Varying your position while playing

Hi Alois

   Normally i see left handers serving and playing from the right side of the table and vice versa for right handers. Say for the left handed player , even the serves are done mostly from the right side. Also normally i see in top matches players mostly stick to one kind of serve ( even though there is suttle variation in the spin , speed etc ) . Would this be a right observation ?

  Is it fine to keep varying the position and the type of serve . For example left handed pendulum serve from the right side followed by a backhand serve from the left side - angling in the opposite direction from the previous serve. I found that it confuses some opponents sometimes but i do not see this in top matches.

Thank You

Regards

Grenville 

Hi Grenville,

The reason for that positioning is that most players have a stringer forehand.  For a right hander if you position yourself more on the left hand side you will have more table available to play with your forehand and vice versa for a left hander.

Most players stick to one or two serves because they know them well.  They are getting the subtle variations of spin and placement all the time. The players get used to the return that comes off those serves so they are very comfortable to play the next ball well.  If you are always doing different serves you are getting different returns as well.  This is the case at the higher end of players.

At the club level though it may be beneficial to vary the serves you are doing because it may be more difficult for your opponent.  You will have to see what is working at your game level.  As you are progressing up the levels you will start to focus on one serve that will be your standard serve and then you will get really good at that serve including lots of variations with it.

Hope this solves the mystery.