Keeping the pendulum serve short

Hi Guys,

 i am a left handed player and so i find that the pendulum serve can be quite effective against my opponents because they're used to the ball spinning in the opposite direction. The problem im having is i cant keep the serve short and low. i can do a decent fast topspin pendulum but after a couple of points my opponents get used to this and when i try to do a short serve it either hits the net or is too high and leaves my opponent on for an easy flip. i have tried adding a little backspin but then find that there isn't much side spin on the ball. i have tried to brush the ball as finely as i can and flick my wrist but i then find the serve goes long or is too inconsistent. Could you please give me some advice on how to solve this problem, i have looked at your serving videos but can't seem to replicate them effectively!

thanks,

George 

Hi George,

I think it is difficult to keep the topspin serve short.  I would start to work on getting more backspin first.

To change from the topspin to the backspin and still maintain the sidespin keep hit the ball on the downswing or earlier in the swing than you are doing at the moment.  Also try angling your bat back so that the face of your racket faces to the roof.  You still need to brush around the side of the ball to get the sidespin.

When you are trying to get these serves with more spin by brushing the ball faster and more finely, don't worry if the ball is going long to start with.  This will almost always happen as part of the stage of learning the skill.  It is such a fine skill that it has to take time to perfect.