Serving
In a video, Ma Lin is shown practicing a serve in which the ball rolls back towards the net after delivering a pendulum serve. I've been trying to execute this serve for a very long time, but it never rolls back. So can somebody please help me ? I really wanna learn this..
Hi Gaurav,
The idea is to have a lot of backspin and not much forward momentum on the ball.
The brushing action should be right under the ball and even coming under and up the front face of the ball a little.
You can practice getting the contact correct away from the table. Just find a piece of floor and see if you can get the ball to come back to you on the floor. Once you feel comfortable doing this then you can step up to the table and give it a try.
Here are two videos to help you:
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Gaurav Simha Posted 13 years ago
Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago
Gaurav Simha Posted 12 years ago
Ian Costello Posted 12 years ago
Hi,
When I toss the ball high @ hit the ball, the ball soars over the net @ never hits my side of the table,@ the serve tends to not have enough spin.
Please help! @THX
Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago
Hi Ian,
As Alois suggests in the video, try practicing this away from the table so you don't have that restriction. It does take a lot of practice to get the right contact. Especially when you throw the ball high as it comes down pretty fast. Once you start to get some good brushing contact away from the table, then you can come back and try it out on the table.
So keep practicing! That's the best advice I can give.
Oliver Posted 12 years ago
Whenever I do it, it seems to go high. Although it does spin back I still have a feeling someone will smash it back someday. Is there somethin u can do to help?
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago
Use a string across the top of the net, about 10 cm above it and aim to get the serve below the string. Take a look at the lesson on Keeping The Ball Low.
Oliver Posted 12 years ago
thx
Oliver Posted 12 years ago
YK Wong Posted 12 years ago
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago
Oliver,
You can adjust the string height if you want. This will be a good indication of how high the ball is going.
Chris McDade Posted 12 years ago
andrew brand Posted 12 years ago
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago
Gaurav Simha Posted 12 years ago
Claus Hamacher Posted 12 years ago
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago
AbdurRehman Malik Posted 12 years ago
Hi!
I'd like to thank you guys... you realy help me out a lot. thisvideo of yours is the most helpful for learning the ma lin serve i've found on the net cause it gives very clear instructions ....thnx a lot
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago
Ian Costello Posted 12 years ago
Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago
Varun Chaturvedi Posted 11 years ago
At what point of the i should make the contact of the ball?
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
Contact can be in the middle of the swing.
Gaurav Simha Posted 11 years ago
I get the serve best when the ball is in contact with the racket at the time just when it's starting to ascend as a part of the swing. I don't know if the rubber matters, but i rarely get it in the middle of the swing as alois suggests.
Justin O'Toole Posted 11 years ago
This serve is very deadly when used correctly but very hard to do. I can get the ball to backspin and go sideways 70% of the time, but not to come back as yet. This is because this serve is very hard to do. My advice to others trying this serve is watch video clips on this serve over and over. Also watch clips of the master Ma lin doing the seve over and over. If you have a coach practice with him too.
Then practice this shot 24/7 untill you feel comfortable enough to do it in practice sessions-games. Then use it in matches only when you feel confident-comfortable enough to use it in a match. Here is a train of thought the great golfer Nick Faldo said when making a golf swing change practice 24/7 and don't go in any major golf comps for a while.
The reason for this is when you feel uncomfortable with theese changes you will play poorly at first and this will demorilise you mentaly because you don't see the results at first. So i think this is good advice for table tennis too. Check with Jeff and Alois on this matter see what they think, there the pros not me. For me though i my coments are good advice. For me anyway and maybe it will work for you too.
Esteban Mendez Posted 11 years ago
When I try this, the ball keeps drifting off to the side. sometimes, it comes back to me but mostly it comes back sideways. Why is this?
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
Hi Esteban,
You are brushing the ball a little on the side. This will result in sidespin. It is difficult to feel this. The best thing is to get a video and then watch yourself doing it so that you get a proper feel for what is happening.
Esteban Mendez Posted 11 years ago
You're right. It turned out my bat was slightly tilted and that's why I produced this unwanted result. thanks a bunch!
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
No problem Esteban. Glad you have worked it out.
Justin O'Toole Posted 11 years ago
I can get this serve to go side ways 60-70% of the time but still can not get it to roll back to the net. It is a very hard serve to do. I don't know why my ball will not come back. Ma Lin makes this serve look easy when he is doing but then again he practices 24-7 and has great skills.
Just keep practicing the Ma Lin serve over and over. Any thoughts Master Alois.?
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
You need to get the bat flatter with the end of the bat higher. Then think about the brushing contact only to start with. If you can get the brushing action you will get it to come back towards you. Step away from the table and see if you can get this to happen on the floor first.
Danish Ali Posted 11 years ago
Hi Alois when i try to do "malin serve"it dosent hits my opponents side it returns to me after hitting my side of table...please help me
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
Hi Danish,
Hit the ball more forward with a slightly flatter contact. It is great that you are able to get the ball to spin back so well.
Danish Ali Posted 11 years ago
Thanks for the advise but when i hit the ball with flatter contact it wont returns like original serve after hitting the other side
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
It is a fine balance. It is a matter of getting the right amount of contact to get the serve just right. Keep experimenting.
DHS Lover Posted 11 years ago
DHS Lover Posted 11 years ago
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
This takes time to get right. The main thing is to get the brushing contact right first.
Danish Ali Posted 11 years ago
Thanks Alois
DHS Lover Posted 11 years ago
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
More practice...
DHS Lover Posted 11 years ago
Sam Evans Posted 11 years ago
Hi Alois
I was just wondering how effective this serve is in a match as I still cannot consistantly perform the serve with a small amount of spin, let alone to the extent of spin that you can. I need a lot of practice, so I was wondering if that serve is worth the practice time that could be used developing other areas of my game?
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
Hi Sam,
Trying to make the ball come back to you is not really what you should practice. Think about trying to keep the ball short and low with backspin. This is important to be able to gain the initiative in the rally. That is worth practising.
Sam Evans Posted 11 years ago
Thankyou,
I have both pendulum and reverse pendulum backspin serves which I can get quite a lot of spin on; am I better off developing these or working on the ma Lin serve which currently I can get lower and closer to the net, with inconsistencies?
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
I would keep working on all of the 3 serves. Use the Pendulum and Reverse Pendulum mainly but develop the straight backspin serve as well.
Justin O'Toole Posted 11 years ago
Keep practicing everyone Alois is right more practice. Don't worry I have trouble too just like you friendly Halim. I just keep practicing this serve. Also I watch my serving secrets dvd that Alois and Jeff did. It was one of the best sporting instructional dvds I have ever brought.
Tmoney Tlarz09 Posted 11 years ago
Hey is there a correct technique when using the pendulum serve and hit the opposite corner of the table on the opponents side closes to you while adding side spin and bouncing directly away from the table making your opponent have to go to the side of the table to return it sorry if this question is hard to understand. Thanks
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
This is a matter of changing the angle of your body to start with or the angle of your swing. Try putting a target on the table where you want it to land and practice aiming for it. That is a simple but effective way of getting the ball where you want it.
atharva sakharkar Posted 10 years ago
Hi alois I can get the spin back on the ground bt when I try on the table the ball doesn't go above the table it just remains very low nd hits the net pls help me
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 10 years ago
Hi Atharva,
Try hitting the ball from a little higher. Give the ball a bit more air. Hope this helps.
gabe yap Posted 10 years ago
Dear Pingskills,
where is your table tennis club. Is there any chance I can join.
gabe yap Posted 10 years ago
Dear Pingskills,
where is your table tennis club. Is there any chance I can join.
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 10 years ago
Hi Gabe,
We do all our coaching online. We live in Melbourne, Australia.
sami feras Posted 10 years ago
do you need to throw the ball high
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 10 years ago
Hi Sami,
No you don't. You can still get the ball to stop and come back if you tilt your bat back a bit further and slow the speed of the ball down.
Ayesha Noon Posted 10 years ago
This video actually helped me with the regular backspin serve.
Thanks! ;-)
izz izz Posted 10 years ago
I tried to do it many times but i can't do it
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 10 years ago
What is your bat like Izz?
Ashish Desai Posted 10 years ago
I tried to do the back spin too I can't do it
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 10 years ago
Persevere Ashish. Make sure you are brushing right under the ball and that your bat has plenty of grip on it.
D K Posted 9 years ago
This is one of the most difficult serves I have ever seen.
I have tried it countless times,but the ball is spinless and low,or has a chop like hell on it,but is high enough even for me to smash it.
But when I practise it out of the tabel,it is quite succesful: it does not bounce so much and returns to me even on the carpet.
But when I try it at the table,it simply does not work
Nigel Fewster Posted 9 years ago
D K try videoing yourself doing the serve or get some one to do it then play it back and compare it with Alois's video, you should be able to see a difference and that is the bit you need to correct.
D K Posted 9 years ago
The main difference I can see is that when Alois did the off-table training when he lets the ball return to him on the floor-
His bounce is about 30 cm above the bat.
My bounce is more than twice as high.
But when I make it with less power,it has no spin.
What can cause it :( ?
Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 9 years ago
Hi DK,
This will be because of the flooring. Where this video is filmed the floor is covered with Taraflex which is a kind of mat flooring. If you are playing on a wooden ball it will bounce a lot higher. It's not something to worry about, you can still keep practicing as you are.
Nigel Fewster Posted 9 years ago
D K try this, when you hold the racket make sure you have a very loose grip on it and I mean loose it should nearly wobble in your hand. I suspect that you are holding the bat handle far too tight and instead of the racket cushioning the ball as it goes under it you are causing the rubbers to throw the ball back high. This high bounce would also be caused by using a very fast blade with very fast rubbers in which case even looser is the answer.
D K Posted 9 years ago
Hello
Jeff:I did not talk about the bounce of the floor but the bounce of the bat.
With a power similar to Alois' the ball goes above my head
Nigel: You are probably right that my bat (Blade: Yinhe T-9 Balsa-Carbon and FH rubber: Rakza7Soft Max sponge) is quite fast.
I will try to not hold it so tight
Thanks both of you
Ilia Minkin Posted 9 years ago
It is hard to see on the video, but is the bat actually moving slightly upwards? When I brush the ball really upwards, I can make to to stop still on the table, but can't make it come back :(
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 9 years ago
Hi Ilia,
You can get the bat to even go a little upwards. Another key is the contact on the ball. If you get the contact closer to the front of the bat then you will find you will get a little more backspin.
D K Posted 9 years ago
I know it is a matter of technique,but...what adjustments do I have to get the Ma Lin serve with enormously slow bat ?
(slow compared to his own,as he has a very fast bat)
And also-your serve does not seem to have really much momentum.
But in the video where Ma Lin himself performs this serve ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8advrudYZs ),it seems like to have a quite lot of momentum,momentum similar to my own topspin serve.
He seems to be overpowering a momentum with more enormous spin.
So where is the difference?
Romeo Chua Posted 9 years ago
Ma Lin has excellent touch, that is why he is able to put enough spin on the ball to make it bounce back to him despite his forward momentum
D K Posted 9 years ago
So it should be easier with a slower bat?
Gary List Posted 7 years ago
I'd love to learn this little number. I've tried but it's tricky. I find I make many mistakes, so refrain from. Using it. Practice practice practice me thinks!!!
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 7 years ago
Yes practice me thinks too...
Really focus on the tilt of your racket... turn it further back than you think you need to...
Rafael Paynor Posted 7 years ago
Alois Rosario how can I do the Ma Lin's serve?
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 7 years ago
See the video above. Then practice it focusing on the contact point in particular.
Justin Dean Posted 7 years ago
Another great video !
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 7 years ago
Thanks Justin.
Halina Kaman Posted 7 years ago
I find it great ! Perfect explanation! I will try to practice this serve too...
Thanks Alois
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 7 years ago
Great to hear Halina.
Anthony Portillo Posted 7 years ago
I'll try to practice and master this serve...
Thank you Alois,
toby kim Posted 4 years ago
Thanks for the video, the ball now comes back to the net faster than when Ma Lin did it.
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 4 years ago
Ha, I like it!