Fake movements on my serve
Serving
Jonathan Davies Asked 12 years ago
Hi Alois
I have a strong pendulum serve but its got to a point where people just read the spin and counter spin it, what sort of fake movements could I use to deceive the opponents.
Jonathan
Jeff Plumb Answered 12 years ago
Hi Jonathan,
It's great to hear you've reached this point with your serve. Fake movements refer to the action of your bat after you've hit the ball. By suddenly moving your bat in a different way it can confuse your opponent. The most common type of fake movement is to move your bat outwards after you contact the ball.
Another way to deceive your opponent is to vary the amount of spin you put on the ball. Subtle variations make it harder to return each serve. I especially like the backspin / no spin combination.
When you say people read the spin and then counter spin it, do you mean the serve is going long and they topspin the ball? If so you can work on serving the ball shorter so at least they cannot attack it with a loop.
Recommended Video
Pendulum Serve
The pendulum serve is the most popular serve in all of Table Tennis. In this lesson we teach you the important principles and how to vary the serve between backspin, sidespin and topspin.
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Jonathan Davies Posted 12 years ago
They spin it the opposite way to the way I spin it either with a side spin push or topspin the ball back. I will try the movements you suggested and mix it all up a bit. Something else I since reading your response is to spin it from forehand on to their cross over point.
Thanks for getting back to me so soon :)
Jonathan
Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago
Let me know how it goes Jonathan. It's good you are thinking about placement too. Playing to the cross over point can be effective.