5 Steps To Master The Reverse Pendulum Serve | Table Tennis

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Hey everyone! The reverse serve is one that many players want to learn and add to their game, when executed correctly you can create deadly amounts of spin and it can be very hard to return. Many professional players such as Timo Boll and Fan Zhendong use this serve to devastating effect, so we've created this step by step guide so you can master it too!


Do you practice this serve?
 
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Hi Dan, I am avid follower of your videos and reviews. I would like to make a suggestion here. Many players are aware of how to make a reverse pendulum serve, but are afraid of using it in a match. This includes me. Many amateur players work on different serves but we don't know the correct placement of the serve and are not sure what to do when someone receives it either from F/H or B/H. So if you please give some thought on this and cover this in your next video then it would be really helpful to everyone.
 
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Hi Dan, I am avid follower of your videos and reviews. I would like to make a suggestion here. Many players are aware of how to make a reverse pendulum serve, but are afraid of using it in a match. This includes me. Many amateur players work on different serves but we don't know the correct placement of the serve and are not sure what to do when someone receives it either from F/H or B/H. So if you please give some thought on this and cover this in your next video then it would be really helpful to everyone.

Dan might chime in here (good video by the way TTD) but man as I was reading your part of being afraid to use it I just don't get or don't follow. It just tells me then you're not using it enough, or at all in practice matches to figure out your best setup.

Big tournament or league play where it counts? I get it. Go with your A game and the stuff you have down pat. But in practice or just a regular club night match? Use it. Get comfortable with it. Who cares if it's optimal or not or if it costs you a match or not. You'll figure out what setups work for you and whatever growing pains you encounter will be short lived.

But step 1 is just having the courage to do it and whatever happens, happens. It's either that or never figuring it out afraid of the consequences.
 
says The trick to lose the sight of big picture is to focus...
says The trick to lose the sight of big picture is to focus...
Member
Aug 2013
377
224
1,040
Read 3 reviews
Dan might chime in here (good video by the way TTD) but man as I was reading your part of being afraid to use it I just don't get or don't follow. It just tells me then you're not using it enough, or at all in practice matches to figure out your best setup.

Big tournament or league play where it counts? I get it. Go with your A game and the stuff you have down pat. But in practice or just a regular club night match? Use it. Get comfortable with it. Who cares if it's optimal or not or if it costs you a match or not. You'll figure out what setups work for you and whatever growing pains you encounter will be short lived.

But step 1 is just having the courage to do it and whatever happens, happens. It's either that or never figuring it out afraid of the consequences.

Yes, you have made a very valid point and I agree.
 
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Hi Dan, I am avid follower of your videos and reviews. I would like to make a suggestion here. Many players are aware of how to make a reverse pendulum serve, but are afraid of using it in a match. This includes me. Many amateur players work on different serves but we don't know the correct placement of the serve and are not sure what to do when someone receives it either from F/H or B/H. So if you please give some thought on this and cover this in your next video then it would be really helpful to everyone.

I used to have the same issue as you. But as I progress through with practice and applying it into friendly matches between my mates, I overcame this problem. Now I'm confident and keen to apply this serve in my matches.
 
Though funny enough, I can serve reverse pendulum backspin with ease, and in different angles. But I have trouble serving the topspin variation as I opted to.

When I first learned this serve, I have trouble serving the backspin, but now it is a reverse of the situation.

Sometimes I could manage to serve a topspin, but I couldn't comprehend the movement of serving the topspin.
 
Big tip: When you are serving with the reverse pendulum, timing is extremely important. More important than any other serves. The moment when you're executing the serve, as the ball is threw, the placement of the ball in the near side of the table, etc. Variation of any of that will create a different result.
 
Dan might chime in here (good video by the way TTD) but man as I was reading your part of being afraid to use it I just don't get or don't follow. It just tells me then you're not using it enough, or at all in practice matches to figure out your best setup.

Big tournament or league play where it counts? I get it. Go with your A game and the stuff you have down pat. But in practice or just a regular club night match? Use it. Get comfortable with it. Who cares if it's optimal or not or if it costs you a match or not. You'll figure out what setups work for you and whatever growing pains you encounter will be short lived.

But step 1 is just having the courage to do it and whatever happens, happens. It's either that or never figuring it out afraid of the consequences.

Totally agree!

My coach used to tell me to spend the time just to practice this serve. No offence to my coach, he didn't much explain the insights that I opted for. I just figured out the serve mostly from trial and error.

Don't get discouraged when you fail, as I spend a total of 2-3 weeks of weekly training to master the fundamentals of the serve. Also, keep in mind that since this is an unorthodox serve in the community, once you are able to master it, imagine the devastation you will bring to your opponents :cool:
 
Sorry for the spam :rolleyes: as I am an advocated reverse pendulum server :p

But the rubber that you are using will affect the outcome of the serve. Say when you are executing the same movement with two different setups. So the best tip for everyone out there is to keep on practicing and applying it, to solidify your motor memory with the serve.

I currently changed from a Xiom tensor rubber to a hard and tacky Chinese rubber just 2 weeks ago. In my opinion, this make my serves more deadly, as the hardness helps me to control the serve better, and the tackiness makes it spinnier.
 
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