Learn how to play ping-pong
Exercises and tips to learn how to play ping-pong and progress
Learning to play ping-pong is no easy task. Here you will find all the information and tutorials to help you improve your table tennis skills. Service, forehand, backhand, and top-spin will hold no more secrets for you thanks to these tips.
Beginners: the basics of ping-pong
Holding your racket and serving
This covers how to grip the handle and the positioning of your fingers on the blade. Holding your racket correctly will provide maximum feel and allow you to play forehand and backhand shots easily. As the starting point of every rally, the serve is the only shot where the ball must bounce on your side of the table first before crossing the net. As you learn, it can become a formidable weapon!
Discover the video
Movement and Footwork
It is rare during a rally for the ball to land in the same spot on the table twice. To hit the ball in good conditions and be effective, you need to move quickly. To do this, there are two types of movement: lateral movement (from left to right) and depth movement (forward and backward).
Tactical basics
Table tennis, the ultimate duel sport, requires skill and precision. The player's goal should be to break the rally, which means winning the point by making their opponent unable to return the ball to the table. To achieve this, here are a few strategies that will help make a difference.
Actions on the ball
Carrying: This is the most basic action on the ball. The goal is to control the ball while also becoming familiar with the sensations produced by the contact between the ball and the racket. This action allows for maximum rallies with your partner.
Hitting: This action consists of increasing the force with which the racket strikes the ball. The goal is to learn how to add more speed to the game and discover new sensations produced by variations in rhythm.
Brushing: This action on the ball is the most characteristic of table tennis. It will eventually allow you to add more or less spin to the ball. Once mastered, this skill will lead to enormous progress!
Damping: This is about feeling and controlling the ball. This action requires precise adjustment of the force with which the racket comes into contact with the ball. The goal is to understand that through appropriate action on the ball, its trajectory can be controlled.
Cornilleau designs equipment adapted to all your needs; here are our equipment suggestions for beginners.
For outdoor play:
- 300X outdoor table : suitable for players of all levels, it impresses with its simplicity and durability
- Tacteo racket : easy to handle, it offers a performance in the game that will suit most players
- Ultradurable P-BALL OUTDOOR : specifically designed for outdoor use, they are heavier and sturdier to withstand gusts of wind
For indoor play:
- 300 indoor table : it combines the excellent bounce quality of chipboard wood tops with sturdiness inspired by outdoor tables
- Perform 500 racket : its grippy rubbers guarantee consistent trajectories and spin in each of your shots
Confirmed: become a table tennis pro
Footwork
In table tennis, footwork and ball placement are closely linked. The greater or lesser variety in your opponent’s ball placement on your side of the table requires you to be ideally positioned to execute an effective shot. The quality of play is therefore very closely tied to the quality of your movement. Here are the main steps: Side step – Pivot – Side step + pivot – Sprint – Cross steps.
Smashes
In table tennis, the smash is, along with the topspin, the most commonly used offensive shot. It produces a very direct ball trajectory. Combined with increased speed, this shot is ideal for trying to end the rally and score the point.
Topspin
Unlike the smash, this shot consists of imparting topspin (forward spin) to the ball. The topspin is an offensive stroke that can be varied depending on the angle and tilt of the racket at the moment of impact with the ball. It is the quintessential table tennis shot, as it allows players to take the initiative on balls of all kinds. Pay close attention to all the variations of this essential stroke!
Block and Defense
The block is the counter-initiative (or counter-attack) shot par excellence. It can be used both to keep the ball on the table against an opponent’s attacks (control block), to regain the initiative against a less powerful attack (active block), or to vary the pace of play (side blocks, chop blocks, etc.). Defensive shots are generally played far from the table, where the opponent is in a seemingly favorable attacking position. The aim of defense is to maintain the rally against an opponent trying to end it. These phases of play are often very spectacular. There are two types of defense: topspin defense (or high ball) and backspin defense.
Serves
It is the only closed skill in table tennis, meaning that executing a serve does not depend on an opponent’s shot. This very specific characteristic makes it much more than just a way to start play. The serve determines everything that follows in the rally, so it is essential to give it the utmost attention.
Returns
One of the key challenges in table tennis is to take the initiative before your opponent in order to finish the rally first or force them into making an error. This is reflected in a general tendency among players, especially at a high level, to use short serves, making it essential to perform well against this type of serve!
Discover equipment specially designed by Cornilleau for competitive players:
- 850 W Table: a benchmark for high-level competition tables
- Excell 3000 Carbon Racket: a true reference for OFF+ players
- P-Ball ABS EVO *** ITTF X3 Balls: balls used in international competitions