More effective Pendulum serve

Wasiq Khawar Asked 12 years ago

Hello Alois and Jeff,

When I used the pendulum serve my friend attacked the ball cross-court it with what seemed to be like a backhand flick. Is there a way to stop this from happening or if not, a way to take advantage of this or return it well?

Alois Rosario Answered 12 years ago

Hi Wasiq,

To try to stop it from happening try to get more backspin on the ball and keep it as low as possible over the net.

What you can do though is if you serve with a bit of topspin that forces them to flick.  If you know this you can be ready and counter attack their shot.  A lot of top players use this tactic.  After you serve this short topspin serve, step back half a step to give yourself more time to see the ball and then make an attacking stroke off it.