Wide serves without sidespin

Shripathi ramakrishnan Asked 12 years ago

hi alois and jeff,

i saw your video on He Zhe Wen's serve. and i have an opponent who uses a similar tactic (right handed) he serves mostly  wide and between long and half long at mid distance from the net on my side of the table... i would have just used the technique u showed on ur sidespin lessons but then it doesnt have any sidespin in it... just backspin or no spin or sometimes topspin. how do i recieve this service effectively? i find often chop this and go defensive...

Alois Rosario Answered 12 years ago

Hi Shripathi,

Focus on getting closer to the ball and making an attacking stroke.  Because it doesn't have sidespin you should be able to get to it easier.

You can spin straight over the top of the ball with pure topspin.  Just allow for the amount of backspin on the ball.

Since they are all long you need to attack them.  You can take a small step further away from the table to receive.  This will give you a little longer the see the serve.