Positions for the return of serve

Mayo May Asked 13 years ago

why do most top players , pros or ( not ) stand at each corners on the table on the service , and not in the middle ? wouldn't it be wise if the person serving, place the ball far away from the player ? hitting far or side, edges of the other side of the table? or keep hitting no spin fast balls on those spots ? just wondering because when i do come across players like that or see it on the net. the other players always have problems and can never get into play.

Alois Rosario Answered 13 years ago

Hi,

Most players will stand towards their backhand corner.  This is because you can reach further with your forehand than with your backhand.  So the middle is actually where your bat rests on the middle line of the table.

Add to that the server often serves from their backhand corner across court.  So the angle the ball is coming in at will mean that the ball will go further towards you r backhand corner.  This all adds to moving the receiver over to their backhand corner to be in the ready position.

Take a look at our lesson on the Ready Position.  This will show you in detail what I mean.