Serves first contactpoint
Serving
D K Asked 5 years ago
Greetings Team,
I was silent for a while,solving most of my school,work and also table tennis administrative issues.
Now I am back,with a fresh new membership in one of the most powerful clubs in my country.
Yesterday,both clubs and me signed the transfer papers.
Though,I am very sad,I will never be able to accept the new club as my home team...
Anyway,to my question:
I started training some serves after a longer break.
Apart from that I struggle with how my stroke should exactly look like to perform a full-length serve,here I know I would need some closer analysis of my whole body work etc.
What I would like to ask about the inverse option,the extremely short serve.
My plan is to learn how to alternate between two depth extremes. I would like to know where the ball should land on my side to enable the shortest and lowest possible serves.
I have seen how Ma Lin places the ball during his ghost serve,and he places it quite close to the net.
Is it some deviation or...what is the correct placement for the serve to be as short as possible in your opinion?
Thanks
Dan
Alois Rosario Answered 5 years ago
Hi Dan,
I think it should be about ⅓ of the way to the net on your side. If you get it too close to tenet it needs to be very slow to stop and get over the net.
Closer to the net will allow it to be shorter but it is also much easier to see the length of the serve early.
Recommended Video
Ma Lin Ghost Serve Bat Angle
This tip on getting the bat angle right will make the biggest difference in getting the ball to spin back towards you.
Watch NowThoughts on this question
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Nigel C Posted 5 years ago
DK, I have also read articles that say if your first bounce is too close to the net then the ball will just drop over the net and bounce upwards with very little forward momentum. This makes it very easy to return short. If the first bounce is slightly away from the net and you just clear the net then the forward momentum makes the short ball harder to return without popping the ball up. Diagrams would probably explain this better.
Alois, Jeff what do you think?
Yep agree.
D K Posted 5 years ago
Yea,I am aware that there is some danger of popping the ball too much.
And I am fully aware that this serve is quite easy to return short,but since I know it,I can prepare for it and use it as a strategy.
However,my major reason for learning so short serve is to pull an opponent previously placed backwards by a few fullspeed serves back to the table.
Frank Lucas Posted 5 years ago
DK, The 2 bounce on their side rule is usually a way to measure backspin. If the serve is too high, your opponent can just flip through your serve. If you don't mix up your placement, or the ball is too short, they may be able to move and find a strong angle of placement.
Keep your serves lower and away from the center of the table and try to pressure whichever side your opponent is less confident on opening up with.