Are short soft serves better than long hard serves
Serving
Paul Davenport Asked 14 years ago
Hi Alex,
Judging from the 'success' of my various serves, I'm beginning to get the feeling that short, soft serves are more effective than the longer, harder ones.
Can you confirm this?
Alois Rosario Answered 14 years ago
Hi Paul,
The short serve is more effective as you play better players. The long serves, no matter where they go will be able to be attacked by the better players. By serving short you will stop them from attacking and set up an attack for yourself.
In the middle grades long spin serves can be effective if they don't have a strong attack because the spin is hitting their bats faster and is therefore harder to control.
Short serves are highly recommended here.
Question actions
Recommended Video
5 Essential Serve Strategies in Table Tennis
Serving in table tennis is about much more than just getting the ball into play; it's about setting the pace, controlling the game, and exploiting your opponent's weaknesses from the very first touch. In This Video, You'll Discover:
- The Danger Zone: Learn why serving to your opponent’s comfort zone is a mistake and where you should aim instead.
- Wide Serves: Understand the tactical advantage of serving wide and how it can open up the table for your next shot.
- Targeting Weaknesses: Tips on identifying and exploiting your opponent's weaker side with precision serves.
- Varying Your Serve Position: The benefits of serving from different positions and how it can confuse and unbalance your opponent.
- The Crossover Point: How to target the elusive crossover point (the transition between forehand and backhand) to force errors or weak returns.
Watch Now
Thoughts on this question (1)
Become a free member to post a comment about this question.
Paul Davenport Posted 14 years ago
Good, so I'll just have to work on my short, soft serves.