Receiving deceptive serves

Receiving

Jeff M Asked 11 years ago

Hi Alois and Jeff, I have a basic understanding in receiving serves that are obvious, but there is this particular player at our club that is very skilled in producing deceptive serves. It is giving me a lot of problems, because he serves short, with a variation of back spin and top spin. The deception area that he uses include adding a motion after the contact of the ball, and the stomp of the foot. Do people always contact the ball when they stomp the foot? If not, would people stomp the foot before contacting the ball or after contacting the ball to add deception to the serve? If so, what tips can you give me in trying to read the serve? Should I try to avoid listening to the stomp since it will add confusion to myself? Thanks

Alois Rosario Answered 11 years ago

Hi Jeff,

The most important thing is to watch the ball and the contact of the serve. This will give you a lot of information as to the type of serve it is.

The stomp and the additional motion after the contact of the serve doesn’t matter at all and you will start to not even notice it if you are totally focused on the ball.

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Returning Short Topspin Serves: Two Options

Returning a short topspin serve can be tricky because the spin wants to lift the ball up. In this video, we look at two effective options: developing an attacking flick and learning how to push the ball safely.

For the flick, the key is to be positive. Take a few risks, hit through the ball a little harder, and aim for a fast, flat contact. In practice, don’t worry too much about making mistakes as this is how you learn to control the shot under pressure.

The second option is the push. You can push a short topspin serve, but you need to adjust your contact. Instead of getting under the ball, come down the back of it more, almost feeling like your bat is moving slightly backwards. This helps counter the topspin and keeps the return lower and more controlled.

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1 comment from the PingSkills community.

Johan B Posted 11 years ago Latest

To elaborate on the stomp, it's probably mostly there to disguise whether it's a thick or a brushing contact (a thick contact will go longer and/or have less spin)

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