Forehand Smash and Sidespin

If a player does a forehand smash how am I able to return the ball and do a sidespin return- so that when the ball touches the opponent's side it simply moves either left or right.

Hi Nathan,

If your opponent is smashing you don't want to focus too much on generating sidespin.  The sidespin is a difficult shot.

However you to do it you need to brush the ball sideways by angling your racket to face slightly to the side.  This obviously decreases your chances of hitting the ball because the ball now has less area of the bat facing towards it.

Because the ball is travelling fast when it hits your racket it will also go back fast.  Therefore it will not necessarily move sideways when it hits your opponents side of the table because of the forward momentum on the ball.