Best way to return short no-spin serve?

[TensorBackhand]

What is the best way to return a short no-spin or sidespin only serve?

I typically would return this kind of serve with a closed-face long push. But this opens me up to a loop.

Sometimes I go ahead and short push this serve. But this has very high likelihood that your short push goes high and opens you up to a flick or even a kill.

So what is the best way to receive this serve?

 

[blahness]

Depends where it is served...

 

[Yuomay]

You normally try to flick these types of serves. However variation is key.

 

[merlin el mago]

If you can't flick pros return centered short push to avoid receive a flick, if can't do they made a strong and long push-chop at the corner where isn't the other player to avoid fast loop attack.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

1) flick long
2) flick half long
3) push long
4) push half long
5) drop short

 

[Attitude]

For the sidespin variation you counter the sidespin and slightly guide it up over the net.

The no spin serves are trickier because you tend to misread them. I mean even pros fail to read them occasionally.
But yeah you slightly close the angle of the racket and guide the ball over the table in a controlled manner.
What helps for me is taking the ball early with a more faint touch. Even if i somewhat misread the serve the result usually isnt that bad. Especially if i manage to generate some underspin.

 

[NextLevel]

Serve return is never really about the technique, it is almost always about the variation you need to control your opponent and if your opponent can attack every variation you present too quickly, they are just better players. Using sidespin or late stage contact to control no-spin are some of the options. But Tony's main point is that you can learn and do whatever you want, whether it gets you a good result says as much if not more about the opponent than it does about you.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

1) flick long
2) flick half long
3) push long
4) push half long
5) drop short

6) Lean you body into the table. Get as close to the ball
as possible. In another word: Footwork!

 

[KM1976]

What is the best way to return a short no-spin or sidespin only serve?

I typically would return this kind of serve with a closed-face long push. But this opens me up to a loop.

Sometimes I go ahead and short push this serve. But this has very high likelihood that your short push goes high and opens you up to a flick or even a kill.

So what is the best way to receive this serve?

I don't have a good flick and even if I try it against a no spin serve my chances are 50-50. Instead, what I try to do is that I take a bucket of balls, and I practice solo by bouncing the ball close to the net bend my torso and try to take my body close to the ball, then I try to do a side spin push with relaxed hands when the ball is in descending phase. I know that I am not that quick and mostly I will be late. So I try to be realistic about my match situations and try to do a sidespin swipe on the ball on different locations on the table. Try it a few times and try to keep the ball deep with sidespin curve, nothing too much but just that the ball moves sideways. Once you get this going, then you can position yourself on the table for the next shot based on the sidespin you added to your earlier receive for a quick hit.

 

[Dr Evil]

The best way depends. The easiest/safest is usually a flip to the elbow, especially for a sidespin serve. That's also my go to for no spin serves but it requires a little more finesse. Long pushing is also a safe alternative and usually gives you more time to recover.