Service against pimples

Dave Berkon Asked 14 years ago

Hi guys.

The service is a massive part of my game. I've spent many hours practicing them so that i generate plenty of spin, however, i find that everytime i come up against someone with long or short pimples, my serves are almost useless. I can appreciate that every player is different, but are there any tips you could give me so i can make things a little bit more difficult for my opponent?

Thanks again.

Alois Rosario Answered 14 years ago

Hi Dave,

This can be frustrating.  My first advice would be to try to find the non pimple side of their bat if they have one.  Force them to hit the return with the normal rubber.  So if they have pimple on the backhand, serve wide and short to the forehand.  If they then move around and still use their backhand they are out of position for the next ball.

Then think about what spin you are serving with.  Often serving a heavy backspin ball to long pimples will give you a simple topspin ball back that you will be able to attack. Similarly to the short pimples try to serve with heavy backspin as it is difficult to lift with the short pimples as long as it is short and low enough.

Try these couple of things and see how it works out for you.  Let me know how it works.