Returning a tomahawk serve

Sujeet Kalsekar Asked 8 years ago

Hi coach, I'm a little bit confused when it comes to return a tomahawk serve. I don't know what to do when the serve is short and full of spin. Also I get confused when the serve is long. Please give me a solution.

Alois Rosario Answered 8 years ago

Hi Sujeet,

If the ball is long then your first option should be to topspin the return. You will need to account for the sidespin and the topspin or backspin that the server has put on the ball. Use the angle of your racket to do this.

If the serve is short then use a push if the serve has some backspin or flick if the serve has some topspin.

Learning to return any serve takes some time. You need to adjust your angle depending on the type of spin that is on the ball.

Recommended Video

Judging the Length of a Serve

A really important skill in table tennis is to be able to judge if a serve will be short or long. If it's short you won't be able to take a full swing at the ball and hence will need to use either a push or a flick to return the ball. However, if it is coming long then you can make a topspin attack. In this video we give you some tips to help you judge the length of the serve and hopefully this makes you a better returner.

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Sujeet Kalsekar Posted 8 years ago

Thanks I'll try.I tried flipping the short serve but it flies off the table

D K Posted 8 years ago

then it is probably topspin serve.
For me,it works for me to treat it as a slow spinny topspin.
The hard thing is to read it though.