How to Analyze Your Table Tennis Matches Like a Pro

A practical guide for club and tournament players.

Most players finish a match, look at the final score, and move on. A few hours later they vaguely remember “I missed a lot of backhands” or “I couldn’t return his serve.” The details that really matter are gone – and so is the opportunity to improve faster.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to analyze your table tennis matches in a structured way, and how a tool like TT Match Analyzer can help you turn raw scores into coaching-style insights.

1. Start with the basics: rating, result, and score

Before digging into tactics or technique, write down the simple facts:

Your rating and your opponent’s rating.
Match format (best of 3, best of 5).
Who won and who lost.
Game-by-game scores (e.g. 11–8, 7–11, 9–11, 11–9, 8–11).

This basic information already tells you a lot. Losing a close match to a higher-rated player is very different from barely beating a much lower-rated player. Scorelines also show whether you were in every game or had complete collapses in specific ones.

2. Look for patterns in the scoreline

Instead of just seeing “I lost 2–3”, ask:

Did I start strong and fade, or start slow and finish strong?
Were my losses mostly deuce games or big gaps?
Did I keep losing from winning positions (e.g. leading 8–5 and still losing)?

Patterns like “always losing game 3 badly” or “can’t finish games when leading” often point to mental or tactical issues that are fixable once you notice them.

3. Analyze your serve and receive

At most levels, serve and receive decide a huge portion of points. After each match, ask:

Which serves actually gave me free points or weak returns?
Which serves were punished or easily attacked?
Which opponent serves did I consistently struggle to read or control?

Make notes like “BH short underspin to the middle worked well” or “I kept popping up his sidespin serve to my forehand.” These notes become specific practice targets.

4. Identify your key technical mistakes

You don’t need to list every missed shot. Focus on the mistakes that kept repeating:

Missing the first loop against backspin.
Blocking too passively and getting overpowered.
Backing off the table instead of staying close.
Missing simple put-aways because of poor footwork.

Pick one or two technical problems per match and turn them into drills. For example, if you kept missing first loops, dedicate a training session to multiball or robot work on opening vs backspin to different locations.

5. Study your tactics: where did your plan fail?

Ask yourself:

Did I have a clear plan at the start of the match?
What was I trying to do on serve + third ball?
What was my main receive pattern and follow-up?
Did I ever change my tactics when things stopped working?

Many players keep doing the same thing even when it clearly fails. A simple tactical change – like serving more to the middle, targeting the opponent’s elbow, or rolling the ball instead of trying to kill every shot – can flip a close match.

6. Don’t ignore the mental game

Mental patterns show up clearly if you pay attention:

Do you tighten up when leading?
Do you rush when you are behind?
Do you get stuck thinking about past mistakes?
Do you lose focus after an umpire call or a lucky edge?

Once you recognize these patterns, you can experiment with simple routines: deep breaths between points, using a towel break to reset, or committing to a safe serve and first ball when under pressure.

7. Turn analysis into a practice plan

Good analysis should lead to action. After each match, write down:

1–2 technical priorities (e.g. FH opening vs backspin).
1 serve and 1 receive focus (e.g. improve short BH serve, read sidespin).
1 mental focus (e.g. play one point at a time when leading).

Bring these notes to your next practice session so that your training directly targets what actually happens in matches.

8. How TT Match Analyzer can help

Doing all of this manually can be time-consuming. That’s where TT Match Analyzer comes in.

Instead of staring at your score sheet and trying to remember everything, you simply enter:

Your rating and your opponent’s rating.
The match format and game-by-game scores.
Your opponent’s style (if you know it).
Any notes about what felt right or wrong.

The tool then returns coaching-style feedback that highlights:

Key strengths and weaknesses from the match.
Likely serve and receive issues.
Suggested tactical adjustments.
Practice ideas connected to your match performance.

You still control your improvement, but the analysis gives you a head start and a more structured way to think about each match.

9. Make match analysis a habit

The real power comes when you analyze not just one match, but every league night and tournament. Over time, patterns become obvious: recurring weaknesses, styles you struggle against, and situations where you consistently underperform.

Whether you use a notebook, a spreadsheet, or TT Match Analyzer, the goal is the same: turn your matches into learning opportunities instead of just memories.

The next time you finish a match, don’t just ask “Did I win or lose?” – ask “What did I learn?” and give your future self a chance to play better.

Ready to try it out? Head back to the TT Match Analyzer home page, enter your latest match, and see what insights you get.