Difficulties in short backspin serve
Receiving
Debayan Paul Asked 9 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 Answered 9 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.
Recommended Video
How to Return Spin Serves in Table Tennis (and Stop Misreading Them!)
Struggling to return spin serves? You're not alone! In this video, we break down how to read spin, adjust your bat angle, and return serves effectively—so you stop giving away easy points.
What You'll Learn:
🔹 Skill Breakdown: How to identify different types of spin and adjust your return technique.
🔹 Common Mistakes: The biggest errors players make when returning spin serves—and how to fix them fast!
🔹 Viewer Q&A: Answering your top questions about handling tricky spin serves.
🔹 Train Smarter: Drills to help you practice and improve your serve returns.
Mastering serve returns is one of the fastest ways to level up your table tennis game. Try these tips and let us know in the comments: What’s the toughest spin serve you face?
Watch NowThoughts on this question
Become a free member to post a comment about this question.
Marius Darian Posted 9 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.
Against a higher level player it is difficult to get away with pushing long, no matter how fast or wide you go.
Marius Darian Posted 9 years ago
Yes, but it's good at the intermediate level.