Service strategy
Table Tennis Match Strategy
Last updated 11 years ago
Wilson Cheah Asked 11 years ago
Hi Alois,
Being left handed yourself, I'm sure you've thought about this a lot also during matches. What factors do you consider when you decide what kind of spin and position you're going to do for your serve? Also, is there any difference in how you might think about this against people that are left/ right handed? A lot of times I tend to just change up the serves but I don't really know what kind of spin I should be using (almost as if I just pick one randomly out of the hat and just do that).
Thanks.
Alois Rosario Answered 11 years ago
Hi Wilson,
Against each opponent I would think about where their weaker return is and also the angle that I want for the return. It doesn't matter so much whether they are left or right handed, just where they are weaker.
Thoughts on this question
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Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
I agree with Alois. Thinking about different angles for your serve can be very helpful. People are used to returning the pendulum serve that goes across court. Mixing it up can really confuse your opponent.
I'd say the biggest thing to consider is what type of serve does your opponent struggle with the most. Then what type of return do you like to receive. If you like pushes, serve more backspin. If you like the ball to be flicked at you, serve more no spin, sidespin or topspin serves. Then start to think about the angles.
It's great that you are thinking about your tactics Wilson. Try out some of these suggestions and let us know how it works out for you.
Wilson Cheah Posted 11 years ago
Thanks a lot, I'll keep these ideas in mind when trying it out on Sunday when I play again :). After that I'll let you know how it goes.
Wilson Cheah Posted 11 years ago
So today I ended up trying to think differently while playing, pinpointing my opponent's weakness: this is how it ended up.
My training partner/ friend playstyle is mostly a forehand looper, backhand blocker (he hardly does the vice versa), so most of the time I tried playing short to his backhand and then follow up depending on his response. As for serve to his forehand, I tried either a deep long bottomspin serve or a fast no spin/ topspin right towards his playing elbow (I think I heard it from someone that the elbow is usually the weakest spot for a player to respond to in table tennis). The first three ball went well, but since he's still better than me overall (roughly 200 rated points in difference), I ended up losing but the tactics worked out for most of the time.
Another question that I was curious about, although not quite related to this, is that- I have a bad habit of moving before the ball comes to my side. For example if I try to prepare for a forehand loop for my next shot, but I already got into position for it and my opponent just changes to my backhand instead. How would you suggest me to practice or some drills to get rid of this bad habit?