Today we are going to describe 11 different ways to hit a ping pong ball perfectly that not only the beginners can find useful but also the intermediate or advance players can revise again.
These are the basic hits that’s you need to learn if you want to play real table tennis.
You can hit a ping pong ball in the following ways
- Forehand
- Backhand
- Tsutsuki
- Block
- Drive
- Smash
- Serve
- Stop
- Flick
- Chiquita
- Cut
How to hit a ping pong ball?
Forehand
Forehand is the basic batting method for hitting the ball on the forehand side. It is the most basic way to hit table tennis, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is the basic of the basics.
When the ball arrives, take a backswing, pull the racket to the right rear, and swing it forward to the left. The point is to pose like a salute after swinging. Move it upwards, not horizontally.
People who tend to hit the ball out, face down
The mistakes that beginners tend to make in the forehand are over-out. If the ball jumps too much and you make a mistake, swing the racket face down. You can reduce out mistakes by adjusting the surface of the racket.
Table tennis beginners Causes and solutions for out mistakes
Be careful not to hit it only with your hands
Also, hitting only with the power of your hands or arms can lead to mistakes. The key to the forehand of table tennis is not only the strength of the hand, but also the strength of the waist.
At the time of the backswing, the waist is also rotated, and a little hand power is applied at the moment of impact.
The power of the hand is only “a little”. By carrying the racket with the power of the waist, the ball is stable.
Hit at the highest position possible
The ideal hit point is the top of the ball. By hitting the ball at a high position, it becomes easier to enter the opponent’s court.
Summary of how to hit
- Hit at the top
- If you don’t want it to go out, face down the racket
- Hit with your hips and hands in sync
- Use your little arm power
When you enter the table tennis club, the first thing to learn is forehand. It can be said that this is the most frequent way of hitting in the game and practice.
Backhand
Another basic batting method alongside the forehand is “backhand”. The basic backhand is to strike in front of your body. It is needed to hit the ball in front of the belly.
When the ball comes in, hit the racket with the back side facing slightly downward and pushing it forward. You don’t need a big backswing like in the forehand, you just need to pull a little on your tummy.
Use your elbow as the axis of swing
When you hit the backhand, your elbows are the core, not the shoulders. With the elbow as the axis, pull it to the belly and push it out.
By doing so, not only will the ball be stable, but the transition between the foreground and the back will be smooth.
The trick to center your elbow is to stick it out to the right outside of your body. By doing so, you can hit the backhand with the elbow as the support.
Don’t hit with just your hands
I wrote about how to hit the forehand, but the point that you should not hit with just the hands is the same for the backhand. Use your hips well to carry the racket to the left and push it out at the moment of impact.
Also, the trick to reduce mistakes is to avoid using your wrist too much. Just hit so that it pushes out smoothly.
Hit before reaching the top
In the forehand, it was basic to hit at the top. However, in the backhand, try to hit in front of the peak. By hitting before the ball hits all the way up, you can hit a stable backhand.
Summary of how to hit
- Hit before reaching the top
- Don’t swing from bottom to top. Strike horizontally.
- Don’t hit it with your hands. Put the body and hit.
- Strike low and hit the ball close to the face
Tsutsuki
Tsutsuki is a Japanese term. Tsutsuki is a method of hitting like a short cut on the table. At first glance, it seems to be sober, but it is a practical way to hit every time in the game.
Depending on how you use it, it will also be a defense method against iron walls. Another advantage of Tsutsuki is that even beginners can learn it relatively easily.
Tsutsuki is the basic method for returning a downward spinning ball. Raise the ball striking surface to the top of the lick and push it straight forward.
Hit immediately after bounce
The best trick of Tsutsuki is to hit it immediately after bouncing. When it comes to tennis, the trick is to hit the rising side.
Since Tsuttsuki hits with the surface facing up, hitting at the top will result in a floating ball. When the ball floats, it gives the opponent a chance to smash or drive.
If you hit the ball immediately after it bounces, it will be low and quick and stable.
Use feet
Another trick of Tsuttsuki is to use your feet. Put your right foot together in the fore or back. By putting out your feet, the body and the ball come closer and the ball stabilizes.
Beginners tend to forget their feet and hit with only their hands.
Keep your feet steady and stabilize the ball.
Push first without rubbing
People who have many mistakes on Tsuttsuki often try to rub them by force. Excessive scrubbing will lead to mistakes such as missed shots and outs.
If you’re a beginner, you should practice pushing out first. Push out without rubbing. If the ball is stable, I think then it’s better to practice spinning gradually.
Summary of how to hit
- Hit immediately after bounce
- Use feet
- Push first without rubbing
(start watching from the 8th minute. That’s enough)
Block
The “block” is the batting method for surely returning the opponent’s smash or drive. It’s a defensive technique, but it can also be an attack on some courses.
The basic of the block is to minimize the swing and not apply force. Use the momentum of the opponent’s ball to return the ball as it is. The stronger the opponent’s ball is, the stronger and faster the ball can be returned.
Do not apply force
The trick of hitting a block is to not applying force. The method of hitting with a block is basically a method of returning a ball using the power of the opponent’s hit ball. The point is to minimize your own power.
By applying force, the hit ball will shake and it will be easier to miss. After learning blocks as a beginner, you need to learn to return with minimum power.
Raise the racket
Another way to hit blocks is to raise a racket. By hitting the racket both in the fore and in the back, the ball becomes stable.
The momentum of the opponent’s ball can be stopped, and switching between defense and attack becomes faster.
Summary of how to hit
- Do not apply force
- Raise the surface of the racket
Drive
Drive is a way of striking the ball with an upward rotation. In Europe, it’s also called top spin.
Driving is the first attacking method that beginners can learn. It can be said to be the most important and essential technique.
Swing the racket from bottom to top to spin the ball. The striking surface swings slightly downward.
Rubbing, not hitting
A normal forehand that does not rotate is hit with the concept of pushing. On the other hand, the key to driving is to rub the ball up. If you are a beginner, first focus on getting a feel for rubbing.
These practice methods will help you.
If you can rub properly, the hitting sound will be different from that in normal forehand.
You will be able to get the feeling of rubbing by repeating the practice of returning a ball with a drive after facing a downward rotation serve.
Hit at the top
The drive hitting point is ideally the same as the forehand. Hitting at the top stabilizes the ball.
Use the lower half of the body to increase power
Among beginners, there are many mistakes that the drive drops to the downward rotation and the net is hit. I also struggled with this mistake.
The cause of the net mistake is the insufficient rotation of the drive. So even if I hit the drive, it will not go up and it will hit the net.
The solution is to increase the power of the drive. To use the power of the drive, it is necessary to use the lower body.
First, bend your knees on the backswing and put your weight on your right leg. Then, at the same time as the swing, rotate your hips and use that force to strike.
The power of the drive is increased by striking in combination with the knee and waist.
Summary of how to hit
- Rubbing, not hitting
- Hit at the top
- Use the lower half of the body to increase power
Smash
Forehand bang is what called smash. It is an attacking technique that hits the chance ball strongly without spinning and takes off the point.
Smashing out the opponent’s court with smash is one of the real pleasures of table tennis. Learn smash and enjoy the refreshing feeling over and over.
Take a backswing while adjusting to the height of the ball. Then hit the ball from the above.
Shake your arm compactly
The trick to avoid mistakes with smashing is to shake your arm compactly. The bigger the swing, the more unstable the ball is and the more mistakes it makes.
Increase power by moving weight
The key to increasing the power of smash is shifting your weight. At the same time as the backswing, put your weight on your right leg and at the time of impact, move your weight to your left leg.
By moving this weight, the power of smash increases.
Summary of how to hit
- Shake your arm compactly
- Increase power by moving weight
Serve
There are various types of serve. Lower rotation serve, knuckle serve, horizontal rotation, upper rotation, etc. The way to hit changes depending on the type of rotation.
Escape from beginners! Other ways to strike
- Stop
- Flick
- Chiquita
- Cut
Stop
It is a stop to return a short ball to the opponent’s short hit ball.
It is also effective as a tabletop treatment for short serve, and by returning it shortly, it will also be a restraint against the opponent’s strong hit (3rd ball).
With the racket facing slightly upward, approach the ball and hit it.
Reduce hitting force to the limit
The trick to hitting a stop is to reduce the hitting power. If your force is too strong, it will be long and give you a chance ball.
Hit at a position close to the net
The trick to hit short is to hit the ball near the net. If you hit the ball far from the net, the flight distance will increase.
To prevent this from happening, try to hit the ball as fast as possible and drop it short on the net.
Also, in order to catch at a quick hit point, it is necessary to put out your right foot and bring your body closer to the ball before hitting.
Summary of how to hit
- Reduce the hitting force to the limit
- Hit at a position close to the net
Flick
Flick is an attacking method that repels short hits. Like Tsutsuki and Stop, this is a basic technique of table tennis.
The flick swing is hit with the vision of a short swing on the table.
Change the surface of the racket with respect to the rotation of the opponent’s ball. The racket’s ball-striking surface should be almost perpendicular to the downward rotation.
For upward rotation, adjust the ball striking face slightly downward.
Hit compactly without taking a backswing
The key to success in both fore flicks and back flicks is to strike compactly. With almost no backswing, the racket brought to the point of hitting is swung as it is.
Keep your body down in case you need to move forward close to the net.
Anyway, the trick of flicking is to hit the ball compactly and quickly.
Summary of how to hit
- Hit compactly without taking a backswing
Chiquita
Chiquita is a relatively new method. This is also a base technique you are going to need like Tsutsuki, Stop, and Flick. I think it’s easy to imagine if you think that it is a back flick evolution.
To strike, raise your elbows high and pull the racket toward your tummy to take a swing. From there, apply momentum, swing up and apply a drive (upward rotation).
By rubbing slightly on the left side of the ball, a horizontal lateral rotation is added and the ball turns to the right.
Lower your posture
By lowering the posture than usual, the range of motion of the elbow can be expanded. Doing so will make it easier to hit the Chiquita.
Attract and hit
The trick to stabilizing the Chiquita is to attract, collect and hit. By attracting, you can easily rotate the ball and make it easier to return. The hitting point is at the top or slightly following.
Summary of how to hit
- Lower your posture
- Attract and hit
Some people say that Chiquita is a high-class skill that is not suitable for beginners, but in fact, you can use it if you have a sense of driving. Let’s try and learn.
Cut
Cut is a technique to return a ball by rotating it downward with regard to an upper rotating ball such as a drive. It is a batting method that needs a distance from the table to hit.
It is a defensive way to hit. It is a style that sticks and defends the attacking hit of the opponent and counter-attacks if there is a chance.
To hit the forecut, swing the racket up and swing it down with the elbow as the support. It’s a little complicated, so I’ll explain it in bullet points. If you don’t understand, please check the video below.
- 1.5m away from the platform
- Hold the racket in a higher position
- When the ball arrives, pull the racket back and forth, lower your right foot slightly and take a backs swing.
- Attract the ball to the side of the body
- Impact by swinging down the racket with the elbow as the support
Immediately after hitting, return to the basic position
The point just after hitting the ball is that you should not stop the racket you swing down. Use the momentum of the swing to return to the original basic posture and basic standing position.
By doing so, you can handle the next shot. A ball hitting at the elbow as a support instead of the shoulder will make the return faster.
The point of hitting is near the body
If the hitting point is too far from the body, the cut hitting ball will not be stable. When the ball comes in the distance, put your feet out and bring your body closer to the ball.
You can cut stably by hitting the ball near your body.
Summary of how to hit
- Immediately after hitting, return to the basic position
- The point of hitting is near the body
Conclusion
So these were the most basic ways of hitting a ball in ping pong. Hope you find it useful to you.
Thanks for reading.
