Serve

Sean Unknown Asked 16 years ago

What serve could I do, if someone always attacks it? Thanks

Jeff Plumb Answered 16 years ago

Hi Sean,

There are three things you can do to make it hard for your opponent to return your serve. You can mix up the speed, spin and placement.

You can mix up the speed by serving long or serving short. We recommend as rough guide, that you serve 80% of your serves short. By serving short, I mean that if the ball was left alone by your opponent it would bounce at least twice on the table. When you serve the ball short, your opponent cannot take a full swing at the ball and this makes it harder to attack.

By mixing up the spin, you also increase the difficulty for your opponent as they must watch hard to determine how much and what type of spin you are putting on the ball.

Lastly try varying the placement of your serve. You may be surprised to find that your opponent can return the exact same serve very well when served to their backhand but has real trouble when served to their forehand. Try out various positions and see if it makes a difference.

I also suggest you watch our lesson on the placement of the serve. Let me know if these tips help you out.