What is third ball?

Alois Rosario Answered 14 years ago

Hi Rajesh,

Third ball attack is making an attacking stroke on the third ball of the rally.  The third ball is counted including the serve.  So the serve is the first ball, the return of serve is the second ball and then the next return is the third ball.

It is an important part of Table Tennis strategy to try to make an attack on this third ball.  It is usually set up by an effective serve that gives your opponent trouble.

To return the heavy topspin ball you can also take a look at our lesson on how to Counter A Spinny Topspin.  This gives you three options to use, the block, punch or counter topspin. If you find the ball is going off the end of the table, adjust the angle of your bat as well as keeping your bat hand relaxed.