Spin Fundamentals
From TableTennisTraining
Contents |
Spin changed the way table tennis is played
Modern table tennis games are dominated by the need to put spin on the table tennis ball. Before the introduction of "rubber sponge" paddles, table tennis was played with "hard bat" racquets which could only put a relatively minor amount of spin on the ball. Rubber sponge paddles have high friction surfaces that allow players to put a huge amount of spin on the ball. This brought about fundamental changes in the way competitive table tennis is played.
The effect of spin depends on the direction of the spin relative to the direction in which the ball is traveling. The two main forms of spin are topspin, where the front of the ball is rotating from top to bottom, and backspin, where the front of the ball is rotating from bottom to top. In addition to either topspin or backspin, a ball can also have either right or left sidespin where the ball is rotating to the left or right relative to the direction of travel.
Ball Sides
All spin is added by brushing a side of the ball. The direction the ball is brushed and the side of the ball contacted relative to it's direction of travel as it leaves your racquet determine the type of spin. For future discussions, we will define the following "sides" of the ball:
DannoteVerbal descriptions of the sides of the ball are difficult, we need to add a picture here. Also need to better distinguish between incoming (ball path before ball is struck) and outgoing trajectory (ball path after ball is struck) of ball.
Top
The top of the ball, as we will define it, is not necessarily the part of the ball highest in the air. This is only considered the top of the ball when the ball is at the highest point of it's bounce. In general, the top of the ball "moves" relative to the path of the ball, so that the top is the point on the ball furthest away from the tangent to it's flight path.
Bottom
Similar to the top of the ball, the bottom of the ball is only the lowest point on the ball when it is at the top of it's bounce. The bottom is the other point on the ball furthest away from the tangent to the ball's flight path, but it is the lower such point.
Back
The side of the ball furthest away from the direction of travel after the ball is struck. Flat shots like counters and smashes are mostly struck on the back of the ball. Note: in other references, the definition of front and back are sometimes the reverse of the ones given here.
Front
Outside
Inside
Using topspin to attack "low" balls
Without spin, balls hit at high speeds will travel in a straight line until gravity slowly pulls the ball down. So the only way a player can hit the ball hard without using spin and have it hit the opponent's side of the table is to have a straight line of sight from the ball to the table that is not blocked by the net. This type of shot is known as a Smash. But generally your opponent will return the ball low enough to prevent a smash. In this case, the main attack weapon is the Loop. A loop stroke puts a heavy topspin on the ball that causes the ball to arc over the net, then curve downward as it moves thru the air. The downwards pull of a heavy topspin is much stronger than gravity, enabling the looper to put more speed on the ball and still have it curve down fast enough to hit the opponent's side of the table.
Other effects of ball spin
While topspin is the dominant weapon of the offensive table tennis player, backspin and sidespin also play important an important role in the game. Backspin on a ball makes a ball more difficult to attack, so players will often put backspin on a ball if they are not in a position to attack the ball themselves.
As an extreme form of this, defensive Choppers put enormous amounts of backspin on the ball when they return loops from their opponent, and by varying this spin try to force their opponent to make errors in their attacks.
Effect on ball trajectory
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Spin changes the way the ball bounces on the table
Spin changes the way the ball bounces off a racquet
When your opponent puts spin on the ball, it's important to know in what direction that spin will tend to make the ball travel when you return his shot. This can be determined by examining where on the ball your opponent strikes the ball and the direction in which he moves his racquet during the stroke.
Generally, your opponent will be striking the "back" of the ball (the side of the ball closest to him). In this case, the ball will tend to rebound from your racquet in the same direction as your opponent's racquet moved when spinning the ball. For example, if your opponent creates sidespin with a left to right motion of his racquet, the ball will tend to rebound to the right when it hits your racquet. If the opponent brushes upward when hitting the ball (imparting topspin), the ball will tend to bounce more upwards when rebounding from your racquet.
(Add paragraph describing when side of the ball is struck)
In very rare cases, mainly during service, sneaky opponents may actually add spin by striking the front of the ball instead. Because the spin is being placed on front of the ball instead of the back, the rotation is opposite to the typical case. So if the opponent brushes upwards on the front of the ball, backspin rather than topspin is created, and the ball will tend to bounce downwards rather than upwards when it rebounds from your racquet.
