Editing Table tennis (section)

=== Defensive strokes ===

==== Push ====
The push (or "slice" in Asia) is usually used for keeping the point alive and creating offensive opportunities. A push resembles a tennis slice: the racket cuts underneath the ball, imparting backspin and causing the ball to float slowly to the other side of the table. A push can be difficult to attack because the backspin on the ball causes it to drop toward the table upon striking the opponent's racket. In order to attack a push, a player must usually loop (if the push is long) or flip (if the push is short) the ball back over the net. Often, the best option for beginners is to simply push the ball back again, resulting in pushing rallies. Against good players, it may be the worst option because the opponent will counter with a loop, putting the first player in a defensive position. Pushing can have advantages in some circumstances, such as when the opponent makes easy mistakes.

==== Chop ====
A chop is the defensive, backspin counterpart to the offensive loop drive.<ref name=H89>{{Harvnb |Hodges|1993|p=89}}</ref> A chop is essentially a bigger, heavier push, taken well back from the table. The racket face points primarily horizontally, perhaps a little bit upward, and the direction of the stroke is straight down. The object of a defensive chop is to match the topspin of the opponent's shot with backspin. A good chop will float nearly horizontally back to the table, in some cases having so much backspin that the ball actually ''rises''. Such a chop can be ''extremely'' difficult to return due to its enormous amount of backspin. Some defensive players can also impart no-spin or sidespin variations of the chop. Some famous choppers include [[Joo Sae-hyuk]] and [[Wu Yang]].

==== Block ====
A block is executed by simply placing the racket in front of the ball right after the ball bounces; thus, the ball rebounds back toward the opponent with nearly as much energy as it came in with. This requires precision, since the ball's spin, speed, and location all influence the correct angle of a block. It is very possible for an opponent to execute a perfect loop, drive, or smash, only to have the blocked shot come back just as fast. Due to the power involved in offensive strokes, often an opponent simply cannot recover quickly enough to return the blocked shot, especially if the block is aimed at an unexpected side of the table. Blocks almost always produce the same spin as was received, many times topspin.

==== Lob ====
The defensive lob propels the ball about five metres in height, only to land on the opponent's side of the table with great amounts of spin.<ref name=H96>{{Harvnb |Hodges|1993|p=96}}</ref> The stroke itself consists of lifting the ball to an enormous height before it falls back to the opponent's side of the table. A lob can have nearly any kind of spin. Though the opponent may ''smash'' the ball hard and fast, a good defensive lob could be more difficult to return due to the unpredictability and heavy amounts of the spin on the ball.<ref name=H96/> Thus, though backed off the table by tens of feet and running to reach the ball, a good defensive player can still win the point using good lobs. The lob is used less frequently by professional players. A notable exception is [[Michael Maze]].{{cn|date=November 2024}}