Dima serving
Serving
Jesper Franzen Asked 7 years ago
Hello
I have two questions about spin vs forward momentum.
Dima makes two serves at 2.38 that clearly shows his ability to make a strong spin with not so much forward momentum. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5qeMkdeaQ0
I have a real hard time trying to make this without the serve tends to be like a lob serve or what you call in your videos a "slow" serve(the ball hitting close to the net on my side.) Do you you have any advice/tips for this. I find that with the reverse pendulum serve this is easier to do but not with the regular.
Also his famous backhand serve, I really can't get that much spin on the ball. To have a lot of spin one would need to use a lot of wrist which I feel difficult in this serve. Do you have any tips how going about this serve to get maximum spin.
Best regards
Jesper
Alois Rosario Answered 7 years ago
Hi Jesper,
The topspin serve is a bit tricky. Try to hit right up the back of the ball with a flat bat. Push forward with your racket on contact. This will get the ball moving a bit faster. Also make sure you are hitting the ball from quite low.
Take a look at our video on Serving Short & Fast.
To generate more spin on the backhand serve alter your grip slightly. Release the little finger and ring finger from the racket. This will allow more wrist movement.
Thoughts on this question
Become a free member to post a comment about this question.
Jesper Franzen Posted 7 years ago
Hello
Ah I never thought this serve to be a topspin serve because when I do it they put it more into the net than up(never). I tried to copy the result of Dimas serve and it was in the right alley. So I have a hard time seeing this as a topspin serve. Am I missing something?
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 7 years ago
It depends on the contact you get. He is getting an upward contact. It is easy to then go under it a little bit to get a backspin contact. You may be going under slightly.
Marv Anderson Posted 7 years ago
I can get a lot of spin on a backhand serve by letting my wrist be very loose and whipping the racket very sharply with my forearm. The wrist really moves fast.
It will take a lot of practice but it's worth it. You can serve long and fast with all kinds of different spin this way, and with more practice, you can have a spiny half long serve as well.
Nigel C Posted 7 years ago
Just as a variation to my backhand serve, I sometimes keep my wrist quite rigid, but brush across the back of the ball keeping the face of blade vertical. I try to make as little forward motion as possible. This results in a ball that keeps short and low over the net but is loaded with sidespin. you must keep the ball low and short or a flick shot can easily put this away for a winner.
I have won quite a few points using this serve, I think this works because people do not see a large wrist movement and assume there is not much spin on the ball. The brushing contact is the key.
Jesper Franzen Posted 7 years ago
Thanks for the response but I have a hard time replicating topspin with a pedulum serve. As of now I really don't see how you can get topspin if you are just doing a pendulum serve when you are hitting the ball late in the arc. Since you are hitting the ball on the side it will maximum go 90 degrees to the right when landing on the table. So to get little topspin you really have to turn your body to the left so you can make contact on the back of the ball.
On a side note. Some of your lessons would be really helpful if you could have a marked ball so we would see the spin. Just a thought.
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 7 years ago
Hi Jesper,
You get the topspin wiht the upward motion of the racket. There will always be a little sidespin as well with the pendulum serve.
You can get a little more topspin by pushing your bat more forward on contact as well.
We use a marked ball sometimes but I think we can use it more as you suggest.