How to do the Vladimir Samsonov serve

Julio Torres Asked 13 years ago

I'm a great fan of Vladimir Samsonov and Kalinikos Kreanga and i have a lot of curiosity about how he does this serve...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuBOG13oqGM

0:29

Alois Rosario Answered 13 years ago

Hi Julio,

It is a high toss Pendulum serve. The serve that he does at 0:29 is a topspin serve so he is coming up the back of the ball on contact.

The serve comes with a lot of training. It is important to get the toss correct first so that you then have the confidence to swing through on the contact.

← Safe Looping 8 Things in a Split Second →

Notify me of updates

Add to Favourites

Back to Questions

Recommended Video

The Kicker Serve

The kicker serve is one of our "must learn" serves. It's fast, fun, and has lots of topspin. It can be dangerous because if it's not fast enough and if you don't surprise your opponent then they may be able to attack it forcefully putting you on the defensive straight away. Used well though, and sparingly, it can be a great weapon. It can win you a point outright and it will stop your opponent from standing over the table waiting for your short serves since they need to be ready for anything.

Watch Now

Thoughts on this question

Julio Torres Posted 13 years ago

Thanks...

M V Posted 13 years ago

i think another great thing about his serve is that unlike the traditional pendulum serve, where you have your left foot in front and right foot behind while doing the serve and you move your right leg across to get into a ready position, with Samsonov serve, his movement after the serve puts him into the ready position immediately after the serve.

i am voting for a video response to this.

and i know Samsonov is one of Alois's favourite players :)

Ian Costello Posted 13 years ago

My brother serves the FH tomahawk serve, but always serves it with side-top. :[

NOT A GOOD IDEA!

Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 13 years ago
Hi Julio,
You make a good point. If you asked the question and we end up making a video response then I think you should be able to see the answer as a special bonus for asking the question! Give me a couple of weeks and I'll see if I can figure out how to make this work on the website.

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 13 years ago
Good work Jeff.

Siddhartha Raja Posted 12 years ago

i am not a premium member so i cant see the video

Yap Zhi De Posted 9 years ago

Hi Alois

You said that it is good to have a variety of serves in the serving secrets introduction videos, but why you ask me to just focus on one serve now?