A Strange Shot from Defenders

Viet Dang Xuan Asked 10 years ago

Hi PingSkills,

While watching professional matches, I noticed that a lot of choppers used quite a strange shot on their forehand while defending. It's not a chop or a countertopspin, they contacted the ball quite flat and the ball then contained a lot of sidespin. Here is an example of Masato Shiono doing it against Kim Min Seok: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNuQ_mqPvUI#t=65. You can see the shot at around 1:10. What is this shot and how to do it?

Alois Rosario Answered 10 years ago

Hi Viet,

This is like a very low lob.  He is putting a little topspin on the ball.  It is a difficult ball for some attackers to play because it is so low and it is a change front eh backspin ball.  They can also add a little sidespin on the ball just by angling the bat slightly.

The stroke requires a lot of touch and control to be able to execute it properly.