Serving contact

Sally Mander Asked 14 years ago

Hello there,

I have a very big problem for serving. When trying to do my sidespin pendulum serve, when i try to brush it, i usually miss the ball or hit it flat, and the ball ends up with no or little spin, how can i fix this?

Thanks, Sally 

Alois Rosario Answered 14 years ago

Hi Sally,

The pendulum serve like most serves in Table Tennis is a very fine motor skill.  It is trying to get the bat and ball to meet at exactly the right moment and with the accuracy of a surgeon.

That is why it just takes a lot of practice.  It is like if you tried to stick a pin in a grain of sand, at high speed.  You wouldn't be expecting yourself to do it the first time or even after 5 tries.  It just take a lot of repetition.

Getting the right contact on the ball is difficult.  It is trial and error over a long period of time.  Make sure you have the correct technique.  You could even video yourself and watch it back to make sure it looks right.  Then you need to do the repetitions to get the contact correct.