Coach CornerServe and ReceiveHow to correct my backspin serve
[email protected] asked 6 years ago

Hi Dan and Tom and fellow table tennis players,
Here is a video of me doing the serve.
I seem to have a lot of trouble getting the ball over the net.
The spin on the balls seem to be alright after it went on the other side.
Would be really appreciated if you can help me improve my consistency.
Cheers!

5 Answers
Ngohuy answered 6 years ago

Your first bounce is too close to the net which makes the ball can’t get over. Try to adjust the placement nearer to your body and lower the contact point of racket and ball to keep it short and low. 

Ngohuy answered 6 years ago

In addition, you use penhold grip which is a very strong advantage for serving and short ball attack. Try to exploit all that. Hope this helps. 

maurice101 answered 6 years ago

Your backswing has no wrist whip at the end of the swing as you pause the swing. To change this try starting the backswing as the ball is dropping and not before. Look at the pros serve to see how long they wait before starting the backswing. If you get more whip the bat speed will increase and the spin will go up a lot.

TomTom Academy Coach answered 6 years ago

Hey Jeffrey, there are a couple of things to think about that will really improve your backspin service, I don’t think it’s far away from being a very effective serve. So first off is something that had been mentioned which is the first bounce on your side, sometimes this is far to close to the net meaning it lands straight in the net so aim for halfway up your side of the table. Second is your bat angle, you get a lot of spin because your bat is flat or even tilted upwards when you contact the ball, but often it’s not consistent, so try with a slightly less flat angle and you should definitely see improvement in consistency, when you do you can work on getting the angle for the most spin possible. 

[email protected] answered 6 years ago

Thanks for the feedback guys.
I do understand that the first bounce cannot be too close to the net, but I seem to have difficulty controlling it to be closer to myself.
I will try with the bat being less flat, but I wanted it to be flat so that the serve can be short and that I can brush the ball more instead of more hitting.
I will experiment and see how it goes.
Cheers.

TomTom
Academy Coach replied 6 years ago

Yeah I totally understand what you mean about getting the bat flat to generate spin and keep it short, but I also think this is sometimes the reason the ball can land too close to the net so it will definitely be worth experimenting with that. Try to hit the ball very slightly more downwards into the table and really focus on that first bounce. Anyway as I said I think you are very close to having a great backspin serve so keep up the good work!

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