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How to Play Against a Strong Looper

Playing strategy 10 of 16 • Playing style

How to play against a strong looper in table tennis: deny them long balls with short serves and pushes, surprise with a fast long push, then block short and wide. Step by step.

Diagrams show the table from above, you on the left. Solid gold lines are your shots, dashed lines your opponent’s. Tap any step to enlarge it.

Use it when — Your opponent loops any long ball well and builds every point around opening first.

The pattern

Stopping a strong looper, step by step

The animation plays the whole sequence; the frames below break it into single shots.

Animation of stopping a strong looper: Serve short so they can’t loop it; They push short back; Surprise them: fast, long push to the backhand; Stretched, they loop without full power; Block short and wide to the forehand — ANIMATEDThe whole sequence, shot by shot. It loops.

Strategy 10, step 1: Serve short so they can’t loop it — STEP 1Serve short so they can’t loop it

Strategy 10, step 2: They push short back — STEP 2They push short back

Strategy 10, step 3: Surprise them: fast, long push to the backhand — STEP 3Surprise them: fast, long push to the backhand

Strategy 10, step 4: Stretched, they loop without full power — STEP 4Stretched, they loop without full power

Strategy 10, step 5: Block short and wide to the forehand — STEP 5Block short and wide to the forehand

Why it works

Why this pattern wins points

A looper's game starts with a long ball to attack. Keep everything short and low and they have to push, which gives you the chance to attack first. When you do go long, a fast, deep push to a corner makes them loop from a stretched position, and a stretched loop has less power, so an early, angled block can win the point.

Key points

Deny them the long ball. Keep serves and pushes short and low, so the first attack is not theirs.
When you push long, make it fast and to a corner as a surprise, ideally the wide backhand.
A stretched loop has less power. Block it early, on the rise, and angle it short to the opposite side.
Win the first attack yourself whenever a ball gives you the chance.

Common mistake

Slow, long pushes to the forehand. That is the easiest ball a looper will see all match.

Common questions

How do you stop a player who loops everything?

Keep serves and pushes short and low, so they cannot loop. When you go long, push fast and deep to a corner, then block their stretched loop early and at an angle.

How do I block a heavy topspin loop?

Close the bat angle, take the ball early just after the bounce, and keep the stroke short. Angling the block short and wide is often more effective than blocking it back hard.

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