How Ma long can get any spin with his serves with this motion?

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I always found the movement Ma Long does to serve a bit intriguing, he first pulls his arm forward, then backwards and then he makes a circle with his arm and pulls his elbow forward completely, I tried to imitate it but got no spin, does anyone know how he does it? I saw some videos and some of his serves didn't seem to have a curve on the table, but still people referred to it as a serve with a lot of spin. if someone can explain me how he does it I would appreciate it, a video of him doing it in slow motion here.

https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjgwNTk3MDMyOA==.html?spm=a2h0c.8166622.PhoneSokuUgc_40.dscreenshot
 
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I think this looks like a float? no spin serve? seems like he hit it pretty flat
 
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I always found the movement Ma Long does to serve a bit intriguing, he first pulls his arm forward, then backwards and then he makes a circle with his arm and pulls his elbow forward completely, I tried to imitate it but got no spin, does anyone know how he does it? I saw some videos and some of his serves didn't seem to have a curve on the table, but still people referred to it as a serve with a lot of spin. if someone can explain me how he does it I would appreciate it, a video of him doing it in slow motion here.

https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjgwNTk3MDMyOA==.html?spm=a2h0c.8166622.PhoneSokuUgc_40.dscreenshot

The video show him doing different types of spins with very similar motions, The difference is subtle and happens right before the ball contact. It's in how the final presentation of the face of the blade to the ball happens. It looks like you only managed to copy the no spin variant.

 
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Could be side topspin as well. Impossible to tell from this view - we cannot see the actual trajectory of the ball after contact.

You can see the trajectory of the ball in this video:

https://youtu.be/WSBf2TG_h3A You see, all his serves looks like no spin the ball dosent curve or comes backwards, really the motion he and the chinese players in general does is very strange to me.
 
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Here is a video of him practicing serves.
https://youtu.be/WSBf2TG_h3A

Certainly not just no spin serves there. Many pros have said ma long has a very good serve, they wouldn't say that if it just was the same serve all the time.
 
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You can see the trajectory of the ball in this video:

https://youtu.be/WSBf2TG_h3A You see, all his serves looks like no spin the ball dosent curve or comes backwards, really the motion he and the chinese players in general does is very strange to me.

No, they do not. Second serve is clearly a side/heavy underspin, third is heavy side/underspin, and so on.

 
says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
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I would agree that the serve in #1 clip is likely to be a no spin, or could even have a little top spin. It looks like he ‘pats’ the ball forward.
if you hold your bat at a 45 degree angle, for a push and toss a ball and just let it land on the bat, without moving the bat, the ball will move forward with a little top spin on it.
So the little forward pat motion is similar, it just adds some forward force, with no or a little top spin on the ball. He pushes through the ball, not down and under the ball, which would give under spin / back spin.
In the #7 clips, there are a variety of different spin serves, the heavier under spin and very heavy under spin / ‘ghost’ serves where the ball returns to the net, the bat angle is horizontal, and he brushes the bottom of the ball.
 
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The serve is dangerous if it’s (1) hard to read with high variation (2) fast. If the ball comes toward very fast, it needs a lot more backspin to come backward (ghost serve). A decent server can do a ghost serve at very slow speed easily but that’s not the point. You have to also factor in how fast it goes forward. Ma Long doesn’t do ghost serve but you gotta see how fast it decelerates in second bounce from a relatively high speed in his back spin serve.
 
says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
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Ghost serve - For me, is very difficult to execute with a high percentage of reliability, this is not a serve I use during match play!!!! even after a year + I would say that reliability wise, its maybe , on a good day, 60% success rate, on a bad day 20% during serve practice !!!
To clarify things from my perspective (which may be right or wrong), a ghost serve will accelerate back towards the net, a more normal back / underspin serve will hold up and stop on the table, or with a little more spin start to make its way back towards the net.
Also, as Tango was saying, second bounce will really bite and 'hold-up' and 3rd bounce maybe only a little further forward, 4th bounce is closer back towards the net than the 3rd.
I suppose you could say that a top spin 'kicker' serve and 'Ghost' serve are the opposites of each other. one relies on a sudden forward kick (and higher bounce), the other with sudden deceleration (and highish bounce) both cause timing issues for the receiver and more spin to think about.
 
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Ma Long’s genius is shown
https://youtu.be/PCGoIjyPJUY

He makes his service action look so simple and ordinary
and yet the result makes the ball fizz and sizzle like fat in a frying pan.
What a hot decision for any opponent to try to read spin or direction with so little tiime

Ma Long is the Quiet genius of serving!

 
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says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
Well-Known Member
Jul 2020
1,755
1,192
4,409
Read 11 reviews

Ma Long’s genius is shown
https://youtu.be/PCGoIjyPJUY

He makes his service action look so simple and ordinary
and yet the result makes the ball fizz and sizzle like fat in a frying pan.
What a hot decision for any opponent to try to read spin or direction with so little tiime

Ma Long is the Quiet genius of serving!

The description MH uses, 3 main spins with one action for a pendulum serve, also can be applied to the reverse pendulum serve (as the name suggests!!!) and also for a BH serve. TRICKY and SNEAKY !!!!! gets your opponent 🤔

Ma Long is considered by many to have the best 'set up' serve out there.

 
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