Receiving the serve using push

shiva nair Asked 16 years ago

Usually when I push the service I get easily beaten up by the opponent. What do you think I must do to keep the ball on game and when I see some of the great players in action I usually see them making a slow motion during push… do we really need to make a good wrist work while pushing during the first ball….. please help me out……..

Jeff Plumb Answered 16 years ago

Hi Dilip,

Like serving itself, returning serve well takes a lot of practice. So don't get too disheartened if it takes a while, keep practicing and you will improve.

When returning the serve with a push you have a number of options. Firstly you can push long. If you are going to take this option then your opponent will be able to attack your stroke so you need to make it difficult for them. You do this by using spin and placement. You should try to push wide to the forehand, wide to the backhand or into the crossover between forehand and backhand. These are the most likely spots to cause trouble for your opponent. You can also work on generating more backspin on your push. This will mean your opponent has to work harder to lift the backspin up when they are attacking.

Another option is to push the ball short. By pushing short I mean that the ball would bounce at least twice on the table if left alone by your opponent. Just like serving short, by returning short, you make it difficult for your opponent to attack as they cannot take a normal full swing at the ball. You need to be very confident when pushing short because if you misjudge the spin on the ball, it is easy to push the ball too high or too long and that could give your opponent an easy attack. If you are unsure it is often a better bet to simply push long as described earlier. Having said that, by mastering the short push you can really frustrate your opponent and give yourself a great chance to get the first attack in.

Take a look at our lesson on pushing and see if you can pick up some tips to help you.

And lastly remember that even the best players in the world often miss a few during a match. When you do miss a return in a match, you need to put it out of your mind and focus on the next point.