Return Tomahawk serve

Hung Pham Asked 14 years ago

Hi Coach!

How can I return a tomahawk serve? It goes to my forehand side with a lot of sidespin, so i'm not able to return it.

Thanks

James

Jeff Plumb Answered 14 years ago

Hi Hung,

Returning a good serve is a hard skill to master so don't get too down on yourself. Start by taking notice of where the ball is going once it hits your bat and spins away. Then next time angle your bat to counter the sidespin. If the ball has been flying off to the left then aim further to the right.

If you can arrange it, a great method of improving your return is to get someone to serve the same serve to you over and over. This allows you to work out how to return it without worrying about the server mixing it up to confuse you which they will definitely do in a match. Once you master returning a few variations of serve this way, then you can get your opponent to start mixing up the serves and testing you out.

Give this a try and let us know how you get on.

← Down the line serve Amateur (Non-Professional) Bats →

ganesh janakan Posted 14 years ago

In case if you are too confused as to which side to direct the return, you may direct the ball to the center of the table and the side spin would automatically push it to the side. you could judge whether there is underspin on that so that you could use a push and if its got a little topspin to it then play counter topspin.simple forehand drive generally is used to attack such a serve if it is placed on your forehand.

try this and give a feedback.THIS SERVICE IS MEANT TO BE ATTACKED.

GO FOR IT!

Hung Diep Posted 14 years ago

How come it says I asked this question when I didn't? Also, to return a tomohawk serve, make sure you attack it and be ready for it. Many people forget to move and start stretching. I found the best way to return it is with a forehand loop.

Siddhartha Raja Posted 12 years ago

as jeff says when the opponent is put side spin on the serve i hit a side spin stroke on the ball and the stroke is very effective

Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago

Hi Hung Diep,

It actually says that Hung Pham asked this question, not yourself. Thanks for your thoughts on returning the serve.