Ball Placement
From TableTennisTraining
The ability to control the landing point on the table of the balls you hit is a key skill to scoring points in table tennis. The best place to hit the ball depends on where your opponent is standing relative to the table, so you need to be able to adjust your shot placement as necessary to take advantage of your opponent's position. The ability to vary your shot placement will also make it more difficult for your opponent to anticipate your shot, giving him less opportunity to defend against it. The fundamental principle in ball placement is to try to force your opponent to move his feet in order to return your shot as this will make it more difficult for him to make a strong return. Placing a weak ball into one of your opponent's "kill zones" where he doesn't need to move his feet at all to make a strong return is a recipe for disaster.
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Ball targets
Deep to Playing elbow
It's useful to aim attack shots deep into the table near your opponent's playing elbow, because it's hard to return shots at this location with either a backhand or a forehand stroke as it is a transition zone between the forehand and backhand. The opponent's elbow is a particularly good target for aiming drive loops because drive loops usually land deep and it is generally one of the easiest places to aim a drive loop. Slow attack shots to the elbow do not usually work well, since your opponent can simply shift his body slightly to cover the ball with either his backhand or forehand. For this reason, it's typically better to try to cut the sidelines when using spin loops. Slow spin loops also give more aiming control, so it is generally easier to cut the side lines with spin loops than with drive loops.
Cut the Sidelines
Instead of aiming your balls so they travel past the back of the table, it's generally better to aim diagonal shots that exit the sides of the table. This is referred to as cutting the sidelines of the table. Generally your opponent will be behind his side of the table, so wide angle shots will be difficult for him to reach and return.
Play deep when opponent is close to the table
Most players will play close to the table (within a few feet of the table end), as this allows them to get wider angle shots, better attacks against short balls, and gives their opponent less time to respond to return balls. For this reason, balls should generally be placed as deeply as possible into the opponent's court, which gives the close player less time to respond to the ball (and also can force them further away from the table).
Play short when opponent is away from the table
While most players play relatively close to the table most of the time, many defensive players, especially choppers and lobbers, will play away from the table where they have more time to react to attack shots (this also gives more time for the ball to slow down). Some stong loopers also like to play away from the table.
Against these players, especially against defenders, it is a good idea to occassionally give them soft return shots (either a soft block or a short push) that forces them to come close to the table. This pulls them out of their preferred position and playing rhythm. When using this technique against a fast offensive player, be extra careful, as he may quickly run in and blast the ball if it is too slow and high. Against such a player, make sure the ball is short enough and low enough that it can't be easily looped.
