Reading serves without cues

Jasper Low Asked 2 weeks ago

Hi Alois, recently I experienced playing men's doubles in team tournaments and one of my opponents is a left handed Chinese guy who has similar/better quality shots to/than our national team players. It's seriously phenomenal experiencing the ball zoom past with crazy speed and crazy spin (I could barely fetch the ball as an audience member because the ball kept jumping around due to the spin). But one thing I noticed about his serves is that the ball is hidden behind the head/side of his body and the contact is invisible. He also stomps when serving so I have absolutely no clue what spin is on the ball. How do I read spin purely by the flight and trajectory of the ball?

Side note: how should this rule on hidden serves be enforced in order to discourage illegal serves such as this?

Alois Rosario Answered 1 week ago

Hi Jasper,

Sounds like quite an experience, playing someone with that level of quality and spin can be a real eye-opener. It’s great that you’re observing these things so closely, even while being under pressure in a doubles match.

Regarding reading spin when the serve is hidden: once the contact is obscured, it becomes very difficult—sometimes nearly impossible—to read the spin purely based on flight and trajectory. At that point, you're relying on subtle cues: the speed of the ball off the racket, the trajectory immediately after the bounce, and how the ball reacts off your bat. For example, topspin will tend to dip more quickly and kick forward after bouncing, while backspin will float a bit longer and drop off sharply after the bounce.

But even for experienced players, reading spin when the contact is hidden becomes guesswork—and that’s exactly why the serve rules exist: to give both players a fair chance.

As for enforcement, this is a common frustration. In my view, the only real way to discourage illegal serves is consistent umpiring. If a player hides the contact whether with the head, shoulder, or arm it should be called straight away, even at local or team events. Too often, it’s let go, which sends the message that it’s okay as long as you don’t get caught.

For now, the best you can do is train your reactions, try to pick up patterns in your opponent’s serves, and ask for an umpire when possible if the serve is clearly illegal. It’s not about being difficult; it’s about keeping the game fair.

Let me know how you go with it.