Looping a sidespin pendulum serve

Richard Xu Asked 10 months ago

Hello,

I was wondering, how do I loop off a sidespin pendulum serve? I've been struggling with it for ages and can't really seem to control the placement.

Alois Rosario Answered 10 months ago

Hi Richard,

Here are some steps and tips to help you manage and attack this kind of serve:

Start by trying to read the spin on the ball as it comes off your opponent's racket. Get into a good position to hit the ball. This means adjusting for the sidespin on the ball.  This is one of the things that catches a lot of players off guard.  A Right handers Pendulum serve will curve to your left so allow for this movement in the position of the ball.

To counteract the sidespin, you'll need to angle your paddle to "mirror" the spin. This means if the spin is moving the ball to your right, angle your racket slightly to the left as you make your stroke.

Experiment with different angles to see what works best for returning the serve with control and accuracy.

We have some tips that will help in this tutorial on Returning a Long Sidespin serve.