Receiving
One of the guys at my club does a pretty good job disguising his spin, which is one thing I have to work on reading. Assuming I get better at reading the type of spin he puts on his serve, my question is this:
if I can determine where his contact point is on the serve, am I suppose to contact the ball on the opposite side of the ball? Or does it only really matter what type of spin is on the ball in order to know how to angle my bat?
Hi Dakota,
You can think about it as contacting the ball on the same side as the server hits it. The type of spin on the ball is determined by where they contact it.
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Returning a short topspin serve can be tricky because the spin wants to lift the ball up. In this video, we look at two effective options: developing an attacking flick and learning how to push the ball safely.
For the flick, the key is to be positive. Take a few risks, hit through the ball a little harder, and aim for a fast, flat contact. In practice, don’t worry too much about making mistakes as this is how you learn to control the shot under pressure.
The second option is the push. You can push a short topspin serve, but you need to adjust your contact. Instead of getting under the ball, come down the back of it more, almost feeling like your bat is moving slightly backwards. This helps counter the topspin and keeps the return lower and more controlled.
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