Last Updated on April 24, 2024 by Alex Horscroft
So you want to improve at table tennis huh? Say no more. I’ve been playing table tennis for well over a decade, and in that time I’ve played some of the top players in my country. So as you can imagine, as far as ping pong training goes, I’ve pretty much done it all.
In this guide, I’m going to give you all the information you need to take your training to the next level. This way you’ll be far more efficient than if you were to train with no real direction, and you’ll start winning lots more games than previously. Let’s begin!
The 6 Skills You Should Be Developing in Ping Pong Training
Although there’s a lot to think about when it comes to table tennis training, the majority of basic skills and drills in table tennis fit into one of the six following categories.
Think of them as the 6 pillars of ping pong training.
For each session, you may prioritize two or three pillars, but ultimately, you should aim to touch on all six to ensure your training is well-rounded.
1. Blocking
Blocking is the staple of defense for all players. As soon as a topspin rally is initiated, you should block whenever you feel uncertain that you can play an effective attacking shot. And believe me… it will happen a lot!
I’m a highly offensive player, so I basically aim to end rallies as quickly as possible with powerful loops. Yet I find myself blocking all the time as I can’t attack every ball, and you will find the same is true for your game.
To learn how to block, give my no-nonsense blocking guide a read.
2. Pushing
If you haven’t figured it out yet, table tennis is largely a battle to see who can attack first. Therefore players often begin with backspin serves to limit the attacking options of their opponents, and you should be doing the same.
Your go-to shot for tackling backspin is the push. It’s relatively easy to learn the basics, but you can always make improvements to your pushing game. Not only should you aim to become proficient enough to the point where you can read the backspin on any ball, but you should also improve distance management.
The best pushes are those that bounce just before the end of the table, these are called medium-short balls. Such balls are hard to gauge during a rally. As such, they will cause your opponent to go to attack balls that they think will be long, but in reality, are not. This introduces uncertainty and will make them hesitant to attack balls that they are not certain will be long. This results in more long pushes for you to attack.
To learn all there is no to know about pushing, read my pushing guide.
3. Driving
For beginners and intermediate players, drives are your main attacking shots. However, even advanced players should drill them regularly too.
With light topspin and plenty of pace, they are great shots to call on during topspin rallies.
You should also build on your attacking game by working on your smashes. You don’t need to drill these as much as they are considerably easier. Also, with respect to smashes, prioritize forehand smashes over backhand smashes as the latter is much weaker. In reality, you don’t use your backhand smash all that much. For high balls on your backhand, you simply move across to play your forehand instead.
4. Serving
Serves are one of the most powerful shots in table tennis as they are the only time you have complete control of the ball. If you have a tricky serve, your opponent is going to have a long night. Just think about it mathematically speaking.
If you have a killer serve which wins you points instantly one in every two, and you and the opponent are otherwise matched, you will win games 11-8.
A common argument I hear regarding serving is a) becoming a master of one serve, or b) having multiple serves to call upon. Personally, I think somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot. You should have one main serve which is your best, but you should also have a few others.
Different players like receiving different serves, so the more serve you have, the more likely you have a serve that your opponent struggles to return.
Each training session you should undertake plenty of service training and work on your ability to vary your serves with respect to spin, speed, and placement.
5. Receiving Serves
There’s nothing worse than facing a player who you can outmatch in open play, but you simply can’t beat because you cannot return any of their serves.
It feels like a cheap win for the opponent. But it’s not. They’ve put in the work developing high-quality serves and you’ve likely neglected your serve receiving training.
The best way to get better at receiving serves is to practice against a variety of players. Serves are the most unique element of table tennis, so you need to become familiar with training anything your opponents may throw at you.
While everyone’s serves look very different, most are incredibly similar. I would estimate around 70% of serves are simply a chop or pendulum serve as they are the most popular.
6. Footwork
Footwork is what separates great players from elite players, especially when it comes to those who play an attacking game.
As you will likely know, most players favor forehand over backhand as it is generally more powerful. Therefore you should aim to use it whenever you reasonably can – even on the backhand side of the table. To do this, you need to be able to read where the ball is going to go and move fast enough to play a forehand shot.
Even if you don’t have a forehand favored style you still need great footwork if you want to be a top player.
I recommend having at least one or two ping pong drills per session that work on footwork. As a simple example, play a backhand drive from your backhand side, a forehand drive from the middle, a forehand drive from the forehand, and then repeat until you fail. This is a simple exercise and you can build upon it to make it more difficult.
Other Ping Pong Training Considerations
1. Train Your Weakness
Want to know the quickest way to improve? It’s simple really. Improve your weakest areas. Sure, it seems straightforward, but many players don’t bother to address the glaring holes in their game.
I suspect it’s mostly an issue of laziness. After all, who wants to practice boring old pushes when you can spank the ball back and forth?! To which I say, fair enough. I’ve been there, but ultimately you’re trading enjoyment for a lack of progression.
If you’re truly set on improving, you need to round out your game, otherwise, you can bet your bottom dollar any competent player will pin you on your weakest area and not relent.
2. Practice Both Closed and Open Table Tennis Drills
There are two types of drills you should utilize to up your table tennis game: closed drills and open drills.
Closed drills have no freedom; you must use pre-determined shots and hit the ball to pre-determined areas. These are great for working on your technique and building muscle memory. However, they don’t emulate match play all that well as you know where the ball is going to go.
Open drills are the act opposite. They have a few pre-determined shots but the rest of the rally consists of open play. For example, the ball could be open straight from the serve, or perhaps you choose to make the ball open after executing a flick return off the serve.
The benefit of open table tennis drills is that they emulate match situations perfectly. However, you will have a much tougher time producing the shots you want to as your opponent will be vying to do the same. As such, I recommend you use both as part of your training.
3. Develop Your Tactics
Tactics are a big deal in table tennis. Try to improve your ability to analyze your opponents’ games for any weaknesses. Even something small may come in handy.
By having a tactical mind, you can help lessen the skill gap between you and better players you may face. I’ve won plenty of matches over the years against players better than me simply because my match IQ was superior. Similarly, I’ve been on the receiving end of players who have sussed out and exploited weaker areas of my game.
To develop your tactical abilities, break down every element of table tennis into parts and systematically test each one. As an example, here are some things I look out for when sizing up a player I’ve never faced before:
- Are they forehand or backhand dominant? How is their crossover? Do they struggle to cover the entire table?
- How many serves do they have? Do they vary them? Can I attack them? Can I safely push them back?
- Which shots do they struggle with the most? Pushes? Flicks? Drives? Loops? Smashes?
- Which of my serves works best? Why does it work the best? Is it the spin, speed, or placement that gives them trouble?
4. Analyze Your Performance
Whether it be your training or matches, you should always be analyzing your game just like you do with others to highlight strengths and weaknesses.
This can help you formulate more informed training sessions to refine shots that are working well and address areas where you are underperforming.
If you’re unsure of your skills, try recording a match and watching it back. It might surprise you by how many details you notice as an outside observer rather than from your usual first-person perspective.
Similarly, ask players around you. Your training partners will be able to provide valuable insight, after all, they play you all the time so will be well-versed in the nuances of your game.
5. Adopt a Solid Ping Pong Training Routine
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of specific training ping pong drills, let’s first discuss the overarching structure of your training sessions.
You can’t spend an entire training session performing drills, you first need to warm up, and if you do nothing but table tennis lessons, you’ll get bored very quickly. So do yourself a favor and structure yours appropriately.
As a minimum, you’ll need to begin with a warm-up to get the blood flowing into your muscles to prevent injury. However, I also recommend a table tennis-style warm-up to get your eye in. This helps you build a foundation of consistency for the session which is essential to improving.
Even though I’m a formidable looper, I never start with loops first. I need my warm-up dammit! There’s nothing more I hate than getting partnered up with a player at the start of a session who is seemingly anti-warm-up. There’s such a player at my club who takes it one step further and smashes every ball as soon as we start rallying. Have mercy Andy, I beg!
Below is a recommended training structure for a one-hour session. It’s only a general guide and I made it one hour as this is the shortest session most people will play.
6 Excellent Ping Pong Training Drills
Below you’ll find some recommended drills for your training sessions. For context:
L= Left
M = Middle
R = Right
B – Backhand
F – Forehand
B flick = Backhand flick
S = Serve
1. Working the Crossover
Type of drill: Closed
Sequence: L, L, M (B, B, F)
Skills worked: Backhand and forehand drives, crossover, footwork
This drill targets working your crossover and is very easy to perform. You play two backhand drives from your backhand side and then a forehand drive from the middle. The first two shots go to your opponent’s forehand and the final shot goes to their backhand.
It’s a great drill for beginners as it is not too demanding footwork-wise and gets you familiar with playing forehand shots from your crossover.
To make it more difficult: Alternate the second shot of every sequence on the left-hand side between your backhand and forehand.
2. Out of Position Forehands
Type of drill: Closed
Sequence: L ( F)
Skills worked: Forehand drives
If you want a basic table tennis drill to work on your forehand drives with the absence of footwork, this exercise is a good one to try. One of the reasons I like it so much is because it forces you to become familiar with hitting forehands from wide on your backhand side.
This is an essential skill in the modern game, so the sooner you start working on it, the better!
To make it more difficult: Introduce a backhand drive one in every five shots. This way you become accustomed to the footwork motion without tiring.
3. Switching Flanks
Type of drill: Closed
Sequence: L, M, R (B, F, F)
Skills worked: Backhand and forehand drives, footwork, crossover
Almost all skilled players use this drill, so you should too. It works the entire width of the table and prioritizes your stronger forehand stroke.
To make it more difficult: If you’re able, try switching out the drives for loops.
4. Forehand Dominant (Falkenburg)
Type of drill: Closed
Sequence: L, L, R (B, F, F)
Skills worked: Backhand and forehand drives, footwork, crossover
As you’ll notice, the forehand dominant drill is very similar to the switching flanks drill, there’s only one change, and let me tell you… it makes all the difference!
The second ball goes to your backhand side rather than the middle and you need to play a forehand. This is tough because the third ball is on the opposite side of the table on the right. As such, this drill is very tiring to perform.
However, it is one of the best table tennis footwork training drills to train. It’s so popular in fact that it has a widely-known name, it’s called the Falkenburg drill.
To make it more difficult: Once again, switch out your drives for loops. You’ll be huffing and puffing in no time!
5. Early Aggression
Type of drill: Closed
Sequence: R, L, L (B flick, B, F)
Skills worked: Backhand and forehand drives, backhand flick, footwork, crossover, kill shot
If you’re an aggressive player who likes to dominate the rally from the get-go, this is a drill you won’t want to miss. It sees you attack from the very first ball — one which most people passively play.
You see, your partner serves short to your forehand side which can be challenging to attack. The best shot in this instance is a backhand flick, so you move over to the right to play this shot. After which, you quickly shift back to your backhand side to play a backhand drive. And then finally, for the third shot on your backhand side, you move to the left and play a forehand kill shot down the line.
Be warned, this table tennis footwork drill is quite difficult, so don’t get too disheartened if you struggle initially!
To make it more difficult: Allow your partner to play the third ball anywhere except wide on your forehand side, you have to perform a kill shot from wherever it lands.
6. Backspin Serve Openers
Type of drill: Open
Sequence: Chop serve, B/F, free play
Skills worked: Openers, footwork
Most serves in table tennis have backspin to some degree, and loads drift long, meaning they are ripe for attacking! In this open and fun table tennis drill, your partner can serve long anywhere, and you get to attack the ball however you like. I recommend using your forehand as much as possible though as it is more powerful. This is also a great opportunity to work on your loops if you are at an intermediate level or higher.
To make it more difficult: Allow your opponent to serve medium-short and medium-long. This forces you to quickly judge whether balls are short or long to play either a push or opener.
How to Practice Table Tennis Alone
Don’t you just hate it when you’re keen to get a quality training session in but there’s nobody to play? It’s the worst! Fortunately, there are a few solo ping pong drills you can do to make use of your time.
Shadow Play
First thing first, let’s get the worst option out of the way: shadow play. This is a style of training where there is no ball in play. You simply go through the motions as if you were playing a partner.
This helps you to really think about the intricacies of your technique and work on your footwork. However, I think it’s far too tedious for most people — it sure is for me!
Without having a ball in play there is also no way of knowing if the strokes you are performing are high-quality or not. And this is a pretty big issue if you are a beginner.
Serve Practice
As previously mentioned, serves are a big deal. If you develop some tricky ones you’ll be well on your way to becoming a great player. So if you don’t have a partner to practice with, work on your serves as you don’t need a partner to refine them.
To become a master of serving you need complete control of your serves. You should be able to impart the exact amount of spin and speed you desire, along with good placement. And this isn’t easy, especially if you don’t dedicate time solely to serve practice.
So with these serve practice sessions, perform every variation of your serve that you use in matches. In time, they will become far more difficult to return and you will feel much more confident in your service game.
Robot Training
If you constantly find yourself lacking a partner and want to have high-quality training sessions, a robot is a well worthwhile investment.
These mechanical devices emulate a training partner and fire balls your way for you to strike. They are surprisingly versatile and you can make table tennis robot drills as easy or as hard as you want to.
For building muscle memory, they are excellent tools, of course, they are pretty pricey though, so you’ll have to weigh up whether they are right for you.
If you’re set on picking one up, I suggest looking at the Newgy 2055. It’s a mid-range robot with features that can support any player. Alternatively, if you want to learn more about robots, check out my guide where I compare the 11 best robots on the market.
Closing Thoughts
If you just want to have fun, by all means, play table tennis how you like. However, if you want to better yourself, you should certainly follow a ping pong training regimen.
Remember to focus on the 6 pillars of table tennis skills: blocking, pushing, attacking, serving, receiving serves, and footwork. These are the fundamental skills that you will call upon the most.
For each training session, create a few drills which work on different areas, and then put those skills to use at the end with a fun match. I find it’s the most enjoyable way to conclude ping pong practice as it gives you something to look forward to, especially for those drills that you really hate doing!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Should Ping Pong Training Last?
Ping pong training sessions should last at least one hour, and you should aim to play at least twice a week if you want to improve. After around two hours of play, you may find that the quality of your training declines as you start to tire. Therefore, you should focus on targeted high-quality training from the start.
What Is the Fastest Way to Improve at Table Tennis?
The fastest way to improve at table tennis is to hire a qualified coach. They will be able to teach you the correct technique and highlight flaws in your performance that you can’t identify.
How to Can I Train for Table Tennis When I Am Injured?
This depends on the injury. If you can work around it by tailoring your table tennis training you should do so. If you cannot, focus on rehabilitation and keep your fitness levels high if your injury permits.
I've been playing table tennis since the age of 14 and have competed against some of the top players in England. While I love playing, I also really enjoy coaching too!
Blade: Butterfly Timo Boll ALC | Rubbers: Nittaku Fastarc G-1