Last updated on 08-Mar-2012 12:22:15 PM
Coach,
I recently played in a tournament where a player had a side spin serve. However, the spin was so heavy that I kept chopping/pushing the ball out to the left of the table (out of bounds). We were tied in a game to 11 at 5-5 but he ended up winning the game 11-6 since he served to me that same heavy side spin serve about 4 times in the match (on which I could not return with a back hand push and a chop)
Do you have any suggestions on what action I should use against such a serve? Do I need a special/strong rubber to counter heavy side spins?
I love your advice on other questions and would definitely appreicate if you shed some light onto this situation.
Thanks!
Steve
Hi Steve,
The key is to angle your bat so that the ball then moves more to the right.
Use your bat like a rudder to steer the ball over to where you want it to go and counter where the spin is taking it.
Keep it that simple and you will start to learn how to counter such sidespin serves.
Remember it is a frustrating thing to do because it takes our brains a while to adjust. It will happen eventually and you will wonder what all the fuss was about.
Hey guys,
I usually have trouble returning this serve too, even though ironically it is my best serve. My take on returning serves with sidespin is to try to hit the ball in the direction that the ball is spinning towards to varying degrees. For example if the ball is spinning to your right, aim towards the right as the ball will bounce off your racket to the left.
Andrew T
A very good player at our club suggested the following- aim the tip of your blade towards the direction of movement of the server, and strike the ball with a short jabbing motion to reduce contact time. This will return a lot of the spin back to your opponent. Using a pimple-out rubber helps to reduce the grip of the ball on the blade, but is not essential.
So if the server's blade moves to your left, aim your blade to your left, at roughly a 45 degree angle. You also need to watch for side/back spin, pure side spin, or side/ top spin. This governs the "tilt" of your blade.
Using the flick technique is possible too if the ball bounces high enough close to the net.
Jon Pia Ferguson
HI Jon,
That is an idea. I think though that experience is essential to allow for the small differences in the spin and as you pointed out to allow for the different types of spin.
Spoke to Ron again(the very good player), and he added that this is just a starting point for practice. He also said that you should strike the ball at a similar point as the server, and your blade angle should mirror his(or hers).
So if the server strikes the ball towards the bottom, so should you. If he strikes toward the top, so should you.
Also, watch carefully his blade angle when the ball is struck- you should copy that angle when returning the serve.
He emphasized that this is just a starting point for practice with a live partner, NOT a robot, as robots don't have the arm movements and bat angles that are necessary to read the spin. From here, you can start to control ball placement and employ tactics, etc., instead of just hitting the ball and hoping for the best.
Hope this helps,
Jon Ferguson
