Playing chopped balls and long pushes

Wesley Ho Asked 12 years ago

First of all GREAT site! I have trouble playing chopped balls and long pushes cause I can't read whether the ball has heavy under, under, or no spin. I've heard I need to adjust my raquet angle and swing according to the amount of backspin on the ball ( more backspin more vertical) The trouble is I often hit it into the net or off the table. I am terribly inconsistent. When I do get some back my opponent simply changes the amount of undersppin on the ball. If I get conservative and just  push the long balls back he ends up attacking me. Is there one universal stroke I can use on both heavy underspin balls and no spin balls withut adjusting my raquet and swing angle? I heard if you spin the ball with a clean grazing contact,  spin wont matter and you'll be able to return any balls and also if you just smash it you can do the same. Is this correct? Thanks for all your help.

Alois Rosario Answered 12 years ago

Hi Wesley,

Glad you like the site.

For playing against the backspin balls, the long term answer is to keep hitting against these balls and start to understand the difference of the spins.  This is what you should be aiming for.  The best teacher for this is experience because as you have found the differences can be very subtle.

The shortcut of really brushing the ball finely can work as well.  By having the ball on your rubber for a shorter amount of time, you will not give it as much opportunity to grip into your rubber with the spin.  Smashing it is also an option but a very high risk option and not one I would recommend, unless the ball is really high.