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. 

 
At your level in table tennis, fitness might not seem very important.  However, if you want to improve 2-3 levels, fitness will become an important aspect of your game.  Prepare for improvement!  Avoid injuries!  Increase your speed!  Boost your endurance!  At the end of every training session, do 20-30 minutes of intense physical training focusing mainly on foot speed, core strength, stability, and balance.  

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.