Step 1 Grip and Racket Control - Larry Hodges Table Tennis Page

12 Table Tennis: Steps to Success
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1. Either your forehand or backhand shots feel
erratic or unstable.
2. The soft part of your thumb touches the racket.
3. Your index finger sticks out onto the surface on
backhand side of the racket.
4. Your grip is too tight.
CORRECTION
1. Rotating the top of the racket forward (when
holding the racket in front of the body with a
shakehands grip) will make the backhand more
stable but the forehand less stable; rotating it
backward will do the reverse. Most players find
a compromise between the two extremes.
2. This gives you an erratic forehand as well as
less power on the backhand. Your thumbnail
should be perpendicular to the racket. Review
Figure 1.1.
3. This gives a good forehand, but an unstable
backhand. It also gives less hitting area for the
backhand. Keep your index finger near the bottom
of the blade.
4. Relax your grip. Holding the racket too tightly
costs you both power and control. A good way
to tellifyou're holding the racket too tightly is to
imagine someone sneaking up behind you as
you playandgrabbingyourracket. Ifthe person
would have trouble pulling it from your grip,
you are holding the racket too tightly.