More Effective Backspin Serve
Serving
Chema Unknown Asked 17 years ago
Either backhand or forehand, how is a backspin serve more effective? A long and low backspin serve or a short but rather spinnier ball? I have seen Ma Lin's serve and it is impressive, I don't really manage to get the ball to stay on the table after my serve, when I do, the ball does not have enough spin and is easily answered.
Thanks a lot!
PS: Is there a significative difference between a backspin serve with a long pips bat and a normal one?
Jeff Plumb Answered 17 years ago
Hi Chema,
I recommend serving around 80% of your serves short so that they would bounce twice on the table if left untouched by your opponent. By serving short, you reduce the attacking opportunities of your opponent as they cannot take a full swing at the ball.
To generate more spin you need to have a brushing contact and a fast contact. These two points are critical. As you are swinging fast and only brushing the ball, this skill takes a lot of time to master so make sure you practice it lots.
There is a big difference between a serve with long pips as opposed to a serve with normal rubber. The normal rubber is grippy and will generate a lot of spin if you contact the ball fast with a brushing motion. However the long pips will not grip the ball and hence will hardly generate any spin at all on a serve.
Question actions
Recommended Video
How To Master Spin Serves in Table Tennis
Want to take your table tennis serves to the next level? In this episode, we break down how to master spin serves to gain the upper hand in every match.
What You’ll Learn:
✅ The Fundamentals of Spin Serves – How to generate and control spin for maximum effectiveness.
✅ Common Mistakes – The biggest serve errors players make and how to fix them fast.
✅ Viewer Q&A – Your top questions about serving, answered!
✅ Train Smarter – Drills to help you develop spin, deception, and consistency.
Adding spin to your serves can completely change your game. Which spin serve do you struggle with the most? Let us know in the comments!
Watch Now
No comments yet!
Become a free member to post a comment about this question.