Once again, a great video Tom. Service is soooo much under-practised in some level (not pro, obviously). I especially like Mike reminding how to make the best use of a service. Being a right hand player, if I do a long fast bomb service into the BH of another right hand player, there is 80% chance he will return in diagonal, exactly in the position I served. So I just have to arm my FH and make the point!
Such great tips. If there's any one thing I could encourage others to practice, it's serving. Serving is one of the few aspects of table tennis that you can effectively practice completely solo. Grab a box of balls and go to town
This video comes with great timing. My rally game has been improving recently, and I need to start pushing my serves to the next level. I would like to know how often you change serves in your games. I feel like I sort of pick a serve and use it for a few points, varying the placement and spin, and then I try to pick a very different serve to keep my opponent from getting comfortable. Is this advisable? My other thought is maybe using a single serve until it's no longer effective and only then change serves.
This is a big, huge topic. There is no definite answer. It completely depends on the situation. This is how I approach it... In the first game, I try a few different serves to see what my opponent likes doesn't like. Second game, I may focus more on the serves which have proved more difficult to return, with occasional variation to keep opponent from getting comfortable. And then from this point on, it really does depend on what is happening in the match. If a serve is proving particularly effective, I may use it a bit more. If my serves are getting attacked, I may need to keep them tighter. In general it is good to vary spin, speed, placement. But if you have a serve which is working very well against a particular opponent, then use it a bit more. I think I'll write a longer blog post about this topic on my website. Thanks for the great question!
Yes, I think that would be popular. I have some more videos coming out with Craig on different topics. We filmed these in the summer. But when I next film with Craig, I'll do some more on returning serves.
Question: where should you serve on the table? Craig was serving from the very corner, but is that because of his playing style? Or is the corner the ideal place to serve for most styles?
Good video. Would have been even better if the camera was set up on the left side of the table instead so we could see Craig's contact more easily when he's serving from the far side.
With my 10€ racket on a stone table which functions as a random number generator (rough surface), I just might not be able to reproduce that :) But try, I will.
Technique is the most important part. With a cheap racket you will be able to generate spin. With a better quality racket, you will be able to generate more spin.
Man, I am a good recreation player. Illegal serve, hit flat react to opponents hitting flat often. And also, I am left-handed. The reason for all this is that I want to transition to the table tennis game. So for example, I need a left hander to serve and get a side view so I can see where the paddle is from the back line at point of contact. A multi view SLOW Motion video might be great also. Anyone want to help an aspiring guy out? Thanks in advance
