Service
Table Tennis Serving
Last updated 13 years ago
yashant gyawali Asked 13 years ago
Can you provide me some service other than pendulum service?
Jeff Plumb Answered 13 years ago
Hi Yashant,
I'm glad you are looking for alternate services. It is good to try out a lot of different services and then settle on a few that you really like. Once you have decided what serves are effective for you, practice these ones a lot. Often having a slightly unusual serve can be a big advantage because your opponent won't be used to it.
You can try the reverse pendulum serve, the backhand serve, the tomahawk serve and the high toss serve. We cover all of these in our Serving Secrets Revealed DVD.
Thoughts on this question
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Stefan Liew Posted 13 years ago
Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 13 years ago
I feel it is best to have a variety of serves. I think this can help you against different opponents. For each player you need to try and find a serve they don't like.
Having said that I think you should not have too many different serves otherwise you will find it hard to find the time to practice them all. Stick with 2 or 3 main serves that all have variations of spin, speed and placement. That's what I recommend.
It is good from time to time in your practice to experiment with new serves as well. If you find one that works well in can become part of your regular repertoire.
Stefan Liew Posted 13 years ago
Ji-Soo Woo Posted 13 years ago
It's an interesting question, whether to specialise in a few serves or to be a jack-of-all-trades. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. Even with the pros, on one extreme you have someone like Samsonov who almost always uses the high toss pendulum serve, and on the other you have Schlager who enjoys employing a whole suite of serves.
In one interview (when Schlager beat Wang Liqin in the Paris World Championship) Schlager noted how his wide arsenal of serves was often a disadvantage at the start of the match when he didn't know which serves to use, but was an advantage later in the match when he figured out the best serve to employ.