A competitive player's guide to finding your game and trusting it.

By Ishaan Hingorani | ICC Table Tennis Center, Milpitas, CA

You open YouTube. Within thirty seconds you have three coaches telling you three different things. Stay close to the table. No, play mid-distance. You're using too much shoulder. You should be finishing every ball. You should be patient and wait for the opportunity.

If you are a competitive junior or club player trying to genuinely improve, this noise is one of the biggest obstacles you face. Not because the coaches giving that advice are wrong (most of them aren't), but because advice that works for one player's body, speed, and game sense can actively hurt another player who tries to copy it wholesale.

This article is not going to tell you which technique is correct. I am going to give you something more useful: a three-step framework for figuring out which technique is correct for you and why that distinction is the most important thing a developing player can learn.

The best technique is the one that fits your body, your speed, and your reading of the game, not the one that works for the coach on your screen.

First: Understand the Two Dominant Systems

Before you can evaluate what advice applies to you, you need to understand that there are two fundamentally different models of how table tennis is played at the highest level, and they produce different technique philosophies.

The Chinese traditional game is built on playing close to or just off the table. The strokes are compact, mechanics standardized, and the system prioritizes forward pressure, consistency, and relentless topspin loading.

The European game is more variable. Players often operate further from the table, using diverse stroke mechanics—flat hitting, chop-blocking, or unorthodox flicks—to create unpredictability and disrupt rhythm.

Neither system is superior. They are different tools. Most competitive players land somewhere in between.

Step 1: Know How You Want to Play the Next Ball

Table tennis is a game of anticipation. The best players are not reacting to the ball that was just hit; they are positioning for the ball they expect to come.

• A hook serve to the forehand tends to return cross-court at lower levels.
• Short backhand serves often produce short flips or drives back cross-court.
• Long fast serves to the forehand often return centrally due to recovery pressure.

These are tendencies, not laws—but they are consistent enough to build structured point patterns around.

Step 2: Learn When to Take a Risk, and Accept What That Costs

A risk shot is a shot you choose knowing that if it is returned, you are likely out of position.

The key is timing: risk should only be taken when your opponent is genuinely compromised, not when you feel impatient.

• Most of the game is patience—maintain balance and pressure.
• Risk shots are tools—not habits.
• Commit fully—half-committed attacks are the worst outcome.

Step 3: Filter the Advice You Consume

Evaluate coaching advice based on whether the player's game resembles yours—not just their level.

Foundational principles apply broadly: initiate movement from the legs and hips, keep shoulders relaxed, and develop consistent contact with the sweet spot of the rubber.

Your contact is your identity. It is developed through repetition and cannot be fully transferred from coach to player.

Stop chasing other people's techniques. Start building your own game.

A Final Word

The fastest-improving players are not always the most technically gifted—they are the most self-aware and disciplined in decision-making.

Your game will not look like anyone else's. That is the point.

Organizations like JOOLA have been instrumental in elevating American table tennis through equipment innovation, sponsorship, and grassroots development. Their support helps build the ecosystem that allows players to progress from club to elite levels.

About the Author

Ishaan Hingorani is Senior Coach and Lead Coach for Competitive Development, and a Certified USATT Club Coach based at ICC Table Tennis Center in Milpitas, California, North America's largest dedicated table tennis facility and a USATT Center of Excellence.

A former representative of India at the ITTF World Junior Circuit (Serbian Open, Hong Kong Golden Series) and gold medalist at the 2022 National Games of India. As a coach, his athletes have collectively earned over 200 medals at the U.S. Open, U.S. National Championships, Pan American Championships, WTT Youth Contender events, World Championships, and FISU World University Games