Use of signals in doubles

[allencorn]

Exactly what is communicated with the signals in double teams? At the pro level, there does not seem to be much variation in serves - most are half long with either no spin or underspin, and they seem to bounce in about the same place - mid-court. So other than the amount of spin, what is being signaled? On the receiving end, there would seem to be lots more that could be communicated. Which direction am I hitting the shot (crosscourt, middle or down the line), chiquita or push, which direction am I moving after I hit it, etc. This would give the partner some information that could be useful.

So what do people do for signals, who calls them (server or partner, receiver or partner), and how helpful are they.

Not enough discussion of doubles in general.

 

[lodro]

Exactly what is communicated with the signals in double teams? At the pro level, there does not seem to be much variation in serves - most are half long with either no spin or underspin, and they seem to bounce in about the same place - mid-court. So other than the amount of spin, what is being signaled? On the receiving end, there would seem to be lots more that could be communicated. Which direction am I hitting the shot (crosscourt, middle or down the line), chiquita or push, which direction am I moving after I hit it, etc. This would give the partner some information that could be useful.

So what do people do for signals, who calls them (server or partner, receiver or partner), and how helpful are they.

Not enough discussion of doubles in general.

at club level I found nobody was communicating at all. I could shout loudly that my serve will be: ""with very heavy under spin - will highly likely come back as a push with under spin """ ; but many of my casual partners will still end up shoving the ball into the net.
Communication is an art. 😁

 

[Ultravisitor]

I use hand signals in serious matches. Direction of spin and length.
Player that's better at reading the opponents/strategies calls the serves or just the player that serves to give your partner a heads up.

I use following system:
Index finger is backspin
Thumb is topspin
Fist is no spin
If sidespin Point in the direction the ball curves with thumb/finger
Pointing once is short/half long
Pointing twice is long

 

[Aizen]

I don’t remember where I watch/read but

Index finger is long backspin
Thumb is topspin
Fist is no spin
sidespin-top Point in the direction the ball curves with thumb
Little finger is short backspin

Or combinations. Like both thumb and index finger for side-underspin.

 

[allencorn]

at club level I found nobody was communicating at all. I could shout loudly that my serve will be: ""with very heavy under spin - will highly likely come back as a push with under spin """ ; but many of my casual partners will still end up shoving the ball into the net.
Communication is an art. 😁

Yes, at club level the variations in styles, serves, and rubber makes for a much more challenging experience, and communication needs to be coupled with skill level. But at the pro level, styles are much more uniform, so the signals would seem to be simpler. I still think receiving signals might be more important than servers signals, as the options seem to be greater.

 

[allencorn]

I don’t remember where I watch/read but

Index finger is long backspin
Thumb is topspin
Fist is no spin
sidespin-top Point in the direction the ball curves with thumb
Little finger is short backspin

Or combinations. Like both thumb and index finger for side-underspin.

I don’t think there is any standard signal use - each team likely develops their own.

 

[_ak]

Some of my opponents in leagues actually used them. I tried to use it with my ex team mate last season, didn't work well though. Overal there were too little practice playing doubles, especially lefty-righty tactics.

I use little finger for backspin and index for a long serve, you can combine it with the little or thumb to distinguish between long and short.

 

[JJ Ng]

The signals I learned, growing up, is pretty similar.

Index finger down = backspin
thumb up = top spin
fist = no spin
Pointing to the side = side spin (and my partner should just look at if I serve regular forehand pendulum serve v.s. backhand serve to figure out the type of side spin himself).

Second part of the signal is, index finger pointing toward the opponent's side of the table = long serve, using my thumb and index finger close to each other = short serve.

Depending on the level of players, I may not indicate long or short because, well, it does not matter to them at that level.

Against higher level players, I have to indicate short or long serve.

Yes, I keep on pointing downward with my index finger all the time and many times my partner still dumps the return into the net. That is just frustrating because most players cannot loop my heavy backspin so it is just a simple push return!

At a certain level, most people serve no spin or little spin. If that's the case, no need to signal at all! At that point, as a partner to the server, I just need to be ready for the opponent to loop, push, flip or dead spin smash because my partner really cannot serve much spin at all!

 

[Haraold]

funny got the same signals + the "centre Finger"
Joking aside,if you have a combination for a weakness in your opponent with the return and your partner is the one "cleaning" it up it is essential.
Sometimes i even did the "asshole" move of serving anopther serve than the one signaled to my mate,cause I thought the oponnent "figured" it out,
But if we loose the point it is always on me,as with all there is s <hugr sdvsmzsgr of having playe oftrn together,to anticipate or even know the movement patterns of each other.

 

[Aizen]

I don’t think there is any standard signal use - each team likely develops their own.

Yes of course, I mean this my favorite and I can’t give credits the source because I don’t remember.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

@Takkyu_wa_inochi / @Tony's Table Tennis ,

Other than the type of spin, I have seen some Japanese / CNT players point to various parts of the bat playing surface to indicate where they will contact the ball, creating even more specificity with regards to the type of serve they will make.

 

[allencorn]

@Takkyu_wa_inochi / @Tony's Table Tennis ,

Other than the type of spin, I have seen some Japanese / CNT players point to various parts of the bat playing surface to indicate where they will contact the ball, creating even more specificity with regards to the type of serve they will make.

I have wondered what they were pointing at on their bat. I figured it was just a way to indicate what type of serve, using the bat as a background, and blocking the view of the receiver.

I once saw the partner of the receiver on a Swedish team look under the table to see the server's signal. Nothing illegal about that.

I also have wondered if coaches, who usually sit behind the players, signal to their team what the server was signaling.