How to return a long sidespin serve

Hi D K,

Returning serves is one of the hardest parts of table tennis. Unfortunately if you can't read the type of spin your opponent puts on the ball it is very hard to return the serve effectively. The real key to a good return is being able to read the spin.

I know that it is hard (but it was not the reason why I decided to play with longpips as many players think)

So...if I cannot read the combination,what would be the best option how to defensively return it? :(

>Returning serves is one of the hardest parts of table tennis.

And I bet the most frustrating one.

Is a good idea to return the ball back with a pushing or chopping is you dont have enough confidece with your backhand Topspin?

Hi Gabriel,

You can push it back if you are not confident.  It is important first to get the ball back on the table in a game situation.  Still work on your backhand topspin so that in the future you will be able to use it in a match as well.

Alois  Thank you for your response regards Gabriel 

As a beginner and well into my first year as a motivated player, fast sidespin serves were probably the hardest nut to crack. At this stage of my career, I'm starting to get confident at topspinning back those serves. The breakthrough came when our club's best player said: always expect the serve to be long. Before that, given that our training sessions are centered around short serves (or half long serves), with long serves being merely a surprise weapon, I was always standing too close to the table. The crucial idea is that even if the majority of serves are short at the higher level, you should still expect it long. Why? Because it's easier to step in and play than to step out and play.

Before I could make this crucial step though, there was more ground to cover. In the beginning, when you haven't developed a backhand topspin, you'll meet players who can execute a sidespin serve, even at the lower playing levels. With passive returns, the ball will easily go out if you don't read the sidespin.

For absolute beginners, in order not to get frustrated, the advice is: aim for the middle. Secondly, don't open the bat, despite the looks of backspin action. It's sidespin, so return with a vertical or slightly closed bat and aim for middle.

Next, learn how to neutralize the spin. And that just works the way it does with backspin or topspin, but instead of opening and closing the bat around a horizontal axis, you need to open or close around a vertical axis.

Incidentally I've received advice to "return the ball towards the side the bat started" but I found that not too helpful because the server can generate sidespin with many different types of body action. One should try reading the arch the ball makes and then open/close the bat accordingly. Since it's the same as with back/topspin, the opening/closure on sidespin should be easy to understand, except if you really cannot abstract out the spatial orientation.

Well, I'm afraid this answer is just too verbose. But I think beginners can do with some advice that doesn't require to master the backhand topspin first, because that's quite an advanced shot, while they encounter it in matches very soon.

I have much more problems with the serve to my forehand-it always pops out or flies to the net

Sir, my forehand shots are bit weak. If the long side spin serve is far on my forehand side, should I chop or topspin?

If it only bounces once on the table then make a topspin.