Serving trends at Commonwealth championships

Table Tennis General

Last updated 14 years ago

Gerard McCarthy Unknown

Gerard McCarthy Unknown Asked 14 years ago

Alois, thanks for your very detailed reply regarding the Commonwealth Championships 
http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-question-1521.php
Seeing that you produced that fantastic DVD on serving, I was also wondering what 
you may have noticed in regard to serving at the Commonwealth championships
and for that matter at the Worlds.
It would seem that the standard of serve returning has increased, and so do you think 
that it has affected the serving strategies (and the typical rally development)?
Are there any serving patterns emerging in matches?
  • What styles of serves are most popular and most effective 
    (Pendulum, reverse pendulum, tomahawk, backhand serves)?
  • What methods of variation are most popular and effective 
    (mixing the styles; occasional short topspin or deep serves
    with the same action; precise variations in spin, or placement)?
What's happening with serves in training in the days leading up to competition? 
  • What percentage of their training time just before competition was 
    devoted to these important aspects?
  • How do they structure their serving practice at this time? ie. 
    Do they go straight into match like situations and play points in which
    no two consecutive serves are exactly the same in style, spin, speed
    and placement?
    Then perhaps work on particular serves that need to be polished with a
    bucket of balls then go back to playing points again?
 P.S. Looking forward to the upcoming DVD on training.

Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario Answered 14 years ago

Hi Gerard,

Service return has improved but I don't really think it has effected serving strategies too much.  It has extended the length of the rally though because players are not gaining such an advantage from the serve.

I didn't notice any serving patterns emerging, just that players are working hard to keep their opponent away from the attack as ever before.  I think it always depends on the player you are playing as to what strategies work.  Against some players variation works best, other you just need to keep the ball short with enough backspin to keep them away from flicking or returning aggressively.

The pendulum is still far and away the most popular serving style especially amongst the men.

I did notice at the World Championships that a few of the Chinese players are now executing the pendulum serve with their right foot in front of their left.  They didn't do this all the time though and seemed to revert back to the traditional stance of right foot back in crucial situations.

I don't think the players do enough with serve and the early part of the rally in the days and hours before competition.  I think this needs to be more of a focus as their hitting ability is already really well ingrained but I think the touch that you get from working on your short game is valuable just before competition.  I think too many players are stuck in the mindset of hit hit hit.

Their training an hour before a game will incorporate some point or game play.  They will start with some forehands and backhands and then may do a footwork drill of some sort to get their heart rate up and feet moving.  Then they will play some points ar even games.  The points may be with anyone serving, whoever gets the ball.  In this situation they may just be making sure their serves feel right and they are making the first few balls of the rally well.  Or it may be a match with scoring where they will play points and vary serves as they would in a match.  This is always quite competitive with players trying to replicate a match situation. Often this depends on a particular players preference.  Some players who are particularly competitive enjoy playing full on ponts others just need to make sure they feel comfortable going into the match.

In the 10 or 20 minutes or so before a match on your match table, often they don't have a full table to themselves and need to share a table with another pair.  Here the pairs may take it in turns to play a point each so it is difficult to replicate a game because you are always waiting for the other pair. Here it is about just getting rid of the nerves and starting to feel comfortable in the match conditions.

They will rarely if ever serve with a bucket of balls in the few days before a championships.  Maybe on the day they arrive they may do a few to get the feel for the tables but that would be all.

We are also looking forward to the new Training Secrets Revealed DVD.  We finally filmed the last section last night and Jeff is in the process of putting it together to send to the Audio company.  We still need the artwork completed so we are looking at a few weeks.


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Gerard McCarthy Unknown

Gerard McCarthy Unknown Posted 14 years ago

Thanks very much, Alois, for the thoughtful reply.

It is great to have an insider's perspective on what goes on at the top.

Much appreciated. 



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