Varying the flight of serves

Serving

Mike Lockett
Mike Lockett Asked 13 years ago

I've been enjoying the Serving Secrets video. Nice work!

 I notice that the serves typically seem to involve hitting the ball so that it's initially travelling roughly parallel with the table, then gravity (and possibly spin) brings it down. Are there any cases or popular servers that involve hitting the ball somewhat downward at the table, or lobbing it upward. It seems I've had people serve me the ball where they hit the ball from just an inch or two above the table, hitting the ball downward to get the ball over the net, which makes for a strange serve.

 A second related question is... how high above the table should you generally hit the serve from? ...about 10 inches?

Thanks,

Mike


Alois Rosario
Member Badge Alois Rosario Answered 13 years ago

Hi Mike,

You can vary the flight of the ball which gives the ball different speeds and in themselves a variation to your serve. It is a good idea to adopt some variations in your serving.

You certainly can hit the ball directly down close to you or float the ball so that it lands closer to the net.  Just this simple variation can cause your opponent soe problems.

The height you hit the ball from can vary depending on where you are going to land the ball on your side and how fast you are going to serve.  In general you can hit the ball from around 10cm higher than the surface.


Recommended Video

How To Master Spin Serves in Table Tennis

Want to take your table tennis serves to the next level? In this episode, we break down how to master spin serves to gain the upper hand in every match.

What You’ll Learn:

The Fundamentals of Spin Serves – How to generate and control spin for maximum effectiveness.
Common Mistakes – The biggest serve errors players make and how to fix them fast.
Viewer Q&A – Your top questions about serving, answered!
Train Smarter – Drills to help you develop spin, deception, and consistency.

Adding spin to your serves can completely change your game. Which spin serve do you struggle with the most? Let us know in the comments!

Watch Now

No comments yet!


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