The following observations are of course my personal view and do not claim to be the “truth”!
Here comes Takeshi Atsuya (Japan):
Strengths:
good footwork
good backhand defense
good forehand attack
good backhand serves
good twiddling of the blade to push with heavy backspin
Weaknesses:
no forehand serves
forehand topspin occasionally too slow and not decisive in winning the point
often decides to attack from backhand side reacting on a forehand topspin when this is not appropriate, taking to much risks and making the decision before actually seeing what is coming
Suggestions:
practise forehand serves
not decide to attack before knowing what is coming
I make a deliberate exception here for a French player who is playing “only” in the french second league. He is playing the closest to what I would call the ideal defender style. He is twiddling the bat and uses all rubbers on all sides to defend and to attack. I am sure that if Joo Se Hyuk or Ruwen Filus would adopt his style they would be even better. His “motivational” behaviour is somewhat weird but if you don’t take it too seriously it can also be quite entertaining.
Strengths:
Very versatile playing style
very good backhand topspin
good backhand and very good forehand defense with long pips
consistent pushing with both rubbers on both sides
nice use of long pips on forehand to push-flip the ball and put pressure on the attacker
good footwork
good forehand topspin
Weaknesses:
sometimes having problems with tricky servers
sometimes shouting about also disturbs himself
backhand defense sometimes goes up too high. Wrist use could be improved to prevent this.
The following observations are of course my personal view and do not claim to be the “truth”!
Here comes AN Yeongeun (Korea):
Strengths:
good footwork
good consistent defending on both forehand and backhand
consistent pushing
good variety of backhand serves
good forehand topspin
Weaknesses:
generally too defensive. A bit too “old school”.
when defending with forehand she takes too much “swing” to chop. She won’t have enough time to do this against the better attackers since their topspins will be faster.
backhand defense often goes up too high.
too much pushing with the backhand covering 80 % of the table. Too often pushing the ball with backhand from the forehand side with out any need
no attacking skills on backhand shown
forehand topspin okay, but not consistent and not often enough used
backhand serves only
no twiddling of the bat
in push competitions she is “hopping” around to much without any need
Suggestions:
Should learn to attack more often and more consistently
Should learn to twiddle the bat especially when pushing so much with backhand.
Especially with backhand since attackers will rely on her always pushing the ball back from her backhand side
Should practice greater variety of serves also with forehand
should learn to chop with shorter arm strong and stronger wrist impact to save time and give higher backspin to the ball
should try to get away from “hopping” without reason and just move where it makes sense.
The following observations are of course my personal view and do not claim to be the “truth”!
Here comes Qianhong Gotsch (China):
Strengths:
good backhand serves
very good forehand smash
good footwork
choppy fore and backhand when pushing
Weaknesses:
seems to play with two sides pips in, which is disadvantageous against better players
haven’t seen a forehand topspin from her yet
forehand defense looks more “shovely” than choppy
Suggestions:
if you don’t want to use long pimples you need to be able to float back fast spinny topspins in order to keep the ball low and deceive the opponent. So practise heavy chop versus float on same kind of topspin
The following observations are of course my personal view and do not claim to be the “truth”!
Here comes Wang Wei (USA):
Strengths:
good footwork
good forehand topspin against pushes and topspins
good forehand blocking against topspins
good backhand defending
good heavy backspin push with forehand
very good backhand serves
Weaknesses:
not a great variety of forehand serves
no consistent defending of slow spinny topspins down his forehand
has problems with topsins into his body
not twiddling often where it would make sense
backhand block with pips-out not used often enough. The commentator of the first video claims he has short pips, but I doubt this. I would reckon he has medium-long pips. Short pips would have a different flying curve and behaviour when pushing the ball
Suggestions:
get greater variety of serves especially with forehand
occasionally pushing with pips-in on backhand side would make sense
block or smash high pushes with backhand
block slow and high topspins into his backhand more often with pips-out rubber.
practice defending with both forehand and backhand when confronted with topspins into his body
The following observations are of course my personal view and do not claim to be the “truth”!
Here comes Kim Youjin (Korea):
Strengths:
good backhand defence/chop
good footwork
consistent pushing with forehand, also seem to be quite “choppy”
good variety of backhand serves
Weaknesses:
generally too much defending only.
forehand defence often come back too high. Technical issue: Like many female defenders she “shovels” round the ball instead of chopping or cutting through the ball or trying a “float”
forehand topspin missing, especially when confronted with pushes down her forehand
no or few twiddling of the bat
Suggestions:
generally she should try to get more versatile: Use forehand topspin more often, twiddle bat (use pips in to push from backhand side), use forehand serves, block unexpectly with backhand (either with long pips or pips-in according to the situation)
improve forehand defence against slow and spinny topspins by either using long pips to defend or taking the ball lower and chop it more than “shoveling” it back.
The following observations are of course my personal view and do not claim to be the “truth”!
Here comes Alina NIKITCHANKA (BLR) :
Strengths:
good backhand block with pimples down the line
quite choppy forehand defence
good backhand serves
Weaknesses:
definetively too week attacking qualities, too much old school chopping only
goes back from the table too far and too early
back hand defense not consistent enough
“hopping” with body without need disadvantageous
bat grip issue: the way she grips the bat when defending (thumb middle on the forehand rubber side is disadvantageous if you get a fast topspin into the forehand
not chopping through the ball with forehand but “shoveling” around it. This will not work against better topspins and the ball goes up too high.
Suggestions:
improve general footwork
definitely practise more forehand attacking (topspin on pushes and counter topspin from far behind the table)
The following observations are of course my personal view and do not claim to be the “truth”!
Here comes Gustaf Ericson (SWE):
Strengths :
very versatile and unpredictable playing style. Generally very impressing!
good footwork
good forehand topspin
very good backhand topspin both on pushes and slow topspins
quite a variety of serves on both forehand and backhand
one of the few making use of long pips on forehand when chopping
good backhand defence
nice use of the long pimples when taking serves or messing up game on pushes of opponent
nice twiddling of the bat when it makes sense!
Weaknesses:
serves generally seem to be long all the time (disadvantageous when facing better players)
sometimes attacking too much and too “wild” with backhand from forehand side
trying to smash balls on forehand that are too low and should better be counter topspinned
forehand defense not seen much (hard to say how good it is when needed)
Suggestions:
practice short serves
practice defending with wrist on backhand (wrist is a bit stiff when defending)
when facing better attackers not try to win points all the time by endless counterspinning on forehand (you will lose against better players). Rather defend once in a while.
not rely too much on backhand topspin from forehand side (better players will use “old lefthander tactics”: Play deep down his backhand until he moves there and then push long down forehand
The following observations are of course my personal view and do not claim to be the “truth”!
Here comes Satoshi Aida (Japan): Special: two smooth sides/no pimples!
Strengths:
good but not tremendous footwork
very versatile playing style: Good attacking and defending qualities on both sides
good backhand serves
heavy backspin on backhand push
good backhand topspin on pushes
good backhand block
good forehand topspin on pushes
Weaknesses:
disadvantage of rubber in on backhand: Heavy topspins into his backhand will force direct (goes off the table) or indirect (high ball gets hammered) errors.
sticky rubber in on both side is vulerable to tricky spinny serves
slight attitude problem: Looks as he lives in the US and does not have to face high standard opponents very often and does not really give full committment to his strokes
forehand topspin on blocks a bit too slow/harmless
often plays slow backhand topspin against blocks. Too easy to get hammered by better players.
The following observations are of course my personal view and do not claim to be the “truth”!
Here comes Aikaterini TOLIOU (GRE)): Not much to say from just one video!
Strengths:
good footwork
good fighting spirit (didn’t give up after being down 0:3)
nice use of long pips to attack on pushes with backhand
Weaknesses:
defending generally could be more consistent on both sides
problems when confronted with balls played into her body
hugh problems when confronted with slow topspins into her forehand (often puts them back off the table or far too high)
too many backhand security serves
goes far off the table too early and often without need
footwork and body placement: She often advances her right leg as if she knows that the ball could only come to her backhand thus blocking her forehand completely
Suggestions:
practise versatile serves especially also with forehand
forehand defence should get more constistent, lower and with more chop
should practise more attacking with forehand in all kind of situations: against pushes, from far behind the table etc.
should practise defending balls played into her body with backhand and quick lateral footwork.
maybe she should learn to use defending with long pips on forehand if getting ball low and consistently with pips-in doesn’t work out
The following observations are of course my personal view and do not claim to be the “truth”!
Here comes Li Qian (POL):
Strengths:
consistent defending on backhand with long pips
very good physically fitness with some limitations though (see below)
good attacking quality with long pips on backhand on high pushes or slow blocks
good backhand serves
Weaknesses:
forehand attacking quality too poor especially topspin
defence on both backhand and forehand still often goes up too high
forehand defence ball taken too high when confronted with very spinny topspin
forehand push and defence ball is generally not choppy enough (not enough use of wrist)
a lot of unnecessary “hopping” between ball contacts thus waisting energy and risking not having the legs touching ground when needed
places the ball still too often down the middle making it too easy for opponent to attack with forehand
There seems to be a physical limitation where it is not clear to me whether that is hereditary or just a bad habit: Here arms and legs seem to be a little “glued” to the center of the body where as they should be much more flexible.
Suggestions:
practise more versatile serves also with forehand
practise more dynamic forehand topspin on pushes
try counter topspinning from far behind the table with side spin
test twiddling the bat when pushing to try to force unforced errors
try to “loosen” arms and legs somehow from behind to close to body when playing
try to get rid of “hopping” between rallies (probably not possible, I know)
The following observations are of course my personal view and do not claim to be the “truth”!
Here comes Riyo Nemoto (Japan):
Strengths:
good physical fitness and footwork
consistent defending on backhand with long pips
consistent defending on forehand
Weaknesses:
“attitude” problem: Her body language often shows frustration or resignation which you should never show to your opponent
main weakness is her feeble topspin on pushed balls as you can see in this defender against defender match (Xue Li) even though she beat another defender in the 2014 US open QF
very much backhand serves only, no versatile serves
forehand defending consistent but generally to high. In my view because she is not using wrist enought to chop “through” the ball
not taking advantage of opportunities to attack with forehand topspin. She gets a lot of long pushes into her forehand which she could attack
often puts the backhand defense ball into the same place on the table making it too easy for the opponent to topspin all the time
never twiddles the bat
never blocks back a fast topspin into her forehand
Suggestions:
practice more versatile serves
use more often pips in on backhand to push ball back with heavy backspin in order to prevent fast first topspins by opponent
practice twiddling the bat, make use of pips-in on backhand pushes and block with backhand spontaneously
attack more with forehand on forehand pushes but also counter topspins from far behind the table
should practise using long pips for “push-lifting” the ball in order to put pressure on the attacker
learn to block topspins with forehand also from far behind the table to break the rhythm of the opponent
tabletennisdefenders 