Difficulties in short backspin serve

Service Return

Debayan Paul
Debayan Paul Asked 7 years ago

Hi, I am facing difficulties in really short serve with backspin. I make an error during the push/flick, either it goes into the net or the flick goes so slow that my opponent could flick more sideways to finish the rally which is difficult to return in that moment. If I wait for the ball to give it a topspin, the ball bounces twice on my side. I am using a GKI Euro XX Offensive bat, which is creating more difficulties regarding the control. Kindly help me in this...


Alois Rosario
Alois Rosario Answered 7 years ago

Hi Debayan,

Take a look at our tutorial on the Forehand Flick.  This will help.  Take particular note of a couple of things. Making sure you hit the ball at the top of the bounce and also having your wrist back on the backswing of the stroke.  These two things will help you to hit the ball faster on the flick.

The other thing is to make good decisions as to when to push and when to flick.  If the ball is too low and has more backspin, then making a short push can also be very effective.


Thoughts on this question


Marius Darian

Marius Darian Posted 7 years ago

I think that if you struggle with flicking, you should learn pushing long and fast to the wide angles. This way, you could draw your opponent away from the table. It is also easier (in my opinion) than pushing short, where a small misjudgement pops the ball up.


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 7 years ago

Against a higher level player it is difficult to get away with pushing long, no matter how fast or wide you go.


Marius Darian

Marius Darian Posted 7 years ago

Yes, but it's good at the intermediate level.


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