Serve return hidden serves

Receiving

Shripathi ramakrishnan
Shripathi ramakrishnan Asked 11 years ago

hi alois and jeff,

ive started playing against an opponent who has a pendulum sidespin serve with very powerful spin. i have great difficulty returning this serve as it often goes into the net. ive tried watching the ball curve and get into a positon . it works fairly well but when i play my bh topspin it goes into the net. and even if i do get the ball over the net, it flies out. any ideas ?

also another opponent of mine plays a foul serve . he doesnt toss and covers the ball with the free arm. in official matches he plays different serve (legal!) but in  league matches in my club i lose quite some points against this as i dont know where the ball will go or how deep it lands in advance (its too sudden but with same spin). as you have definitely have some experience back from the hidden serve era, can you please help me understand how to return these serves? :D

thank you!


Alois Rosario
Member Badge Alois Rosario Answered 11 years ago

Hi Shripathi,

Firstly to return those sidespin long serves to your backhand take a look at this lesson How to return a long sidespin serve.

To return the hidden serve you need to watch the swing and the flight of the ball carefully.  This will give you a lot of information.  It is a shame that this rule is so hard to police in league matches.


Recommended Video

How to Return Spin Serves in Table Tennis (and Stop Misreading Them!)

Struggling to return spin serves? You're not alone! In this video, we break down how to read spin, adjust your bat angle, and return serves effectively—so you stop giving away easy points.

What You'll Learn:

🔹 Skill Breakdown: How to identify different types of spin and adjust your return technique.
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Mastering serve returns is one of the fastest ways to level up your table tennis game. Try these tips and let us know in the comments: What’s the toughest spin serve you face?

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Thoughts on this question


Gordon L

Gordon L Posted 11 years ago

If the serve is hidden, why can't the receiver simply call a let?


Alois Rosario

Member Badge Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago

It depends on how the game is umpired.  If there is an official umpire you have to rely on their call.  You can point it out to them between points or games but it is still their call.  There are no official rules for when there is no umpire as to who calls a let or fault.


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