Reverse Pendulum Serve and footwork

Andrew T Asked 15 years ago

Hi Alois and Jeff,

 Recently I have been developing my reverse pendulum serve.  I have found that if I rotate my right foot forward (I am right handed) to a more square on position as I swing, I can generate considerably greater spin and accuracy.  

However, I have also noticed that since the sidespin will change direction off of my opponent's paddle the return will most likely be to my forehand.  While normally this is a good thing I feel I am in a bit of a Catch-22 here:  the more I rotate square-on to generate more spin, the more likely the return will be to my forehand, but I am now not in a good position to attack.

Therefore I have a couple of questions:

1) What should I do about this rotation? is it proper?

2) Where should I serve the RP to gain control of the point?

I also have a Tomahawk serve (I think that is what it is-I haven't picked up your DVD yet-It is a vertical chop that sidespins a lot) that spins the same direction but it is not as easily disguised as the RP serve, and I do not need to rotate my body as much to use it.  I currently use this serve once or twice a set varying between forehand tomahawk and backhand tomahawk. 

3) Should I use this serve more?

Any help is greatly appreciated; I love your site.

Thanks,

Andrew

Alois Rosario Answered 15 years ago

Hi Andrew,

Try rotating your foot forward but get it to a position that you feel comforatble to play a foreahnd from.  So don't rotate it as much as you are doing currently.

One of the critical factors that you will see with top players is that their follow through from their serve gets then into their ready position automatically.  This is what you should be aiming for.

As to where you should serve, always think about which position is difficult for that particular opponent.

If you feel that the tomahawk serve gets you into a better posiiton, then use it more.  It is the whole package that matters.