Described for a right-handed server; the tips on reading and returning speak to the receiver.
How to read it
- The racket travels forward, hard, instead of under or across the ball.
- The first bounce is near the server's end line; on a short serve it is near the net.
- The toss is low and the contact very low and far back.
- Watch the server's body: it drives forward into this serve.
How to return it
- Stay back off the table as your starting position so a long ball does not jam you.
- Loop or drive it — it is long, so it is yours to attack; a small backswing is enough, the speed is already there.
- If it catches you late, block with a slightly closed racket rather than pushing.
Common mistakes when serving it
- First bounce too close to the net: the serve then goes off the end or sits up half-long.
- Hitting down on the ball from too high, which makes it bounce up.
- Changing the stance or the toss so that the receiver sees it coming.
More forehand serves
- Pendulum Backspin
- Pendulum Side-Backspin
- Pendulum Side-Topspin
- Pendulum No-Spin (Float)
- Reverse Pendulum
- Tomahawk
- Reverse Tomahawk
- Hook Serve
- Shovel Serve
- High-Toss Pendulum
- Squat Serve
Learn to serve it
The step-by-step technique — grip, stance, toss, backswing, contact and finish — and a 3D demo you can turn and slow down are in Trainoro’s Service Drills, along with 12 ways to receive. To practise serving with a partner, see the serve and return drills.
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