Receiving
Hello Jeff and Alois
I am having difficulty returning a sidespin serve. I had learned that you can just attack to the centre of the table, but this wasn't working. The ball kept on flying out. I tried changing the angle of the bat to cancel out the sidespin, and the ball went in, but it was really high and the opponent just smashed it in. Is it possible to attack on a sidespin serve?
Thanks
Nishant
Hi Nishant,
It is possible to attack the sidespin serve. I think it is important to understand the exact spin on the ball first which you will gain from learning to use the angle of your bat correctly. Apart from using the angle sideways you also need to alter the angle up and down to keep the ball low.
Once you can get this you can also attack the serve. Use your normal topspin but again you will need to adjust your angle slightly to allow for the spin on the ball.
Struggling to return spin serves? You're not alone! In this video, we break down how to read spin, adjust your bat angle, and return serves effectively—so you stop giving away easy points.
🔹 Skill Breakdown: How to identify different types of spin and adjust your return technique.
🔹 Common Mistakes: The biggest errors players make when returning spin serves—and how to fix them fast!
🔹 Viewer Q&A: Answering your top questions about handling tricky spin serves.
🔹 Train Smarter: Drills to help you practice and improve your serve returns.
Mastering serve returns is one of the fastest ways to level up your table tennis game. Try these tips and let us know in the comments: What’s the toughest spin serve you face?
Watch NowBecome a free member to post a comment about this question.