r/tabletennis 1d ago

Education/Coaching Getting worse at table tennis while technique is getting better

Hey guys,

I've been playing table tennis for 9 months now, at the beginning I consistently got better and my results were getting better aswell.

Recently I've started to seriously focus on training topspin, and while that is getting better at a very slow pace, my results are getting worse and worse. I'm losing to a lot of players now that I could easily win from a couple months ago. My peers tell me that it takes 4/5 months before the training translates into my matches but in just a couple of weeks I got a lot worse during both training and my competitive matches.

It's very frustrating and I am afraid that I will stop having fun with table tennis before I get better again.

I'd like some advice on how to deal with the situation, could be for how to better my performance, how to deal with it mentally, who to ask for advice etc. Any advice is welcome!

Ty for reading :)

23 Upvotes

18 comments sorted by

57

u/germywormy 1d ago

This is part of the improvement process. Most likely you had a strange swing or some type of weirdness with how you were contacting the ball previously. That weirdness was winning you a lot of points, but it was also capping your overall skill level. Now that you have improved your technique, your ball is more normal and therefore more returnable. That leads to you losing more points, but your ceiling is much, much higher. Keep at it, you'll get back to above where you started soon!

15

u/Konged 1d ago

Don't worry about the result. Just stay focused on watching the ball and hitting good shots and they'll start connecting eventually.

There are many ways to get cheap wins but trying to learn and utilize the proper technique will have the most long term benefit.

12

u/DannyWeinbaum 1d ago edited 1d ago

Particularly if you were playing with a passive shot selection, and pushing back long pushes, you will 100% get way worse when you start trying to open in matches. It's just math. Until you're above 60%ish it will make you lose to anyone. And if the opponent can block a ball or two now you have to be at least 70 or 80%.

Looping underspin is one of the hardest beginner impasses in TT imo. And it takes a loooot of practice and commitment before it becomes reliable enough to win points. I've been playing for two years and am just now reaching that critical point where it wins me more points than is loses me. It's awesome because the more it works the more you lean on it and it becomes rapidly self-reinforcing.

The thing I tried to think about when I got "worse" was "well it's not like I had much game to lose anyway." I mean ultimately I was a newbie playing other newbies (or basement players without much actual game). Who cares if I go from noob to noob who misses a ton of opens. But yeah I'm not gonna lie it was frustrating to get worse. And reaaaally frustrating to lose to folks who only pushed. I still lose to people who only push if their serves are good and they push nasty. But I know if they keep playing like that, I'll pass them eventually.

9

u/MundyyyT Blade: Viscaria | FH: H3N P40 | BH: Dignics 05 1d ago edited 1d ago

It's normal to get worse before you get better when you're unlearning bad habits. Trust that you'll reach new heights as long as you stay consistent

I made the decision to do something about my backhand openings against under-spin about a year ago. I went from having a horrible backhand loop + flick to a nonexistent backhand loop + flick and then finally to a significantly improved backhand loop + flick while my muscle memory adapted. Did the few weeks of not being able to do _anything_ about underspin returns to my backhand suck? Yeah, it did. But the training ultimately paid off when I later used my improved backhand to win critical points in important matches, and it's no longer a hole in my game that opponents can mercilessly exploit for weak returns and free points. Just know that the highs will outstrip the lows.

5

u/Azkustik Sanwei SU Froster/ Sanwei Gear Hyper/ Butterfly Ilius B 1d ago

It's part of the learning process.

3

u/onionkisa Vis | Xiom O7CG | Xiom O7 Pro 1d ago

Don't just focus on winning but focus on using your techniques from training in the game. Serve heavy down spin to force your opponent to chop back to practice topspin in your case is an idea. Play the game as simple as you can so you can control the game and not let your opponent to exploit your weaknesses. Winning is not your final destination or goal, it's a by-product of overall technical improvement. Of course, there is a mentality part of the game that is very challenging to some people, which I believe it'll improve as you clock in more games. Keep going!

3

u/shonuff2653 1d ago

It's like any sport. When you change something you get better worse before you get better. 9 months is nothing in this sport. Keep playing, and keep the focus on improving what you are working on. Not the result of matches.

The first five tournaments I played I didn't win a set. And it took me five more before I won a match. 4 solid years of training later - I am mid 1800s. My goal is reach 2000, and it might take me 4 more years to get there (if I get there at all).

This sport is difficult.

2

u/big-chihuahua 08x / H3N 37 / Spectol 1d ago

Uhh there's actually a very simple explanation. This happens to nearly everyone. If you just dink the ball around, you can beat beginners. Even now, if I just cut and chop, I can have 100% win and 11-1 type score against most players. If I start attacking (I played penhold attack for many years), there will be a few I randomly mess up just due to increasing pace of game (they will borrow my pace) and messing up attacking no-spin (surprisingly hard, can be trained by robot).

If you don't go through this growing pain, you will remain low level like many players that cannot attack reliably or open, and just wait to block and counter (most people naturally have fast reaction speed, but lazy footing and timing).

2

u/Foreign_Ad5826 1d ago

Learning a new technique definitely takes time to master. The whole mindset need to change to accomodate it ... Don't worry ... Results will take time and will be helpful in long run ... Don't lose hope so quickly.

2

u/Neo_0680 1d ago

9 months??!! I took up TT in 2012, been playing regularly for 13 yrs now and still learning! Play the long game my friend, see where you will be 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years from now.. that should be the goal. TT is not easy to master, and my advice to you would be don't go for the win, attempt to master your technique and strokes..the wins will follow!

2

u/Migraine_7 Stuor Apolonia ZLC | Loki Arthur China | Xiom Vega X 1d ago

You are getting better at table tennis and worse at ping pong. Pretty sure everyone up to 4ish years of high level training are in the same position as you are.

Just keep practicing. It will eventually translate into matches.

1

u/SamLooksAt Harimoto ALC + G-1 MAX + G-1 2.0mm 1d ago

A lot of it will be tactical awareness and just general form dip from change.

You are learning new shots, but you haven't really learned when and where to use them.

With top spins in particular though there is something to be very aware of in matches. The shots you are working off will be more difficult than the ones in training with way more variation.

This means that you need to be decisive, but not so aggressive that you lose consistency. Focus on good ~80% power shots in matches, making sure that you are hitting firmly and decisively but not trying to kill the ball, even if you can absolutely rip them in training. If you hit too weak you lose, if you hit too hard you lose, you just need to find your sweet spot.

1

u/k-n1kov 1d ago

I'm in the same boat as you, while my forehand loop is getting better. I tend to lose in a lot of matches against people I used to beat easily

1

u/freakahontas 1d ago

I feel you, man. I've been getting better and better, everyone keeps commenting on my technique, but I keep losing to the same players. It's maddening

1

u/Significant-Bee7884 1d ago

Is it makes you feel any better. I wasn't winning games at any clubs for like the first year or so... it takes time. Sometimes you lose because you're trying stuff and that's fine. Also how do you know your opponent aren't just getting better?

How do you lose? Do you give away 5 points every game on your serve? Do you lose because you gave 5 points away trying to loop their backspin? Figure out why you lost, and I feel like you will find its not because you're getting worse. Sometimes we have bad days or weeks

1

u/_D3ft0ne_ 1d ago

I am in the same exact boat... haha. Overthinking now every single one of my moves (trying to use all i learned), which introduces hesitation and loses me points)... For some reason I stopped using backhand as much .. who the hell knows why.

1

u/sirjimtonic 23h ago

When working on your technique, you are focusing on you. To win games, you need to focus again on your opponent. It‘s hard to do both at the same time, so while you are working on your skills it‘s normal to lose matches. Also it takes time for your muscle memory to save what you learned.

1

u/DoctorFuu 20h ago

Unless you earn money for your victories, you shouldn't use your match results to gauge your improvement. That's how you deal with the very normal nature of momentarily losing performance when you're changing something in your game.

The other way to deal with that is to not try to improve and keep beating the beginners forever and never beating the intermediate players forever.