Many table tennis players think that the match starts with the first serve. Technically it’s correct but realistically it’s a serious blunder. What you had for breakfast, how well and the way you warmed up, and what you did right before your match–all these factors powerfully influence your performance. Everything you do mentally and physically after you wake up until the game time influences your performance.
Since the score changed from 21 to 11 in table tennis, in my opinion, the mental game became much more important. I had the chance to compete in both systems and in the old system – when we used to play until 21- it was OK to lose couple of points and have some unforced errors in the beginning of the match… With the new rules –one game only lasts until11 points- you have to be ready mentally and physically as soon as you step up to the table. Otherwise, you can lose the match before you have a chance to wake up! Pre-performance routine is one of the most powerful tools that help you to be ready for your battle.
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I was lucky to asked by The Daily to produce a quick video lesson. The guys from The Daily visited SPIN New York and we had lots of fun. Check out the video below!

Click here to see the video as a link! Ping Pong lesson/ The Daily

When I first picked up a paddle at Club Statisztika in Budapest, Hungary I never imagined the places I could go playing table tennis. From traveling around the world playing juniors to meeting other amazing athletes with the Olympics—Ping Pong opened many doors for me to make friends, experience other cultures, and ultimately find a passion for sports psychology. In my new life at Spin New York I have been honored to meet another woman who believes in the power that Ping Pong can have in young people lives, the Academy Award- winning actress and activist, Susan Sarandon. She has been a patron of the sport and a partner of SPIN Galactic, high end ping pong social clubs that provide a new trendy twist for the sport. I was honored to interview Susan recently on how she got involved in ping pong about her hopes and beliefs about this in vogue sport in the United States and in all around the world.
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Hello New York! I apologize that I haven’t written a blog post lately. I moved from the Bay Area to New York and it’s has been a big change! But it is all very exciting! I had a chance to start working at Spin New York. I was also honored to give a lesson to the famous actress Susan Sarandon who is one of the owners of the club. Susan is a big table tennis propagandist! Spin New York is a very unique table tennis club that combines table tennis with a bar environment. This club creates a fun a social scene for table tennis fans, amateurs, pro players or just people who would like to have a fun with some ping-pong.

But lets get back to the mental game. I started playing at Dirty Dozen on Fridays at Spin New York. The winner of Dirty Dozen gets $500 prize money. It’s definitely a nontraditional environment to play games but it has been giving me a chance to master my mental skills to block out all sorts of distractions. Here, I would like to share with you the lessons that I learnt during Dirty Dozen.
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Goal setting is one of the most important tools in life and sports. Goal setting helps you to increase your performance, self-confidence, motivation and it also assists you in handling anxiety. Furthermore, it comprises a major aspect of your personal development. Although it’s easy to set up goals it’s not that easy to execute or follow through on them. We usually forget that we have to set up many baby steps to enable us to reach our goals and that it can often be a long process to achieve success with our goals. I’ve struggled with this process myself and I would like to give you some guidelines on how to use goal setting in a very effective way.
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I had the honor to conduct an interview with Stellan Bengtsson, Swedish Table Tennis World Champion who has no less than 10 World Championship and 13 European Championship medals to his credit. Currently, he is living and coaching table tennis in the San Diego with his wife and business partner Angie. You can visit their website at www.stellangie.com. I asked Stellan’s view on the mental aspects of the game in table tennis and what he thought differentiated the best players from the rest. His advice is for you!
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I was at the ICC tournament last weekend and I totally lost my focus because I got distracted. I went skydiving just the day before, it was fun but maybe it wasn’t the best preparation for the tournament. By the way, you can check out my skydiving video here. But what happened? Well, learning from my own experience, I would like to give you some tips on what you can do to avoid making some of the mistakes I did.
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I visited in the Philippines and met Lauro Crisostomo, who both is the former table tennis women national coach and a former national team member for the Philippines. The atmosphere was very friendly during my visit in the Table Tennis Club in Manila. I had a chance to play with Lauro (his rating is still 2450) and also interview him, particularly about what he thinks of sport psychology and what experience he has with it as a coach and as an athlete.
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I was watching the figure skating at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and I had come to realize how lucky we table tennis players are. Firstly because when we make mistakes we wont break a bone (most of the time!) but secondly, and more importantly because we get the chance to make adjustments and correct our mistakes during the competition.

I recently played the Year of the Tiger and Western Open Joola tournament. I encourage you to check out Pradipta Dutta’s photos from the Year of the Tiger’s tournament at the following link: http://www.pbase.com/pradipta/topspin10 Read the rest of this entry »

Using cue words helps you to deepen your concentration, narrow your focus and to overcome the difficult circumstances you will face in the heat of battle.

Last weekend I was in Sacramento at a tournament. I was down against Maggie in the quarterfinals 0:2. She had been playing at a very high level and was killing all of my shots. I felt like I couldn’t get into the match and I was becoming increasingly frustrated. I knew that I had to change something to have any hope of staying in the tournament. Read the rest of this entry »