Hi Joerg, glad to hear you are enjoying the videos and the Academy that’s great! Yes this can be a tricky one when the return goes high and you know the opponent will play a smash or fast topspin. I would say, even if it is hard to react and block it is better to not drop back too far from the table, the disadvantage if you do is that even if you manage to return the ball you are in a difficult position and it is hard to get back into the table.
So try to just step back a couple of small steps and really focus on staying low and with your weight forward to try to be in a good position for a block. What’s also important is to try to read early and spot where the opponent is going to put the ball so you can give yourself the best chance to return it. So keep an eye on their bat angle and body shape to pick up signals on their direction.
Of course the next stage is working on the return of serve to be confident to read spin and keep the ball low, of course this takes time and practice but will reduce the times you are forced back and the opponent can attack you like this. Hope that’s helpful and anything else on this topic you can reply below 🙂
Dan
