How to Beat Left-Handed Table Tennis Players

Last Updated on April 24, 2024 by Alex Horscroft

You step up to the table to begin your knock for the match. What style are they going to have? Looper? Short pips? Hang on a minute… they’re holding their paddle in their left hand! Looks like you’re up against a lefty! The horror! 

If there’s one style that’s universally hated by all, it’s left-handed players. With a lack of lefties to play against, most righties go into these matches feeling unprepared and intimidated, but let me help put your mind at ease. Most lefties aren’t god-like players. They are mere mortals like you or I. And by employing the correct strategies, you can beat them.

As with all my style guides, I’ll outline where left-handed table tennis players are strong so you know what to avoid, and I’ll discuss the best weaknesses for you to exploit. 

The Lefty in Action

Who better to check out than fan favorite Timo Boll? He’s one of the most successful lefties ever and was one of the biggest threats to China during his prime. 

Strengths of Left-Handed Table Tennis Players

1. Match-up Familiarity 

The most inherent strength of a lefty is that they are always playing righties. This means they have a plethora of experience to call upon which puts them at a major advantage. Lefties, by comparison, are much rarer, so your experience as a righty playing a lefty is likely limited. There isn’t a single lefty at my club!

As for the match-up itself, it is very different from a standard right-handed game. The sidespin is reversed, and the angles are all different, so playing your ordinary game will likely not work very well.   

2. Forehand Loop

The most dangerous shot of a left-handed ping pong player is their forehand loop. In my experience, it is both fast and very spinny, which gives you trouble on two fronts. To make matters worse, many lefties employ sidespin on their loops. These are known as hooks.

Ordinarily, returning a hook isn’t too difficult, however, with a lefty, hooks have the opposite sidespin. This can be very jarring to try and return as it is the same as receiving a fade from a righty which you almost never see.   

3. Amazing Footwork

Lefties tend to be very forehand dominant, and they have awesome footwork to ensure they get to utilize their forehands as much as possible. 

Many players stand with their paddles to the right of the center line, effectively covering most of the table with their forehands. This is a very intimidating sight to see given how strong their forehands are. 

4. Backhand Block

As lefties play a lot of right-handed players, they are very familiar with crosscourt exchanges on the right side. This has helped them to develop a strong backhand block to keep the rally alive. As such, you can expect their block on their right side to be notably stronger than a righty who would be using their forehand instead. 

5. Cross-Court Pendulum Serves

As the most common serve in the game, it should come as no surprise that most lefties use the pendulum serve. Yet once again, lefties have an edge where righties don’t.

This is because everything is reversed. They serve from the right side of the table rather than the left, and their pendulum produces an anti-clockwise spin rather than clockwise spin. In other words, it’s like returning a reverse pendulum serve from the opposite side of the table to normal.

To say this is awkward is an understatement. The ball swerves out wide meaning it’s quite easy to get your footwork all wrong. Also, if they serve short it can be quite difficult to return well. Most of us are far more comfortable returning short balls with our backhand rather than our forehand. 

Read More: Are Left-Handed Table Tennis Players Better Than Righties?

How to Beat Left-Handed Table Tennis Players

1. Cross Court Pendulum Serves

A key thing to remember when playing lefties is that for the most part, they hate what we hate. So just as pendulum serves can be a nightmare for us, the same is true for them.

I recommend mixing up the placement, depth, and spin of your cross-court pendulum, as this will yield the best results. It prevents them from getting into a rhythm, which with their forehand, can be deadly.

Don’t be afraid to serve long. Some of the most effective serves are half long and they will present plenty of opportunities for you to kill the ball.  

2. Short Serves to the Forehand & Fast Down-the-Line Serves

In addition to varying my pendulum serves, I try to remind myself that short serves to the forehand paired with fast long serves to the backhand give the best results. 

The short serves prevent any meaningful attack which puts you at an advantage if you have a superior short game and loop opener. What’s more, the fast down-the-line serves are excellent at catching lefties off-guard, and often present you with a ball that is easy to hit. Just take note you can’t overuse these serves. I’d say a few fast down-the-line serves per game is the ideal amount.

3. Wide to the Forehand

While it’s true I mentioned that lefties have excellent footwork, there are limits to what they can do. Many players overestimate how much of the table they can truly cover with their forehand, yet they get away with it as their opponents don’t have the precision to exploit the extremes. 

But I say, don’t be afraid! One of the best strategies against a lefty is to play wide to their forehand. This works especially well after a few backhand exchanges when they are not expecting it. Pick your poison here, any fast shot will do. A loop, drive, punch, hell, even a block against a fast shot will get the job done. 

Top tip: A sneaky way to make the ball go even wider is to use a sidespin backhand loop. It’s like a hook on the backhand side (the same kind of spin as a banana flick). When the ball hits the table the sidespin will cause it to veer off slightly to the right. 

4. Pin on the Backhand

While many lefties are very good at blocking on the backhand side, their backhand ability pales in comparison to their forehand. Some can loop well, others can’t at all. So I recommend you pin lefties on the backhand whenever possible.

This will be sure to get them frustrated, and many will try to step around on their backhand side to play their forehand. Getting this off isn’t easy, and even if they do, they leave their entire forehand side of the table open for a punish. 

5. Stand More to the Right When Receiving Pendulum Serves

As mentioned earlier, returning a pendulum serve from a lefty isn’t easy, however, you can make it slightly less challenging for yourself. By taking a small step to the right, you not only make it easier to see the ball (lefties are more likely to illegally shield their serve), but you also make it less troublesome to return should it go very wide.   

Closing Thoughts

Playing left-handed table tennis players is no walk in the park, but by shifting your tactics you can beat them. Wide balls to their forehand are your friend, as are pendulum serves. Mix up the spin to keep them guessing and throw a few fast serves down the line each game. I find this works rather well.

Yet ultimately, this is just a general guide and you will need to adapt it on the fly to the player you are facing. Don’t be rigid with your strategy. A fluid approach through trial and error is always the best way to go. 

Next Lessons

Lefties commonly sport a one-winged looping style, so I recommend you check out my strategy guide on one-winged loopers. However, you might also face lefties who loop on both flanks, my mid-distance looping strategy guide is perfect for that.