High back spin with side spin

Hello Sir,

One of my playmate returns a lousy return that has good amount of backspin and some side spin.  It bounces high and appears appropriate to play a finisher.  But due to back spin the ball bounces almost vertically on the table and has no or negligible forward motion.  I tried hitting it flat shot but success rate is extremely poor.  I also tried to hit a topspin but I find it very difficult to time as the ball is high with no forward motion.  It does not come to bat naturally.  Please advice what is the right way to play such a ball.

Hi Joyotosh,

This can be an awkward ball and it looks so easy.

The main thing is to make sure you account for the backspin.  Play a topspin stroke but still get your bat going upwards slightly even though the ball is so high.

For our Premium embers we have a video on this.  Playing Against a High Backspin Ball.