returning a serve
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Masho Unknown Asked 17 years ago
Hi our coach,
i'd like to ask you about how to safely return a sidely spinning serve, the ball always goes away from my racket (without conrtol). is it good to use mini-chopping (generating backspin) to return that ball. thanks alot for you.
Alois Rosario Answered 17 years ago
Hi Masho,
The main thing is to use the angle of your bat to steer th eball back onto the table. If the ball goes off to the left you need to point your bat to the right and so on.
Using a little bit of backspin can get the ball to go a little straighter since you are putting your own direction on the ball.
Hope this helps you.
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Recommended Video
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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Ji-Soo Woo Posted 17 years ago
I think Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Main thing with handling side spin serves (or any serve) is to avoid this form of insanity. In other words, don't just keep trying to return the serves the same way over and over again expecting a different result. If your return is too high, angle your racquet face down. If it hits the net, angle your racquet face up. If it jumps to your right, angle your racquet left etc.... This seems pretty obvious but requires some discipline in the heat of a match.
Of course, good servers will mix things up so it is hard to 'calibrate' your return, but at the lower/medium club levels, it is not uncommon for a server to serve EXACTLY the same way multiple times in a row and for the receiver to make EXACTLY the same mistake every time.