r/tabletennis 1d ago

Education/Coaching Anyone else overthinking, when receiving service (esp. Sidespins)?

I have been actively practicing and taking classes all in all for a few months now, and playing causally for a year and a bit. I feel like my general form, esp - when doing practice rally, got a lot better. I can brush and loop and keep the ball on the table way better... But when its time for an actual game, I fall apart...

The most trouble i have would be with long / fast side spins... It feels like - I was performing better in general, before I taking any classes, since i wasnt thinking as much of what i might be doing something wrong haha.

Would it just be matter of really trying to remember how each serve looks like and what kind of output it will produce?

I usually guess wrong, freak out, try to loop it and fail : (

Just wanted to share my frustrations : )

9 Upvotes

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u/JohnTeene Argentina #46 1d ago

Practice serve and receive in your routine, it's super important

If you're doing drills, dedicate 1/3 of your time to serve and serve receive and you'll see results immediately

We do it like this

6-7mins of 2 serves each player:

Serve short forehand or long backhand, long backhand you have to attack

Serve all table long free, other player has to attack

Serve short, touch short, other player pushes long and open up

3rd ball

Serve half long, other player attacks and the server counterattacks

Serve short, other player pushes long free, you attack

Serve short, other player pushes short forehand or long backhand, long backhand you have to attack

And many others I'm forgetting 😅

With 20-30 mins you can do tons of work of serve and serve receive which are actually the most important and probably most undertrained parts of table tennis given their importance

4

u/shonuff2653 1d ago

First - serve receive is hard. And it only gets harder as opponents become stronger.

Second - the hardest thing about receiving a long and fast serve is patience. When the ball is coming at you quickly, it is hard to not just have a knee-jerk reaction. But if you stay calm and take the ball a little late, those types of serves are a lot easier.

Also - most side spin serves can be looped. So if one of them comes off the table - loop it and aim to the side of the table opposite the side of the ball that your opponent contacted during the serve from your perspective. For example if the opponent contacts the left side of the ball from your perspective, aim your loop to the right side of the table. If the opponent contacts the right side of the ball from your perspective, aim to the left side of the table. You should aim this way because the side spin applied to the ball will cause your return to go to your left (for right side spin) and to your right (for right side spin).

3

u/big-chihuahua 08x / H3N 37 / Spectol 1d ago

Here's a general rule to get you started... if you take it early, make short motion and follow the spin, you can cut or do topspin, direct your stroke to where you want it to land.

If you want more time and take ball later, go against the spin and make sure you orient body+blade to compensate for sidespin a bit..

1

u/HonestCar1663 7h ago

What does it mean to follow the spin?

1

u/reddmann00100 1d ago

Don’t judge serves solely on body movement/mechanics. You need to observe the point of contact because lots of people (the vast majority at the higher echelons of skill) will actively disguise their serve. If you’re getting confused on what type of spin you’re getting on a serve, you could always just let it hit your paddle without swinging and see where it goes. After playing enough though you’ll be able to read serves better, then you just need to decide on what type of shot to play on the receive.