Table Tennis Forehand Topspin

  • February 23, 2018

For most, a table tennis forehand topspin is the stronger wing! But why? And how can we make our forehand even better?

Why: Power comes from the ground and with an off square stance we can generate a power motion via force from the ground, given via our back leg to our front leg. The force is used to pushed and generate force in a forward motion which enables us to generate extra power when using our forehand.
We are able to rotate from the hip because we have an off square stance and our ability to twist gives the forehand another movement-motion towards catapulting the stroke.

Visibility 
We can clearly see the ball at all times, even when contact is made, unlike the backhand. The contact point (on the backhand) is unseen due to the angle and position of the bat which is in front of our body. Lastly, the forehand has a much higher velocity due to the length of your arm stretched out compared to the backhand having to go across our chest (shorter length) making the velocity less.

Forehand Topspin by Eli Baraty
Forehand Topspin

How can we make our forehand even better?

  1. Focus on more back-swing than follow through: often players don’t twist their hips causing little back-swing and have a big follow through in an attempt to hit the ball hard. The follow through is almost irrelevant once the ball has left your bat and has and may have a negative effect on your recovery.
  2. Playing a forehand from the backhand corner can be a huge weapon if used correctly. You may have a better backhand than your forehand but I would still recommend turning the corner when possible. The reason being, your body language is far more difficult to read due to your shoulder positioning. On the BH the body generally is facing the line of play. With the Forehand played from the BH side, your timing changes the placement (early will go down the line and late cross court).
  3. You can have far more variation shots; heavy top, through the ball, flat kill, hook, countertop, fade, back-sidespin Loop and you can change direction instantly with the wrist.

Experiment with your forehand and try to learn all the variations. Turn and play a forehand from the backhand side, hook, fade and counter topspin…

Watch the best and try to implement a forehand that suits you.

Written by Eli Baraty

eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis)
Coach Me Table Tennis 
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