. (2008) . Physical Education 3 for College. First Year Publication, 2010 Reprint.

• http://www.youtube.com . Accessed on 06/19/2013

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_tennis . Accessed on 06/19/2013

END OF REPORT