If you have ever played a world pro tour event, you are probably familiar with the term “lucky loser”.  So what does it mean? 
 
A lucky loser is a player who loses in an event but still advances due to an opening in the draw.  For example, if there are 152 players entered in one pro tour event, there might be 32 players seeded into the single elimination and 120 players competing in round robin groups.  There would be 30 groups of 4 players per group with the winners advancing to meet the 32 seeded players. 
 

Encouraging and coaching fellow club members at tournaments is one of best aspects of a competition.  In this article, I’m going to outline how to coach another player between games.  If I were coaching a friend or student, here is what I might possibly say.
 
Good game – you ended strong with a nice comeback. 

One of the most difficult skills for the average player to learn is match strategy.  There are several reasons for this.
1.    It requires the ability to focus on what your opponent is doing.  This can be difficult when your own strokes are not sound. 
2.    It requires a lot of experience to realize what strategies work against different styles. 
3.    Finally, it is hard to fine much in writing regarding match tactics.  This is largely due to the complexity and individuality of the issue.

Modern Table Tennis Styles
By Richard McAfee
USATT Certified National Coach
 
 

During the first lesson with a new student, I often ask the following question,
“Which areas of your game are you trying to improve long term and what measures are you taking to improve those areas?” 
They usually respond with a short reply like…
“I’m working on losing this fat belly.”
Or
“I’m just trying to perfect my forehand, that’s all I care about.”
Or
“I just want a serve that no one can return.”
Usually their answers are very short and not detailed.  They want to improve, but don’t have a plan.
 

McAfee’s Mechanics
Mastering Blocks
By: Richard McAfee, Joola Sponsored Coach and USATT Hall of Fame Inductee
While not as flashy as topspin attacks and kills, few strokes are more important to your success as a player than the often under-appreciated block stroke.  The basic “control” block is one of the very first strokes that all players learn and then unfortunately, many players stop developing and improving this core technique. 

Change-Up
Written by Coach Rich Burnside

Too Happy or Too Sad?
 
 
Say you are winning 2-0 in a match, or 10-5. You could be pretty relaxed and thinking about the next game. Another scenario is when you are down 7-3 and thinking about how you can’t win against your opponent or thinking that he is too good. This article will address both of these scenarios and how you can focus during the match.

The moment is here. The moment to prove that all of your hard work has paid off. I will give some tips on the things to do in the tournament which may help.

1. Arrive an hour early
It is important to arrive early so that you can become accustomed to all the aspects of the playing site. These aspects include the lighting and the floor. Also, it is necessary to warm up your strokes. Your 1st match should be treated like your last match, and therefore, you have to be ready.