Side spin service

Chris Unknown Asked 16 years ago

Hi team,

I hope you can help with this.  A player in my local league has the very devil of a service & it wins him a lot of points.  It is a backhand serve with lots of side & topspin, served short or long, sometimes with high bounce, sometimes low bounce.  It must win him 75% of points on his service.  What would be the most effective way to return this service?  Thanks.

Alois Rosario Answered 16 years ago

Hi Chris,

If they are getting a lot of topspin and the serve comes long (one bounce on your side of the table) the easiest way is to attack the ball back with a topspin or counterhit.  You need to be aware of the sidespin and just angle your bat to the side so that the ball goes back straight.

If the ball is short, you can use the flick stroke to return.

Try these two tactics.