Looping against backspin

Table tennis / Popular

Open up on heavy backspin with a low-to-high loop.

What coaches agree on

  • Generate your power from your hips and legs rotating first, letting that motion whip your arm through the ball.
  • Brush through the ball with a combined forward-and-upward stroke — driving forward while lifting — to put enough spin on it to clear heavy backspin safely.
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Common mistakes

  • Standing too upright with your center of gravity high makes you contact the ball from behind instead of getting underneath it, so you end up pushing or lifting instead of brushing, and heavy backspin dives into the net.
  • Tensing your arm or wrist opens your racket face, turning the stroke into a scoop or lift instead of a forward brush, so the shot loses its spin.