Short pimples – what do after the block.
darion888 asked 3 years ago
Hello, I’ve got a question concerning short pimples. Basically I understand the cycle that if I attack to the short pimples with a heavy topspin, and if an opponent blocks, then I get a ball with a some backspin which I have to lift a little bit. But my question is what to do next? Should I attack then with some aggressive topspin or will the ball again come back with some backspin?
Tom Academy Coach answered 3 years ago
Hey Darion, this is a good question and of course it varies each time slightly according to the opponent and their rubber. But often after this type of shot you will get the chance to attack a bit stronger, the important thing to remember is to still play with spin and brush the ball even when trying to attack quicker. This will ensure you have enough safety over the net because short pimples come through flatter than a normal rubber. So it’s not really backspin but just skids through low to the table sometimes. Most important is keeping that topspin on the ball as I said and also being patient and not rushing to finish the point too quickly and making mistakes 🙂
darion888Thanks for the answer I found it very useful. However, I used to play with some short pimples and my game was not so distorted. I’ve been playing recently with one guy who is using as he told dr neubauer killer pro rubber. He told me that it is a short pimple rubber but for me it looks bit like a mixture of short and long pimples. So maybe it’s a medium pimple rubber? If so do you know any tactics on how to play with them in a rally? What serves would be the best?
No problem at all, yes it could be a medium pimple rubber which is similar again to be honest. Slightly more spin reversal, long fast flat serves can be great and also short float against this type of rubber is great and be ready to attack the next ball into the body.
The most important thing to remember against any pimple rubber is to take your time, slow down your shots so as not to rush and be patient. They can’t generate much spin on their one, o ly work off the spin you give them.
Thanks for the answer. I’ve recently played again against that guy, and that’s right it is a medium pimple rubber that he is using and it does reverse the effect so my topspin became backspin after his return, etc. But now I’m not so sure what to after my topspin to medium pimples. Usually then the ball comes back to me with a backspin, so the question what is the best way to do next? Should I push it to get an easy ball? Or maybe should I try to topspin again against backspin? Will it work like long-pimples that the more I topspin the the harder it gets? Or will I get an easy next ball through which I can go harder after my topspin against backspin?
Yes ok, so against the medium pimples sometimes after the topspin it can still come back with a fair bit of backspin, so probably most of the time being patient and pushing this ball is best. But variation and keeping them guessing is key, so try to mix up the placement and not play into one spot so it’s easy to control. Usually the more topspin you play the more the harder it gets, similar o long pimples as you said. The thing to remember with any pimples is that they work off your spin, they can’t generate that much spin on their own, so if you give them nothing you will get nothing back too 🙂
