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Table Tennis Serving
Last updated 8 years ago
D K Asked 8 years ago
Hi PingSkills
My trainer often says that my game is very predictable.
One thing I know-when I am about to execute a serve,my hand must be in certain position for each serve else I will surely miss.
But he and also many players say that they can tell what serve I am going to do and what will be my next stroke.
They have also proven that this is true.
For example,I tried my anti-lefthander strategy (backhand backspin serve long to lefthander's forehand in attempt to enforce a crosscourt loop,then BHchop to their backhand and attacking their eventual push).
My lefthanded opponent made this strategy to fail just because he decided to lob my serve.
So how can I make my game less predictable,if I need to prepare for my shot sooner than my opponent touches the ball?
DK
Alois Rosario Answered 8 years ago
Hi DK,
When practicing your serves, try to start them from a similar position so that there is less time for your opponent to tell which serve you are going to do. You should video yourself doing it and watch it back to see if they look similar as well.
Thoughts on this question
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Nick Trusiewicz Posted 8 years ago
I think a tomahawk serve is pretty hard to read, if you can get it (just saying--I can't do it, I'm still working on more basic serves).
Sounds like you are setting up for hitting the third ball based on what you expect in return. May be better to get in neutral ready position and react to whatever comes back. If you know what to expect, all the better.
D K Posted 8 years ago
Alois:I know the differences between my starting positions even without videoing.
I just do not know how to overcome the fact that I need opposite positions to serve a different serves.
For example,if I am preparing a reverse pendulum sidespin topspin serve,I need to point my bat to my belly while preparing.
If I would start from normal pendulum starting position,I will always miss.
When i last trained it,I missed more than 200 times in a row.
And secondly,how can I make my mid-game less transparent?
Thanks
Nick:the tomahawk serve was the third serve I have learned.
I have no problem reading it nor executing it.
(the only problem is that I cannot make it spin,but I can get it low and on the table)
And no,I am not preparing a third ball attack very often
I am a classical defender and my basic strategy is to enforce a slow,spinny loop from my opponent,because this is the stroke I can deal best with.
My problem is that I do not know if my opponent is going to attack my serve or defend it.
Taking my speed in mind,this situation is similar to the situation when you throw a high spinless ball near the net-you simply cannot be prepared for all possibilities.
You cannot cover a fullpower smash and least-power dropshot from one place.
I am so slow that this applies on my serving situations
I do not know if I should expect a loop,lob,push,chop or counterhit