service-return-issues-with-new-lightweight-bat
Slicepong asked 6 years ago
Hi Dan and Tom, I took a step backward in my last match with my new light Stiga. I love the whippy power, which didn’t utilize much, but more importantly, I struggled mightily with spin serves. Everything went long off the table. I couldn’t believe it. I haven’t had this happen before. Do you have any advice on returning serve with a light bat? Thanks.
Dan Academy Coach answered 6 years ago
Hey Slicepong,
Which light Stiga bat do you have exactly? Have you ever played against this opponent before? Or was this the first time you ever played him?
How were you generally returning the serve with a push or a drive/flick shot?
SlicepongHi Dan, it’s a Stiga Supreme. I have played this opponent several times before. He’s improved as he used to only hit topspin, now he hits a lot of back/side spin, and I couldn’t figure it out with the Stiga. I also struggled mightily with a different opponent who hit a reverse pendulum. I’ve never struggled returning before. Maybe the Stiga isn’t for me.
Dan, I forgot to mention I was almost always pushing, especially since I was losing confidence as I was having no success. I should have went back to my old bat, at least temporarily. It’s heavier and easier to control. I couldn’t handle backspin with the Stiga. He didn’t serve much sidespin now that I think about it. Lesson learned.
DanHi Slicepong,
I agree, it can definitely throw you off when you change your equipment setup for the first few weeks, especially in the finer details of the game, such as the serve and return as you mentioned. Perhaps you need a little longer to adjust to the lighter bat, and try it in a few more practice sessions. If you are still finding problems it would be good to go back to your other setup. It can be easy when you lose confidence in a game where you resort back to pushing which you mentioned. This stops you from top spinning which is the best and easiest way to return tricky side spin serves.
This video highlights this: https://tabletennisdailyacademy.com/videos/return-tricky-long-sidespin-serves/
Keep me posted how you get on Slicepong 🙂
Thanks, Dan. I’ll force myself to topspin more. I wasn’t playing with confidence.
Dan, one more question if you don’t mind. I really struggled more with backspin. Is topspin the best option there also?
