Described for a right-handed server; the tips on reading and returning speak to the receiver.
How to read it
- Watch which face strikes the ball and which way it travels — red or black, left to right or right to left.
- Forehand face from the server's left to right curves the ball to your right; the backhand face going right to left curves it to your left.
- The contact is very low and partly behind the table edge from your view, so read the direction of the racket before and after it.
- The server needs a moment to stand up: a fast return to a corner is hard for them to reach.
How to return it
- Aim toward the side the server's racket came from to cancel the sidespin.
- Take the ball a little later than usual, after the curve has shown itself.
- Return fast and wide, or long to the body, before the server is back on their feet.
Common mistakes when serving it
- Squatting too late or too early, so that the ball is met above table height and the serve bounces high.
- Staying down after the serve — the third ball is lost.
- Tossing forward over the table: the ball must still be struck behind the end line.
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
- Fast Long 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.
-
Google Play
Install
- App Store Coming soonfor iPhone Early access
Scan a code with your phone's camera, or tap the link.