Smashing a Short Spinny Pendulum Serve

HI Coach,

Many times It creates difficulty when I tried to hit smash or topspin when my opponent serves spinny and short pendulum serve. And if I push the ball lightly then he hit smash. I have no choice. Therefore I need a method to resolve this problem.

Hi Haris,

A short pendulum serve can be very difficult to attack especially if it has a lot of backspin. If you want to be aggressive you can try the Forehand Flick. This shot is easier if the ball has no spin, sidespin or topspin on it. If the serve has backspin on it then you can also try and return the ball short with a Backhand Push.

Keeping the ball short is a great tactic as it will stop your opponent from making an aggressive return. To be able to do it you need good control and need to read the spin that is on the serve very well. You can practice this using the method we explain in our video on Keeping The Ball Low.