One of the best sports that you can get into this year is table tennis.

Table tennis is one of the most approachable sports around. It’s fast paced and fun, yet it can be scaled in difficulty based on the people who are playing a match. No matter whether you’re looking for a way to stay fit, a skill to add to your existing skill set or simply a way to meet new people, table tennis could be perfect for you.

As with any sport, however, there are a few key beginner’s mistakes to watch out for when you’re getting involved with table tennis. They’re minor and hard to spot in some cases, but are worth looking out for as they’ll impact the quality of your game.

To help you out with your table tennis practice, we’ve gathered 3 of the most important beginner’s mistakes that need to be watched out for when learning to play the game.

 

Rushing or playing too eagerly

 

To start off with, one of the most common things that new players do while trying to get better at table tennis is rush their serves or volleys. Table tennis is a fast paced game, after all, so it’s easy to feel under pressure and out of time. As pointed out in this great Medium post, this is something that a lot of players struggle with almost immediately.

Despite this, though, it’s important to make sure that you take your time while playing table tennis as a new player. Make sure to consider your actions, and take a minute before making any sudden movements. Keep a steady pace, and don’t get fed up when doing volleys either- it’ll be worth it in the long run.

One of the best ways to practice this is to practice playing with a close friend or family member. Being able to practice pacing with a trusted loved one can be very helpful, as it can help to remove feelings of stress or pressure.

 

Holding the paddle incorrectly

 

Something else that a lot of new players end up doing by mistake when playing table tennis is holding their paddle incorrectly. It may sound like a very minor factor, but paddle grips are essential when trying to get better at table tennis. If you’re holding your paddle wrong, it will affect the quality of your game overall.

To improve upon this, we’d recommend spending some time looking at tutorials for paddle grips on YouTube- like this one in particular. Try dedicating a specific amount of your practice time to paddle grips alone, to make sure that you get the hang of it.

 

Not moving while playing

 

When people first start playing ping pong, they often feel like they have to stay in one place for the whole match. This may be deliberate or subconscious, but it can lead to some awkward stretches and missed opportunities in the long run. Ping pong may seem static at first, but it does require players to move and adapt as matches progress.

Players should focus on their agility and response time when practicing to mitigate this. Being able to move around while playing in a match can be very helpful, and it’s worth dedicating some extra time to this if you’re a new player. Adding in other sporty practices, like jogging or sprint training, can help to boost your agility as well.

 

Summary

 

All in all, these are minor points when you look at them individually. However, when they are combined into one match or one set of skills, they can be very detrimental. If you’re looking to get better at table tennis this year, it’s important to reflect on your skills and weaknesses.

To get more inspiration while learning this sport, we’d recommend heading to social media. Platforms like YouTube are full of handy tutorials for different kinds of strokes or techniques, and you can find great product guides to help you out with your equipment shopping too- like this incredible ping pong paddle guide here.

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