Short side spin serve

Receiving

rana prathap
rana prathap Asked 11 years ago

I have a friend who does short side spin serves really well. He mixes it up so well that most of the times, I end up playing it in the wrong direction. If I play it with loose hands and try to keep it at the middle, it simply fly out of the side of the table. How can we effectively return such serves without having to pre-judge the direction of spin? 

thanks in advance


Alois Rosario
Member Badge Alois Rosario Answered 11 years ago

Hi Rana,

It is important to be able to understand the type of spin.  This will come with more practice.

Use the angle of your racket to return the ball.  Watch to see what is happening each time you try to return it.  Angle your bat more or less each time to get the ball to where you want it to go.

We have a lot more information in our series of lessons on Receiving Secrets.


Recommended Video

How to Return Spin Serves in Table Tennis (and Stop Misreading Them!)

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.

What You'll Learn:

🔹 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 Now

Thoughts on this question


rana prathap

rana prathap Posted 11 years ago

I was trying to do that. But he mixes it so well that it becomes really difficult. Now I know I need more practice, and will work on it. 

thank you


DHS Lover

DHS Lover Posted 11 years ago

I have a problem on this too so, they serve a pure short sidespin wihout any backspin on it, i try to just adjust the angle of my bat and make it flat but the ball still go down to net but it has no backspin on it and when i try to open my bat and push it, the ball go away just like sidespin and you know it's difficult to adjust the angle of the bat with that open bat position as i can't close the place where the ball will go please help me on this !

Alois Rosario

Member Badge Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago

Maybe there is a slight variation of the serve each time that you have to watch for.


Become a free member to post a comment about this question.