Table tennis styles
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Table tennis is unique among racket sports in that it supports a large variety of different styles of players. As players' levels increase, the diversity of styles decreases slightly, because technically weak styles are quickly eliminated. But even at the very top of international table tennis, there is a large number of dramatically different styles to be found. As of 2005, attacking styles dominate most of the top places in the world. However, this may be due to the relative popularity of attack over defense, as defensive players are still able to reach the final stages of international competition.
This article will describe some of the most common table tennis styles seen in international competition. Keep in mind that these are stereotypes and almost all players will possess some combination of these styles, with a few of their own "special" shots.
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[edit] Grips
[edit] Penhold
The traditional grip for asian players, this grip is similar to holding a pen. Variations include the Japanese pengrip (fingers splayed at the back) and Chinese pengrip (fingers curled at the back).
The Japanese version gives more power to forehand topspins at the expense of backhand shots. The Chinese grip focuses on a quick transition between forehand and backhand.
Penhold styles have suffered in recent years due to their inherent weakness on the backhand side. This weakness makes it much harder for penhold beginners to perform well against their shakehand counterparts. This has not stopped the top penhold players from winning the world championships, the world cup and the Olympic games regularly, as the backhand weakness can be covered adequately with excellent footwork, or supplemented with the recent reverse penhold backhand loop innovation.
[edit] Shakehand
Possibly the oldest surviving grip since the table tennis racket took its current shape. This is similar to a tennis grip with the index finger extended over the racket head perpendicular to the handle. This grip allows almost even power distribution over forehand and backhand shots, but has a wider crossover point in between.
Virtually all European players and roughly two thirds of Asian players use this grip.
[edit] Penhold Styles
[edit] Looper
Penhold loopers utilise the forehand topspin loop as their primary shot. This type of player usually exhibits excellent footwork, trying to use the forehand to cover the entire table. Compared with shakehand loopers, penhold loopers have a shorter reach and try to stay close to the table even during power exchanges.
Notable penhold loopers: Kim Taek Soo, Guo Yuehua, Yoo Nam Kyu, Ma Lin, Wang Hao, Ryu Seung Min
[edit] Counter Driver
The penhold advantage of a small crossover is fully utilised in this style. Staying close to the table, counter drivers block and drive the opponent's topspins back across the table at speed, trying to force them out of position or look for the opportunistic forehand kill. Counter drivers usually have a safe forehand loop as well, in case the opponent is a chopper and doesn't give topspins or easy kills readily.
Notable penhold counter drivers: Chiang Peng-Lung, Jiang JiaLiang
[edit] Pimpled Hitter
The traditional penhold style. Pimpled hitters play over the table, hitting the ball as soon as it bounces off the table with the pimples taking care of most of the problems caused by the opponent's spin. The aggressive attacking can win points easily in the first few returns, but the lack of a topspin Magnus effect means that the attacks are less effective when the opponent is forced back.
Notable penhold pimpled hitters: Liu Guoliang, Li Chunli
[edit] Shakehand Styles
[edit] Looper
Shakehand loopers apply pressure and win points primarily with speed and spin loops from the forehand. After the opening exchanges, when the first attack has been made, loopers will attack with a variety of topspin shots varying in speed and spin, maneuvering their opponents around the table and looking for outright winners. The power and reach of a shakehand looper means that they can counterloop even when forced back from the table, which can be quite a spectacle when a lobbing looper forced back by smashes suddenly attacks in an attempt to regain initiative.
Notable loopers: Vladimir Samsonov, Wang Nan, Jean-Michel Saive, Werner Schlager
[edit] All-round Attacker
Like a looper, the all-round attacker uses the loop as a primary weapon. In addition, an equally effective backhand increases the chances of having the first attack, and the number of angles that could be attacked. While this potentially means that the player could get confused whether to attack using the forehand or backhand, most players tend to use the more powerful forehand, making all-round attackers not that different from loopers.
Notable all-round attackers: Jan-Ove Waldner, Kong Linghui, Wang Liqin, Timo Boll, Chuan Chih-Chuan
[edit] Counter Driver
The shakehand counter driver blocks and drives various attacks back at the opponent, forcing errors through changing angles and rhythm. A series of quick drives and blocks between counter drivers can look quite impressive, with balls seeming to fly everywhere. Female players seem to have more success with this style, possibly because the style "borrows" a lot of power from the opponent and doesn't require as much arm strength to achieve the same speed.
Notable counter drivers": Deng Yaping, Zhang Yining, Oh Sang Eun
[edit] Attacking Chopper
The single most distinctive style in table tennis is the attacking chopper. While other styles look to attack and gain initiative, the chopper gives up the initiative, uses the chop to return an attack with backspin, making it necessary for the opponent to start the attack all over again. The defensive chopper returns repeated attacks with slow, floating backspin chops executed as late as possible, taking as much time as necessary to tire out and frustrate the opponent. Chops can vary in the amount of backspin (from no spin to floating), sidespin (curving into the table or away from the opponent), or position, making it hard to continuously attack. If the opponent refuses to tire out or starts to play defensively, the attacking chopper can suddenly mix in a spin or smash attack, catching out anyone who isn't fully alert and prepared. Reversed rubber is usually employed in the forehand, but the backhand is usually resserved for long or short pimples, which is much easier to control. Some players reverse their racket in order to use the pimpled rubber on the forehand, notable examples include Koji Matsushita, Ganina Svetlana, Kotikhina Irina and Pavlovich Viktoria, but some refuse to do that to keep their style simple, including Chen Weixing, Joo Se Hyuk, Ding Song, Kim Kyung Ah, Park Mi Young and Tan Paey Fern. Very few players choose to defend with reversed rubber on both sides, very notable examples include Wang Tingting and Wong Ching.
Points between a chopper and an attacker are usually the easiest for non-players to appreciate, because of the slowness of the ball and the spectacular chopping style.
