Medium length service Counter

Aaron Haha Asked 3 years ago

Hi coach,

I know table tennis service length can be broken down into three types, the ones being short, medium long and long.With short serves I either push or flick, while long serves I topspin drive. What about the medium long ones that are hard to either topspin drive or push? My push usually ends up too long,thus an easy attack for the opponent. My topspin drives are also not as powerful because of the awkward angle. Any way around this?

Thanks.

Alois Rosario Answered 3 years ago

Hi Aaron,

The half long serve can be tricky to deal with that is why it can also be a good tactic to employ.

To attack the half long serve you can think about dealing with it in two ways.  One is to let the ball come off the end of the table and then really spin the ball heavily.  It is important that you spin the ball well and also place your return very well as the ball isn't travelling very fast.  This can be a really effective return if you can do it well.

The other way is to take the ball while it is still over the table and really brush over the top of the ball really fast.  The movement of your racket needs to be very fast to generate enough friction to lift the ball over the net.  That means you have to commit to the stroke and really swing through freely.