Serving short with a lot of underspin/backspin

says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,821
13,210
30,388
Read 27 reviews
The serve is supposed to give the server an immediate offensive advantage. That advantage is only as good as your serve level and your opponent's receive level. If opponent's receive level is way better than your serve level, you are screwed, blued, and TATTOOED. Stil, even then, you could get by on variation and low placement to at least narrow down the possible returns so at least you can anticipate something, or maybe surprise that them, but don't count on it too much if they are way better.

There is no single correct approach to learning effective serves. My definition is a serve or serves that set you up to play the shot you are looking to play, usually a 3rd ball attack or a tactical passing shot to get into the kind of rally you want, if you want a rally. You can tell if a server has effective serves by what/how the server follows up on or the clueless look on receiver. Effective serves should integrate with your attacking strategy and get the most predicable balls possible while making opponent tentative to be effective aggressive vs you. If you are a retriever/fisher/lobber/chopper, then serve what gets the kind of attack you want to defend or get back.

Variety of spins while showing the same motion is the key to getting your opponent's to buy their own underwear from you at inflated prices. It is essential that you early on show your underspin is HEAVY and do it effortlessly. Once you sell them on that (not very hard - they will realize the first ball or two into the net) you can letter pull the carpet out from them with light or no spin serves. Those serves will not work if you do not sell them with your same serve motion nor will they work if they are poor quality.

Control over bat angles, grip pressure at/during impact, whip, and amount/type of impact are crucial.

There is more than one approach to getting "there". Many pros/cons about each way.Since I believe in practicing efectively and not wasting effort, time or learning, I would say to NOT try to stand at the table and try to get everything right in one shot. All that does is keep repeating your mistakes, (too much to get right at one time) discourage and de-motivate you, and get you to quit without gaining anything except carpal tunnel syndrom.

I advocate a progressive approach and there are several. My favorite is to do it in 3 stages. First just spin the ball heavy under while standing up away from table, get ball to come back. This isolates you to do just the ball toss, swing timing, whip and bat angle at imnpact. (FLAT DIRECTLY UNDER BALL with any direction of tip down or up with forward swing - a little lift) That sounds like a lot, but it isn't. Later, do the same, but loft the ball high from a meter behind table, make ball spin back. You are focusing only on high spin. Later, go to table and put it all together, no worry about height too much, you tighten that up when you get the timing and bat angles down. Later, you work on after motions.

All in all, loose muscles make a whip, Too many players tighten up and loose their whip. LIGHT grip pressure, later you can firm it up right at or during impact. Almost EVERYONE fails to keep the bat flat even with table and/or drops bat. Don't do it, just go forward with open bat impact under ball loose grip and whip it good. You do not need a long motion. Toss the ball up higher to give you more time to see the ball. You do not have to be a High Toss Servy Bastard like Der_Echte (called so by Next Level), but give yourself more time to see the ball and prepare your swing. You do not need a mile long backswing, a short area whip will do just fine.
 
Top