Is it worth serving short ? - for amateurs

[FH_Project]

Heavy backspin is one of the best ways to get an attackable ball from a LP (in my experience).

Although I know the theory behind, I always have difficulty against guessing the spin of the next ball or its trajectory. I guess it depends on type of pips (has grip ... no grip etc)

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[perham]

Although I know the theory behind, I always have difficulty against guessing the spin of the next ball or its trajectory. I guess it depends on type of pips (has grip ... no grip etc)

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It also has to do with the pace of the ball. If the ball is spinny but slow, the return will have less spin than the case where the ball is fast and spinny. This indeed also has to do with grip. Grippy LPs can produce a little bit of spin on their own, but the trade off is that they lose some of the incoming spin as well. For me, playing against LP is all about timing. If you adjust your timing correctly, you can see the spin of the ball easier. The point is not to rush but to wait and take the ball a bit later than normal. This allows you to think, if only for a moment, about the spin of the incoming ball.

 

[ttmonster]

... the only solution to this to play more against pips ... I see there is a lot of conjectures above about how to play pips ... like anything else just keep an open mind and play more and try different things .. things like seem to be "not an option" become really good options ... e.g. a lot of people say don't serve sidespin against pips , if you are using sidespin to disguise amount of top or under or no spin in the serve its a very good option against pips ... it would become a problem if you don't have the footwork and focus required to track the ball coming back , be in position and play a quality shot ... most important things in table tennis is the ability to adjust ... as the playing level becomes higher this is the specific ability that opens up more and more options be it LP , or any other rubber ... the key is to play more and analyze and try to implement the learnings ...

Although I know the theory behind, I always have difficulty against guessing the spin of the next ball or its trajectory. I guess it depends on type of pips (has grip ... no grip etc)

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[NextLevel]

... the only solution to this to play more against pips ... I see there is a lot of conjectures above about how to play pips ... like anything else just keep an open mind and play more and try different things .. things like seem to be "not an option" become really good options ... e.g. a lot of people say don't serve sidespin against pips , if you are using sidespin to disguise amount of top or under or no spin in the serve its a very good option against pips ... it would become a problem if you don't have the footwork and focus required to track the ball coming back , be in position and play a quality shot ... most important things in table tennis is the ability to adjust ... as the playing level becomes higher this is the specific ability that opens up more and more options be it LP , or any other rubber ... the key is to play more and analyze and try to implement the learnings ...

There are good reasons not to serve sidespin to an advanced pips player but even then I agree 100% with your post. I remember that I have some sidespin serves that when I use them, if the opponent returns my ball with the stroke I expect him to, he is toast. The problem is that an advanced pips player can have subtle options and sideswiped which kill spin or add spin and it can be hard to read without practice if playing them very rarely.


But If you read spin well and can read the return off the pips well, you really can serve anything.

 

[mart1nandersson]

My view as a (novice) LP player:
- Grippy pips (like FL3 or Curl P1R) plays completely different to slick pips (like Dtecs). The normal serve tactics against LP players only works against slick pips as pips like FL3 can produce its own backspin.
- Side top is the worst serve you can do against slick pips. Even I can take advantage of the spin and attack it aggressively.
- Backspin serves against (slick) LP players that can attack is a really bad idea.
- I train every now and then against our division 1 players (3rd tier Swedish league with a ranking of 2200+ which is regarded as elite here) and they always serve HARD no spin against slick pips. Unless the LP player can twiddle he’s dead after the 3rd ball. A lot of lower rated players believe that they can serve no spin but the reality is that it’s almost always quite a bit of top involved.

 

[Der_Echte]

In Korea, 80 percent of O40 ladies used Grass D Techs when I was there, I served heavy underspin to every one of them early, then changed spins.

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[Loopadoop]

I have friction long pips. I welcome any or no spin serves.

 

[LordPippington]

My view as a (novice) LP player:
- Grippy pips (like FL3 or Curl P1R) plays completely different to slick pips (like Dtecs). The normal serve tactics against LP players only works against slick pips as pips like FL3 can produce its own backspin.
- Side top is the worst serve you can do against slick pips. Even I can take advantage of the spin and attack it aggressively.
- Backspin serves against (slick) LP players that can attack is a really bad idea.
- I train every now and then against our division 1 players (3rd tier Swedish league with a ranking of 2200+ which is regarded as elite here) and they always serve HARD no spin against slick pips. Unless the LP player can twiddle he’s dead after the 3rd ball. A lot of lower rated players believe that they can serve no spin but the reality is that it’s almost always quite a bit of top involved.

The fast no spins are difficult to control, but can be handled. The return will be dead, though you can angle the ball to bad spots or change the speed etc.

Also it depends if you are a blocker or chopper. Blockers perhaps dont have as much wiggle room if they send the ball back a bit too high, whereas a chopper can push back long and anticipate the return with more time even if it is slammed

 

[langel]

For me the side spin is more effective with fast aggressive shots to send the ball out of reach.
To use side spin in serves you have to know the opponents style and weaker side, does he like to use your spin and accelerate it, or would he counter it opposite. So you have to decide what kind of side spin you should apply on different directions and placement. Otherwise the side spin may be a suicide.