How to Smash in Table Tennis: Forehand & Backhand Technique
The smash — or kill shot — is the point-ender of table tennis. When your opponent pops the ball up high, a well-executed smash is nearly unreturnable. Yet beginners miss more smashes than any other shot, usually because excitement overrides technique. Here’s how to smash reliably with both wings.
When to smash (and when not to)
Smash when the ball is above net height and preferably mid-table or closer. If the ball is below the net, a flat smash has to travel upward first — that’s how smashes hit the net. Low balls want topspin drives or loops instead; save the smash for genuinely high balls.
The forehand smash, step by step
- Read early and move first. Get your feet set side-on to the ball’s landing spot — smashing while reaching is the number one cause of misses.
- Backswing at shoulder height. Rotate hips and shoulders back, paddle slightly above the incoming ball’s peak.
- Strike at the top of the bounce. The highest point gives you the widest safe window into the table.
- Hit flat and forward, not down. The ball is already high; your job is speed through it. Contact the back of the ball with a nearly vertical paddle face.
- Transfer weight and follow through across your body — then recover, because good opponents lob smashes back.
The backhand smash
Less powerful but quicker to set up: elbow up and out, paddle drawn to your non-playing shoulder, then extend through the ball at its peak with a firm wrist. Most players are better served stepping around to use the forehand on very high balls — but at mid-table speeds the backhand smash wins points the forehand can’t reach in time.
Five smash-killing mistakes
- Swinging down on the ball (‘spiking’ like volleyball) — drives it into the net
- Smashing off the back foot with no weight transfer
- Letting the ball drop from its peak before striking
- Death-gripping the handle — check our grip guide
- Admiring the shot instead of recovering for the lob return
How to practice it
You need a feed of high balls, which is exactly what training robots are built for — see our ping pong robot reviews for machines that lob on repeat. No robot? Have a partner serve high backspin balls, or practice the multi-ball drill from our drills guide. And make sure your paddle has enough speed for flat hitting — very soft control paddles mute smashes.
Benjamin Fink is the founder and lead table tennis reviewer at PingPongReviewed. He has played competitive club table tennis for over 17 years, including national-level tournaments, and has personally play-tested hundreds of paddles, rubbers, blades, tables, and training robots.
Every recommendation he publishes follows the site’s hands-on evaluation process — see How We Test for the full methodology. When he isn’t reviewing gear, Benjamin coaches beginners and writes training guides to help recreational players improve faster.
