Strong third/fourth ball

Strokes and Technique

jack neo
jack neo Asked 12 years ago

Hey coaches,

Usually i serve with side top and my opponent gives me a high return i either put it long or smash the ball into the net. The same goes with the fourth ball after the opponent gets a successfully blocks the ball. Must i brush the ball more?


Alois Rosario
Alois Rosario Answered 12 years ago

Hi Jack,

It sounds like you probably need to put a bit more topspin on the ball.  Brushing over the top will help.  You may even need to slow the shot down a little as well.

These two things will give you a higher success rate. 


Thoughts on this question


jack neo

jack neo Posted 12 years ago

I was playing a defensive guy today and he kept changing spin which caused me to put many balls long. So basically, close the racket angle and brush the ball more?

Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago

This is tricky.  You need to watch the spin.  It may be a matter of degrees as well.  He may put more spin, medium spin less spin etc.

You need to watch carefully and adjust the angle accordingly.  The more spin the more you open the bat up the less spin the more you cover it over.


jack neo

jack neo Posted 12 years ago

And coach, i got another question. I tried opening the angle of my bat to about 80-90degrees during a topspin but the ball still flies long. How do i solve this

Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago

If the ball flies long you need to cover the bat over to less degrees and still brush the ball with topspin.

jack neo

jack neo Posted 12 years ago

Hey coach, i've been playing with the donic jo gold on my forehand which is very fast rubber. Hence, i tend to put balls long sometimes. So i decided to switch to my old sriver el. I enjoyed the excellent control but found that i needed much more effort to loop underspin with, the ball frequently hits the net even i try to brush the ball more. Should i go back to my donic jo gold or find a rubber that has decent speed and good control?

Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago

Hi Jack,

Perhaps a rubber with a higher throw will help you to lift the ball more. I haven\'t used the Donic rubber but I have found Vega Pro to be really good for lifting backspin.


jack neo

jack neo Posted 12 years ago

I found my blade quite hard and thought of changing to a stiga clipper wood which is cheap, softer and provides more dwell time and pairing it with a hurricane 3 neo on the forehand. What do you think about this set up?

jack neo

jack neo Posted 12 years ago

I researched on the vega pro and it seems to be a faster than my donic rubber. Maybe i don't the level of technique to handle it?

Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago

You could try another rubber that is a bit slower with a high throw angle.  Other readers may have some suggestions of these for you.

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