Serving
Hi Pingskills,
I am a left hander. My regular serves are pendulum short topspin and short sidespin. My forehand is my biggest weapon, but neither serve really complements my forehand third ball. If someone pushes my short sidespin serve, the spin will bring the ball back to my backhand. I would ideally like to have a serve that will make the ball spin the other way, so a pushed ball would come onto my forehand. What serve would be best? I occasionally try a reverse pendulum, but they tend to turn out as no spin serves because I can't get the whip on the service action to generate spin. Is reverse pendulum the best one to try? If so, how is this serve executed?
Hi Simon,
The Reverse Pendulum is a good one to try. The other good option is a backhand serve. Both of these serves will get the ball going into a better angle for you.
To do the Reverse Pendulum correctly think about getting your bat to start near your left hip and have the finish pointing at the far netpost. Use your wrist flicking it backwards.
We cover this serve in our lessons on Serving Secrets.
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
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