Most of us have spent hours practicing the same forehand or backhand over and over, thinking repetition is the key to improvement.

But what if making practice less predictable actually helps us improve more?

Some interesting findings were presented at the 7th World Racket Sports Science Congress in China last week.

The study followed 45 university students over 10 weeks, comparing repetitive drills with training where strokes and targets changed unpredictably.

Here's what presented:

• Players doing random drills improved their forehand decision-making scores by 19.7%, compared with 7.4% for those doing repetitive drills.
• For backhand decision-making, the difference was 20% vs. 2%.
• Changing targets also appeared to help with forehand accuracy.

But the surprising part? There was no statistically significant difference in reaction time.

The researchers used Fastpong FP02, a digital table tennis training system with interactive targets, to control the different practice conditions. I was involved in the research as a co-author from Fastpong, so I thought it would be interesting to share the findings here.

It's a relatively small study, and we still don't know how well the results translate into real matches.

There's more to the research than these few numbers, including how the different training methods were tested:

https://fastpong.com/blogs/news/fastpong-research-world-racket-sports-science-congress-2026

I'm curious what you guys think.

Is it better to master a stroke through repetition first, or should we introduce randomness and unpredictable targets much earlier?

And if you train with a robot, do random drills actually help you play better against real opponents?

So, i had my rubbers changed at a local store (since my glue has gone bad and i was a bit afraid of gluing it again by myself) and the first time when the red rubber was glued, it was not fully attached around the edge and i asked the guy from the store if he could reglue it.

The guy told me that he should first clean the old glue (since it had a lot of crumbles) and that he will glue it afterwards.

He stretched it pretty badly with the roller at the end (as you can see that line in the top part), also there is a round gap in the bottom left side, also in the top part it's not fully attached.

What do you think? I know these tensor soft rubbers tend to stretch and are difficult to reglue, and especially extremely easy to break the sponge when cleaning the old glue.
But please note that the stretched line is not fully visible in the photos, it way more obvious IRL, at least for my eyes, even the guy from the store mentioned that, but he said that is not an issue.

Should i keep it this way ? or should I try to reglue it (for the 3rd time) at another store/with another table tennis "specialist" ?

Ps: the red rubber (Rakza 7 soft) is my back hand, on the forehead hand i use Rakza Z.

I am trying to develop my backhand and i am afraid that this glue job could affect my learning

I'm excited to share my first ever custom racket!

I am downgrading from an Xiom Ice cream AZX blade, which I played with for 2 years. At the time I didn't know much about table tennis equipment or my play style, so I found this with Xiom Vega Asias and decided to buy it. At first, it felt great because it was a carbon blade, so it felt like all of my shots were fast and powerful. But after a while something felt off. I couldn't help but notice that my control wasn't great, and that slower blades actually felt better and yielded better results. So, when my rubbers became very worn down, I decided to "downgrade" to an all wood blade with good control.

Blade: Petr Korbel (Japan)

I chose this beginner-friendly 5 ply blade because I wanted to get a blade with great control. It us on the faster side of 5 ply blades, so I thought that would help me transition and maintain some speed and power.

Forehand Rubber: Fastarc G-1

What do I need to say? This rubber seemed like a go-to by most people in this subreddit, and I've also used it before on my friend's racket, and it felt great.

Backhand Rubber: Fastarc C-1

I wanted a softer, more spinny rubber on my backhand, and the G-1's softer sibling seemed like a decent choice.

First Impressions:

Right off the bat, the racket felt heavier than my previous setup, although not too extreme. I felt what people meant by less power, although it wasn't too extreme. The spin felt amazing, my serves worked wonderfully and my cuts were controlled but spinny. That might just be because I didn't take good care of my rubber before.

I suspect most of the differences will feel less extreme with playtime, but I like the feel of the wooden blade a lot, and I hope to be able to improve my table tennis skills and reach higher levels while playing with this!

Anyways, this is my first time doing research and building a custom blade so any advice or remarks are welcome!

Any experience on this rubber? Is it more manageable than d09c? Any info on the durability? Thank you for sharing!

- Sora Matsushima vs Dang Qiu

- Harimoto vs Gauzy

- Liang Jingkun vs Wen Ruibo

Round 32 btw, wtf is this draw

I saw pingpongmaestro youtube videos and find his style particularly interesting. He uses Cybershape carbon and now Cybershape dynasty. Anti forehand: butterfly super anti. Backhand Butterfly impartial xs.
What i find intriguing is that his fh anti actually helps him takes control of the game, even against the top pros in Denmark (very competitive scene there). He can loop slow and for some reasons the pros dont punish his loops, once he gets to smash on FH his opponents always have to back off from table and get punished by drop shots off his antis.
His backhand also weird, he always use it to open up backspin (looks slow as well) and usually dont get punished that much. And he is great at punching once he gets to do it.
I wonder why his early shots (anti slow “loops”) or backhand slow loop open ups dont get killed instantly (his opponents are inside top 200 wr) and he gets to play to his set up strengths.

I'm currently playing with a Yinhe 10S blade, a Yinhe Mercury II on the backhand, and a Palio AK47 on the forehand.
I want to upgrade my setup to something better and slightly faster. I'm currently considering the Butterfly Viscaria blade, but I'm not sure which rubbers I should go for. Any recommendations?

I use a flared handle, the blade was set up many years ago to be red for forehand. Some time age I changed to black on forehand, but because I didn't replace both rubbers at the same time and I didn't want to temporarily have red-red or black-black rubbers, now my forehand side is on the backhand of the wood.. (yes, it took me almost an year to figure out that one side of the handle cuts off very slightly later, it just bothered my finger enough today)

What is the best way to fix this? Reglue the rubbers on opposite sides, or slightly sand down the handle? Thank you.

Hi everyone. Thank you for your suggestions so far regarding the rubbers to put on the stiga cybershape wavy blade. To give an update, the wavy blade has arrived. Initial impressions the sound of the vlade is unlike anything i have ever heard. May be it the ultrafibre they are using. I am excited to start using it once i deem myself ready foe the switch. Any more suggestions with rubbers that I can pare with it is appreciated. I have decided to work on my techniques first on my current setup stiga cybershape allround classic with nittaku fastarc g-1 and c - 1 before fully switching over the wavy. I have attached photos of my current setup and the blade. In addition I am going to sell the additional c1 rubber i have and the best suggestions and research i have done will determine the rubbers i will buy to pair with the wavy

Is there a drill I can do to become explosive and to react faster? I have played table tennis for a while, yet I seem to always fall behind or become slow compared to my peers. I can produce a lot of spin but it's very inconsistent, also serving has been lacking recently unlike in the past where my serve was heavy. I just don't know what to do and what sparked my old serves and how to improve as a player. This might be one of my last years playing table tennis,so I want to make a difference. I couldn't even win a match in my group and times where I might I just almost gave them a run for their money.

I bought some just trying to figure out what or if they any good

On the match (Li Tianyang led 2–0 before Harimoto came back to win):

"It's true that everything this time is best-of-five, and compared with best-of-seven it's easier for a match to go to a deciding game. A 3–2 score looks like there was only one game in it. But I think back to my match against Fan Zhendong at the Paris Olympics, which I lost 4–3. To people watching, it looked like I was only one game short. I knew the gap was much bigger than that, maybe two or three games."

"It's the same with today's points that went to 9-all: 7–7, 8–8, 9–9. Behind every one of those points are years of training, day after day, and the experience built up over countless matches."

"If you only look at the score, it seems like a tiny difference. But it comes from every win and every loss I've had, in matches big and small. In the deciding game I was scared, but in the end I chose to trust the experience, strength and ability I've built up."

On which titles matter to him:

"WTT Champions events and Grand Smashes are very important too. Ranking points and world ranking matter. But those points disappear after a year. I've won WTT Champions Yokohama twice, and one Yokohama has already gone by. Once the points expire, it's as if that result vanished. Even I've forgotten it. An Asian Championships gold or an Olympic medal is different. It belongs to you forever, and nobody can take it away. That's why I put so much weight on the biggest events. I've set myself a goal: the six major tournaments, the WTT Finals, and the All-Japan Championships. I really want to win all eight of those titles."

Been playing for a few years now and finally feel like I can sort of play the game. Relatively comfortable attacking on both sides. Still mostly defensive playstyle but its really hard to change. Forehand open up is still non existent but that's next on the to-practice list. I'm in one in the tank top. Thanks for watching :)

Hey guys, I am an amateur transitioning to an intermediate player looking for a budget rubber for my backhand. I am strong in flicks, loops and trying to improve in opening against heavy underspin serves.

I know there are many good rubbers like Vega Europe/Pro, Fastarc C1, Rakza 7 and it's soft variant which get's recommended quite often but I cannot afford those so I HAVE to look at cheaper options, $25 or ₹2K INR being the hard cutoff.

From what I have done research on (my brain is fried atp trying to read up and digest everything), these are some recommendations which I found on multiple forums but I am having a hard time choosing one from these. Or please suggest better alternatives for my style of play:

1. Moon Speed

2. Moon Speed 53 Euro

3. Moon Pro

4. Loki Telson 100

5. Hurricane 8-80

Parameters for the best bang for the buck

1. Explosive when flicking and looping

2. Grippy/tacky to lift backspin

3. Durable so that it lasts me long

Current setup is Loki Kirin K5 with Mercury II medium on forehand and Mercury II soft on backhand. Jupiter III Asia 38° is on the way to replace the forehand rubber.

My first trip to Camp Nou was so absurd it felt like a dream.

And that dream had the best possible ending.

I’ve been to quite a few famous stadiums, and I’ve even watched El Clásico from the presidential box at the Bernabéu. In the Real Madrid presidential box, some spectators wore Barcelona scarves throughout the match, and the occasional Barça shirt in the stands was hardly anything unusual. The match was the match, and allegiances were allegiances. Everything worked perfectly normally.

I thought I’d seen my fair share of big moments in the football world. It wasn’t until this away trip that I realised just how little I understood about football.

It all started with the tickets. My original plan was to buy a ticket for the away fans’ section through Real Madrid, so I could walk into Camp Nou wearing my Madrid shirt, fair and square. But the Real Madrid management were very considerate. Worried that the view from the uppermost tier might not be great, they kindly gave me one of the complimentary tickets Barcelona had officially provided to Real Madrid.

Lovely. An official invitation from the opposition. This was where things started to get complicated.

I’d previously worn a Real Madrid shirt in a non-away section at Atlético Madrid’s home stadium without getting any abuse, but this time, to avoid any trouble, I decided to wear my Madrid shirt underneath an Anta jacket, keeping it thoroughly concealed as I made my way into the stadium. The plan was pretty simple: don’t cause trouble, don’t give myself away, and don’t make any unnecessary declarations of allegiance.

However, Camp Nou’s extraordinarily strict security checks had other ideas.

No.

Apparently, the security staff weren’t satisfied with checking what you were wearing on the outside or what you had in your bag. They also needed to establish what you were wearing underneath.

They found my Real Madrid shirt, and I was denied entry.

That was when I realised that El Clásico at this stadium tests not only the teams, but the spectators too.

With no other choice, I had to go to the stadium shop and buy a Barça T-shirt. At last, I managed to get into the stadium wearing Barcelona merchandise.

The truly absurd part was only just beginning.

Barcelona played a brilliant move, and the whole stadium applauded. I stayed silent.

Barcelona scored, and the whole stadium erupted. I continued to stay silent.

I didn’t do anything out of line. I didn’t even dare cheer for Real Madrid. I simply wasn’t acting like a particularly enthusiastic Barcelona supporter.

But gradually, I noticed some particularly passionate fans around me starting to complain about me to the stadium staff. Security came over to check my ticket three times in total, repeatedly asking whether I supported Real Madrid.

All I can say is that this trip to Camp Nou had already been quite an experience, even before the football itself.

The match ended.

Real Madrid won.

In that moment, all the awkwardness and indignity I’d endured suddenly made perfect sense.

As it turned out, everything that had happened earlier was simply there to make the final happiness that much sweeter.

My first Camp Nou experience: nearly denied entry, reported as an undercover Madridista after getting inside, and spending the entire match carefully managing my facial expressions and body language.

But I respect the distinctive fan culture at different home grounds, and I got to witness Real Madrid take all three points away from home.

Perhaps this is what makes football so captivating. You can temporarily change your shirt, stay silent in the opposition’s stadium, get questioned and checked over and over again, and spend the entire match doing your best to play the part of a neutral spectator. But when the final whistle blows, the result doesn’t change depending on what you’re wearing.

Hala Madrid 🤍

P.S. Dedicated to my fellow undercover Madridista sitting next to me.

Hi everyone! I recently bought a Super K 1200 table tennis table on September 22, and unfortunately, it got damaged today because of strong winds.

I know these tables aren’t really meant to be kept outdoors, but I don’t have enough space inside my house to store it, so I have to keep it in an outdoor area.
The table was standing upright when the wind knocked it over. The damage seems relatively minor, but I’m honestly pretty upset because I’ve barely had it for a week.

There are two main areas of damage:

1. Some scratches and chipped paint that expose the material underneath. The surface still feels flat in this area.

2. A small, triangle-shaped dent where part of the tabletop seems to have lifted or become raised. The rest of the table seems fine, and the playing surface is still flat apart from that spot.

Has anyone experienced something similar with their table tennis table? Is this something I can repair myself, or should I have it professionally repaired by like a carpenter? What materials would you recommend for fixing the chipped coating and the raised dent without affecting the playing surface?

I’d really appreciate any advice. I was so excited to finally have my own table at home, so it’s pretty heartbreaking to see it damaged this soon. Thank you!

Second time using the Pongbot now, a clubmate was so generous and bought it for the club. Made a custom "drill" with just one underspin backhand ball on max spin settings.

And haha I'll frame the video better next time with my body fully visible. Third time uploading this post, because I don't know how reddit videos work tbh... I guess adding the video to body option is broken?

Feel free to correct anything if you want, just note that this is like after 15 mins of BH training like this, so I've noticed that my technique looks sloppy sometimes.

In this video I've mostly focused on harder diagonal openings but softer openings were also present occasionally mixed with some parallel shots.

Edit: okay thank you guys for your solid advice. I'll try to fix it for the next video so that you guys start to believe like Neo did.

The Chinese table tennis legend Ding Ning's name (丁寧) is written exactly the same as the Japanese word "teinei," meaning "polite" or "courteous."

It's such a common word in Japanese that seeing it as a person's name sounds pretty funny to Japanese speakers.

I wonder if Ding Ning herself or Chinese table tennis fans know about this coincidence.

Hey, I’m actually travelling across SEA right now and was wondering if there was any cool TT streetwear or casual merch out there (posters, keychains, etc)

Cheers!

Hi, anyone using Donic Defplay inner carbon, need reviews on the speed and feel.
How does it compare to Tibhar stratus power defence and Stiga all round classic?

Like many players, I constantly check league results, tournament brackets, and player rankings on my phone during weekend matches.
The official Italian federation (FITeT) portal has a 2000s desktop layout that requires endless pinching, zooming, and full-page reloads every time you tap anything.
Got tired of fighting with it, so over the past few weeks I built a clean, mobile-first web app to browse player profiles, rankings, and team leagues smoothly:
🔗 https://fitet-20.vercel.app/
It's completely free and ad-free.

Does your national federation also have an ancient portal, or do you have decent official apps? Curious to see how other countries portals.

I was two points away from Regionals.

I played an U-19 Table tennis tournament recently, a tournament that was a rollercoaster ride for me.

I was the vice-captain of my school's U-19 team, and we had to qualify for the Regionals as per the given criteria.

The top 5 in the category would qualify, and the tournament had a format wherein the four quarterfinal winners would qualify directly whereas the four players who lost in the quarterfinals would have to fight in the 5th-position matches for the last slot.

Before the tournament even began we had warmed up.

A few coaches had witnessed and analysed our games, and one of the things they mentioned was that I had a weak forehand.

So I began warming up.

The first match began.

The person I was playing against was a complete weakling.

3–0.

I look at my next opponent and it is a national level player.

I was afraid.

I did not expect to defeat the national-level player, but I was scared nonetheless.

The match begins.

My forehand clicks in.

I am cooking him with my forehand.

Again. Again. And again.

Somehow I win:

3–0.

A national-level player.

The funny thing was that my forehand, which the others had called weak, was the forehand that was doing the most damage.

So now I enter the quarterfinals with confidence.

I get this tall guy who was a net-and-edge merchant.

The match was ridiculous.

I swear every set went to deuce.

Every. Damn. Set.

I would fight my way back and we would reach deuce and then there would be a net or an edge and another net and another edge.

I lost 1–3.

But if you look at that score, if you look at it as a 1–3 score, you would assume it was an easy victory for the other person.

It was not.

Every set was a fight.

That is how this line came to me:

"Hard work registers you in for the race. Luck decides how well your shoes are."

The four quarterfinal winners were going to the Regionals.

I wasn't one of them.

So now I had to fight for 5th.

The first placement match began, and I faced a reckless power attacker who tried to attack me with every hit.

I win 3–1.

The next match was a piece of cake.

Another 3–1.

So now after losing the quarterfinal, I had fought myself back into the 5th/6th final.

Who was on the other side of the bracket?

My captain.

I am the vice-captain, and he is the captain.

And we are playing for 5th place and a chance to qualify for the Regionals.

I start terribly.

0–2 down.

At that point I start thinking that this chance is slipping away.

But somehow I start fighting back.

Third game won.

Fourth game won.

Suddenly:

2–2.

Now it is one game.

One game for 5th.

He is chopping on the table.

I am attacking.

And I am absolutely obliterating his chops with my forehand.

And I actually see my captain's face astonished at how smooth my forehand is while I attack.

Which makes me laugh inside because earlier in the tournament people had literally been saying my forehand was weak.

Now I am standing there ripping through my captain's chops with the same forehand.

Then the decider reaches:

9–9.

It is two points, the winner of which will take 5th place and qualify for the Regionals.

I lose 11–9.

Finished 6th.

It is a heartbreaking loss.

Not because I was trounced.

I had just come back from 0–2 to 2–2, and was two points away from qualification and a new place.

But that's sport.

Sometimes you fight yourself all the way back into a match and the last two points do not fall.

Still, I am proud of the fight I showed.

I entered a match against a national-level player and had feared for the loss but somehow beat him 3–0.

The forehand that everyone had called weak became one of my weapons.

I lost a quarterfinal match where every set went to deuce, and then fought through the 5th-position matches and came back from 0–2 against my own captain in the match for Regionals and finally:

9–11.

6th place.

Two points short of Regionals.

Hello, I posted a couple of times here in the past, latest one was here: https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletennis/s/UzYLSTjmOb

Looking for feedback on my technique against backspin loop. I believe I improved quite a lot since my last post here. Would be greatly appreciated if you guys could check out my previous post too and tell me what I can further improve upon!