Returning the fast serve to backhand

Hi Jeff & Alois,

I am finding difficult to return serves that are fast and bounce on the white line to my backhand. I tried standing little farther from the table but my return becomes very slow. How can I improve here?

Thanks,

Narendra

HI Narendra,

You are doing the right thing by standing back a little.  Make sure you are not too far from the table.  It just needs about 10cm move back from your normal ready position.

Now try to get the movement of your bat more forward to get more speed on the ball.  Also think about the placement of the return.  Speed isn't the only thing that can win you the point.  If you add a lot of spin or place the ball well it can be very effective.

We do have a  video response for our Premium members to this question.  Take a look at the previous question of the Flat long serve.