Table Tennis skills
19 skills, beginner to advanced. 17 of them you can film on a phone and get measured. No fake scores.
Skills by level
You can film17 of 19 skills
Beginner 5
- Grip & Ready PositionEverything in table tennis starts from your grip and a balanced ready position — and because the sport is built on fine wrist and contact control, a relaxed grip matters from day one. The most common grip is the SHAKEHAND (hold the handle like shaking hands, thumb and index finger resting near the rubber for…
- Forehand DriveThe forehand drive is the foundational attacking stroke — and the key lesson is that the power comes from your WAIST and hips, not your arm ('let your body move your arm'). From ready, rotate back at the waist (~20-40°) and shift weight to your back foot; then rotate the waist FORWARD, transferring weight to your…
- Backhand DriveThe backhand drive is the other foundational stroke, played compactly IN FRONT of your body — and it's often harder for beginners since it's on the non-dominant side and relies on positioning. From ready (body squarer to the table), bring the paddle back toward your body with the angle slightly DOWN/closed, with a…
- The Push (Backspin Control)The push is the controlled, backspin 'touch' stroke (forehand or backhand) — a defensive/control shot used mostly against backspin to keep the ball low and short without attacking. You use an OPEN paddle (face angled up), contact UNDER and behind the ball with a short, controlled forward-and-down motion, and gently…
- Footwork & RecoveryTable tennis footwork is small, fast, and LATERAL — you don't cover a big court, you make quick side-to-side shuffle steps and pivots to get your body in the right position behind the ball, staying low and balanced, then recover to ready. The golden rule: move your FEET to the ball, don't reach with your arm.
Intermediate 5
- The Forehand LoopThe forehand loop is the cornerstone of modern attacking table tennis — a heavy-TOPSPIN stroke that's the same family as the drive but with more lift, spin, and a BRUSHING contact. It's powered from the ground up: load lower on your back leg with a deeper knee bend and waist coil, then rotate the waist forward and…
- The Backhand LoopThe backhand loop turns your backhand from a linking shot into a point-winning weapon — a fast, spin-heavy topspin played compactly in FRONT of your body (modern close-to-table play relies on it). From a low stance with a relaxed wrist, drop your arm slightly down and back (backswing in front of your legs), then…
- Short Backspin ServeThe serve is the only fully self-controlled stroke and the place amateurs improve most — and the short backspin serve is a staple. The toss must be at least ~16 cm (6 in) high off an OPEN, flat palm (a rule), and you contact the BOTTOM of the ball with an OPEN racket, brushing UNDER it with a short…
- Sidespin ServeSidespin serves add a new dimension — the ball curves sideways, making it awkward to return. The classic forehand PENDULUM serve (the most popular serve in the world) has the racket tip down moving right-to-left (for a righty), brushing the side of the ball; a backhand sidespin serve does the opposite.
- The Backhand FlickThe backhand flick (or flip) is how you attack a SHORT ball — instead of passively pushing a short serve or shot, you flick it aggressively, taking the initiative. It's essentially a MINI-LOOP with extra WRIST: step in so the ball is in front of you, bend the wrist back, and with a compact motion brush up the back…
Advanced 5
- Serve Deception & VariationAt higher levels, serving is the 'trick' part of table tennis — the goal is to make different spins look IDENTICAL so the receiver can't angle their racket. The key tools (all camera-readable as MOTION, even though the spin itself isn't): a SEMICIRCULAR swing so contact can happen on the down/side/up part of the…
- Looping Against BackspinLooping against backspin (opening up) is how you start your attack against a push or backspin serve — and it's different from looping topspin because you must LIFT the ball over the net while the backspin is dragging it down. The adjustments: start LOWER (bend the knees more, drop the racket lower — almost to…
- The Counter-LoopThe counter-loop is looping against your opponent's topspin (loop) — taking their attack head-on with your own topspin rather than just blocking. Because the incoming ball already has heavy topspin (it jumps up off your racket), you must CLOSE your racket angle more, take the ball EARLY (near the top of the bounce…
- Third-Ball AttackThe third-ball attack is the bread-and-butter offensive pattern: you SERVE (ball 1), the opponent RETURNS (ball 2), and you ATTACK that return (ball 3, usually a loop). The whole point is to serve in a way that forces a predictable, attackable return, then be POSITIONED and ready to loop it.
- Pivot Footwork & PositioningPivot footwork is how attacking players use their stronger forehand from the BACKHAND corner — you 'step around' your backhand corner to play a forehand loop, covering more of the table with your best shot. It demands quick, balanced lateral footwork: a small step to clear space, pivoting your feet and hips so…
Insane 4
- Stroke Power & Wrist SnapElite stroke power in table tennis comes from a fully connected KINETIC CHAIN — legs → waist/hip rotation → shoulder → forearm → WRIST SNAP at contact — NOT from a stiff arm. A competitive smash can exceed 100 km/h, generated largely by the wrist's final acceleration on top of the body's rotation.
- Spin Mastery & Contact ControlSpin is the soul of table tennis, and mastering it is about fine CONTACT CONTROL — the racket ANGLE and the part of the ball you brush determine the spin. Heavy topspin comes from a thin, fast BRUSH up the back of the ball; backspin from brushing DOWN and under; sidespin from brushing across the side; and the…
- Reading Spin & Rally TacticsAt the top, points are won by READING your opponent's spin and out-thinking them in the rally — and this is a perception, anticipation, and decision skill that a single video can't grade, so it's coached here. The principles: read the spin from the opponent's RACKET (the contact point and motion) more than the…
- Shoulder, Wrist & Posture CareTable tennis is low-impact but its injuries are OVERUSE-dominated, and a lot of play means managing them — plus a genuinely sport-specific POSTURE issue. Players hit ~1,300 shots a match; the repetitive overhead/topspin strokes load the SHOULDER (rotator cuff — the #1 site, made worse by a tense arm) and the…