Don't Use a Plain Topspin Serve

I actually think that straight topspin will still be effective. In the match between ma long and yan'an straight topspin down the line got a free point. To bh is also pretty effective. But most top players use very spinny topspin side serve so people think it is backspin

Very good Vid! Thanks

I would love to be able to see these and other serve related videos in super slow motion.

Yeah a topspin serve down the line can be effective, JOW caught many opponents off guard that way, but serving it  to opponets side is extremely dangerous vs better players, they can pivot easily.

I regurlarly train JOW serve to surprise opponents. One serve is bh side/backspin long and short and the other with as lonmg as identical movement ts fast down the line. It works often.

O Boy...Jeff Has got the Moves

Hello you all. Allow me to disagree about a straight topspin serve from Ma Long. I believe that, although it is a sudden and a very fast serve it is actually an underspin serve. You can watch Waldner in some videos doing that same serve every once in a while with success. I saw a young japanese  player doing a super fast topspin "tomahawk"serve in a video. But when you see him (not sure his name is Asuka Sakai) playing in real matches he never uses that serve.

I use sidespin and backspin serves more than topspin serves.

good idea with the short topspin serve. Should try this variation to surprise my opponents. But it looks like difficult for me to play these topspin serve so good and short.

In the world of 'garage players"  topspin can be effective.  After several backspin serves,  i can throw in a top spin,

and the opponent often hits it long, since they are used to compensating for the back spin.  I do agree that a better player will not be so fooled

Much more effective than short serves,at my level.

The reason is that they are always trained against the short serves.

Leading group of teams are alwys long servers,in lower leagues