Tomahawk return
Receiving
Steve Fuller Asked 13 years ago
Hi
I sometimes play against players who use the 'tomahawk' serve giving the ball a lot of top and often side spin. My natural reaction is to attack this but often find that due to the varying spin it is sometimes difficult to judge the position of the ball accurately and some returns are poor. After doing a series of blocking exercises against slow spiny loops (similar to the balls produced from tomahawk serves) with friends who all get coached together, it occurred to me that one of these, the 'punch block' might be a good aggressive answer to such serves. I have not had the opportunity to try this but was wondering what you thought?
Steve Fuller
Alois Rosario Answered 13 years ago
Hi Steve,
It could be like a flat flick or the punch block if the ball is fast and long. This is legitimate especially if the ball is going on the table. It is a stroke with a small margin for error so if you start missing a lot you should add a little topspin to the stroke.
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.
🔹 Common Mistakes: The biggest errors players make when returning spin serves—and how to fix them fast!
🔹 Viewer Q&A: Answering your top questions about handling tricky spin serves.
🔹 Train Smarter: Drills to help you practice and improve your serve returns.
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?
Watch NowNo comments yet!
Become a free member to post a comment about this question.