Service 101: What you Need to Improve your Serve (TB EP. 01)

Summary

This video by Table Tennis Technolytics delves into the critical aspects of serving in table tennis. Emphasizing the importance of serve techniques, the video covers ten key points to improve your game. Topics include the correct low-to-high motion, following through on the serve, body positioning, wrist flexibility, and maintaining consistent movements. It also highlights the significance of both short and long serves, effective game planning, and the necessity of patience and practice. The video aims to enhance players' serving skills and overall game strategy.

Takeaways

• 🏓 The serve is crucial in table tennis as it starts every point, so mastering it is essential.
• ⬆️ For effective serves, perform a low-to-high movement but follow through by moving the racket down to keep the ball low and accurate.
• 👟 Your body's follow-through after the serve is important for maintaining control and disguising your serves.
• ⚖️ Practice both short and long serves with the same movement to keep your opponent guessing.
• 🎯 Keep your wrist loose while serving to better control the spin and disguise the serve.
• 🔍 Focus on the first bounce of the ball to ensure consistency and control over different tables and conditions.
• 🎯 Small differences in serve placement can significantly impact your opponent's response, so practice precision.
• 💡 Choose serves that set you up for success based on your strengths and preferences.
• 🧠 Simplify your game plan if necessary, focusing on basic but effective serves to maintain control.
• ⏳ Be patient and persistent in practicing your serves, as mastering them can take a long time.

Q & A

Why is the serve considered crucial in table tennis?

Every point in table tennis starts with a serve, either by you or your opponent, making it essential to have a good serve to gain an advantage.

What is the first key point mentioned for improving your serve?

The first key point is to perform your serve movement from low to high to put rotation on the ball, but also to follow through and go down with the ball to ensure it lands on the table.

How does following through on your serve help?

Following through on your serve helps the ball go into the table and glide across the net as it should, ensuring a nice, low serve.

What are the two ways to perform a sidespin or backspin serve?

One way is with your non-dominant foot in front, stepping forward after the serve. The other way is with your dominant foot in front, moving sideways along the table.

Why is it important to practice both short and long serves?

Practicing both short and long serves keeps your opponent guessing and prevents them from always being ready for a short serve, thus maintaining the element of surprise.

What is the significance of keeping your wrist loose while serving?

A loose wrist allows for better rotation, variation, and camouflage in your serve, making it harder for the opponent to read and react to it.

How can you improve consistency in your serves?

Focus on the first bounce of the ball on your side of the table rather than the end result. This helps in controlling the serve and adapting to different tables and conditions.

What does knowing the difference between a short forehand serve and a short middle serve imply?

Even slight variations in the placement of a short serve can force the opponent to move differently, potentially disrupting their rhythm and positioning.

How should you tailor your serves to suit your playing style?

Serve in a way that sets you up for success based on your strengths and preferences. For instance, avoid serves that result in shots you're not comfortable returning.

What advice is given about being patient with serve practice?

Developing a good serve takes time and patience. Some serves may take years to perfect and integrate into matches, so trust the process and keep practicing.

What can be learned from Werner Schlager's serving strategy?

Werner Schlager's success with a basic backhand serve, which he could consistently follow up effectively, shows the importance of having a reliable, well-practiced serve.

Outlines

00:00

🏓 Introduction to the Importance of Serve in Table Tennis

The video emphasizes the significance of the serve in table tennis, introducing the concept that players have control over their serve and their head movements. The presenter, from Table Tennis Technolytics, highlights that every point starts with a serve, making it crucial to have a good serve. The focus will be on ten key points applicable to almost every serve.

05:00

⬆️ Key Point 1: Low to High Movement

The first key point discussed is the low to high movement in serves. The presenter explains that while this movement helps in adding rotation, it is not enough to ensure the ball lands on the table. The importance of following through by going down after making contact with the ball is emphasized, showing how it helps in keeping the serve low and effective.

10:01

🔄 Key Point 2: Following Through on the Serve

This section delves deeper into the importance of following through on the serve, explaining two methods: one with the non-dominant foot in front and one with the dominant foot in front. The presenter demonstrates both techniques and explains how following through correctly aids in achieving a low and effective serve.

15:02

🎯 Key Point 3: Importance of a Good Long Serve

The video highlights that having a good long serve is essential for a varied and effective game. The presenter explains that the technique for a long serve should mimic that of a short serve until the last moment, preventing opponents from predicting the serve. The importance of practicing both short and long serves to maintain the element of surprise is stressed.

🎾 Key Point 4: Same Movement, Different Point of Contact

This section discusses the need to camouflage the difference between serves with different spins (backspin, no spin, topspin) by varying the point of contact on the racket. The presenter explains that mastering this technique makes serves less predictable and more challenging for the opponent.

🤲 Key Point 5: Keeping the Wrist Loose

The importance of keeping the wrist loose during serves is emphasized. A stiff wrist limits rotation and makes the serve easier to read. The presenter demonstrates the difference between serves with a loose wrist and a stiff wrist, showing how a relaxed wrist improves serve quality and deception.

👀 Key Point 6: Watching the First Bounce

The presenter advises focusing on the first bounce of the ball rather than the end result when practicing new serves. By controlling the initial trajectory, players can adapt to different tables and improve their consistency. The method involves marking the ideal first bounce spot and adjusting serves accordingly.

🔄 Key Point 7: Variations in Short Forehand Serves

This section highlights the differences between short forehand serves aimed at various parts of the table. Even slight variations in placement can significantly affect the opponent's reception. The presenter stresses the importance of practicing these small adjustments to exploit opponents' weaknesses.

🎯 Key Point 8: Setting Yourself Up for Success

The presenter explains that players should tailor their serves to suit their strengths and what they want to achieve in the rally. Choosing serves that align with one's follow-up skills and strategic preferences can enhance overall performance and effectiveness in matches.

🧠 Key Point 9: Simplifying Your Game Plan

This section advises simplifying the game plan when serves become too complicated. Using basic but effective serves, as exemplified by former world champion Jan-Ove Waldner, can maintain consistency and control. The focus is on keeping serves low and well-camouflaged while ensuring reliable follow-ups.

⏳ Key Point 10: Patience and Practice

The final key point emphasizes the importance of patience and consistent practice in developing a good serve. The presenter shares that some serves took years to perfect and advises players to trust the process. Regular practice and perseverance are essential for mastering serves and their follow-ups.

👍 Conclusion and Encouragement

The video concludes with the presenter encouraging viewers to practice the key points discussed and to be patient with their progress. Viewers are invited to leave comments, ask questions, and subscribe to the channel for more content. The presenter expresses hope that the video was helpful and informative.

Keywords

💡Serve

In table tennis, a serve is the action used to start a point. It involves hitting the ball from one side of the table to the other, ensuring it bounces once on each side. The video emphasizes the importance of having a good serve as it is crucial to starting each point effectively.

💡Low to High

This term refers to the technique of swinging the racket from a low position to a high position to impart spin on the ball during a serve. The video highlights this as a key point for generating rotation, though it must be combined with a downward follow-through for effective placement.

💡Follow Through

Follow-through is the continuation of a motion after the ball has been hit. In serving, it's crucial to follow through to control the ball's trajectory. The video demonstrates how proper follow-through helps in keeping the serve low and ensuring it lands correctly on the table.

💡Rotation

Rotation, or spin, is the spinning motion imparted to the ball during a serve. The video discusses how to generate different types of spin, such as side spin and backspin, to make serves more effective and harder for the opponent to predict and return.

💡Camouflage

Camouflage in serving refers to disguising the type of serve being executed so the opponent cannot easily anticipate it. The video explains techniques to hide whether a serve will be short or long, or what type of spin will be applied, making it more difficult for opponents to react.

💡Wrist Loose

Keeping the wrist loose refers to maintaining flexibility in the wrist during the serve to generate more spin and better control. The video stresses the importance of a relaxed wrist to effectively disguise serves and enhance their quality.

💡First Bounce

The first bounce is the initial point where the ball contacts the server's side of the table. The video suggests focusing on the first bounce to control the serve's trajectory, especially when practicing new serves or adjusting to different table surfaces.

💡Point of Contact

This term describes the specific spot on the racket where the ball is hit during a serve. The video emphasizes varying the point of contact to create different types of spin and speed, helping to camouflage the serve's true nature.

💡Game Plan

A game plan involves strategizing which serves to use based on the player's strengths and the opponent's weaknesses. The video advises players to select serves that set them up for successful follow-up shots and adapt their strategy based on match situations.

💡Practice

Consistent practice is essential for mastering serves. The video concludes by encouraging players to be patient and practice their serves diligently, noting that it can take years to perfect certain serves and incorporate them effectively into matches.

Highlights

Importance of the serve in table tennis as every point starts with a serve.

10 key points applicable to almost every serve discussed.

Low to high movement in serve for rotation, but also need to go down with the ball.

Follow-through on the serve is crucial for a good serve.

Two ways to perform a side spin serve: non-dominant foot in front or dominant foot in front.

Need for variation in serves: good short serve requires a good long serve.

Camouflaging the difference between short and long serves is key.

Same movement but different point of contact for different serves.

Importance of keeping the wrist loose during the serve.

Watching the first bounce instead of the end result for consistency.

Differences in short serves: short forehand, short backhand, and short backspin.

Setting up for success with serves that suit your playing style.

Simplicity in serve can be effective, as demonstrated by a world champion.

Being patient and practicing is essential for developing a good serve.

The serve should be practiced with follow-up play in mind.

The time and effort required to implement serves in matches.

Transcripts

in table tennis there are only two

things of which you have filter control

your Surf and your heads with this video

you'll have control over one of those

things my name is table tennis

technolytics let's go

so everybody we're here at the hall of

my sponsor kilikon here on alter and

today we're going to be talking about

Surf and the importance of surf because

every Point starts with a surf either

with you or your opponent so therefore

it's very very crucial to have a good

serve today we're not going to be

looking into a certain technique of a

serve but we're more going to talk about

10 key points that are applicable to

almost each and every serve and the

first key point we'll be talking about

is low to high one of the tips I

received when I was starting out was if

you want to put rotation on the ball is

to perform your movement on the surf

from low to high and if you're like me

and you try to do this movement from low

to high then you probably would assert a

little something like this

thank you

see this is nothing because if you only

go from low to high then maybe you can

put a little bit of rotation in the ball

but it won't go into the table you won't

surf into the table and the ball won't

slide across the net as it should be the

problem with this information about the

low to high is the context around it yes

you have to serve and perform this

movement this swing during serve from

low to high but as you surf and you

touch the ball you need to go down with

it as well so that your racket starts

maybe here

and it will end up around chest height

but because you go down this allows you

to serve into the table and to have a

nice low Serve All right so I'll try it

one more time and just pay close

attention to how I'm following through

on the ball and going down and also pay

attention to where my racket is ending

up because it's it will be higher at the

end of the Swing than at the beginning

thank you

and the same is applicable for other

services well not only for a straight

surf or a regular side spacer Also let's

say for a reverse pendulum serve you can

maybe start over here and end your

movement almost at chin height but

because you go down it allows you to

Surf into the table and to have the ball

Glide across the net so if I wouldn't do

it then I would stand upright this is

what would happen

see about that just bounces way too high

now let's try it again but with me this

time going forward into the ball

the regular reverse pendulum serve as it

should be so two things to remember here

is start from low to high to put enough

rotation into your ball and second to

follow through on the circle all right

the second keypoint is something which

we discussed just now before but it's

also about your body and how you have to

follow through on the surf why am I

discussing this in a key point on its

own is because it has some Nuance in it

as you will see in a regular site sensor

or a dance Spencer there are two ways of

Performing this surf one is with your

non-dominant foot in front of you as a

lot of players do and then this serve

oftentimes people step in after the ball

alright

but then they go forwards after their

surfing and the other way of forming a

site a site can serve or a regular

grounds can serve is with your dominance

list in front of you which means that if

you want to follow through on the serve

you'll probably move sideways along the

table and this is something I do

personally there's no right to roam here

but it's just a question of knowing how

to follow through on the serve so I'll

demonstrate how to do the first one with

the non-dominant foot

you can do it with a bounce without a

bounce just for demonstration's sake

I'll do it without

accept all right

see how I follow through on this Earth

and I moved forward again as we

discussed in the previous key points

this helps me to play a low and low and

short surf alright if I wouldn't do it

and I'd stand upright again the battles

would be too high the ball wouldn't be

quick enough and would be too easy to

now for the other surf the other way of

serving this side spin or backspin surf

is with the dominance foot in front of

you and something which I do is as you

reform yourself as you

finish your swing you set the

non-dominant foot besides the table and

then you follow through like this and

afterwards you get ready for your

neutral position

all right so I'll show it one time

without

people

good at First Sight but the problem is

it's very hard to camouflage

this if you want to perform it in the

same movement pattern now if I'll do the

same surface but when I moved along the

table like this then it will end up a

little something like this

together

this is a pretty good serve it allows

you to serve nice and low nice and quick

and as a bonus it will help you

camouflage the difference between a

short Surf and a long Surf not much much

better

key Point number three is you cannot

have a good short serve without a good

long serve and what do I mean with this

is you can't have as much variation and

as much rotation in a short serve as you

want but if people are never surprised

of you maybe sometimes serving a long

serve then they will always be stepping

in and they will be ready no matter what

all right so it's very important from

the beginning to practice your long

search and oftentimes the mistake that

people make when trying to practice a

long surf or what they subconsciously do

when they do a long serve is they open

their rackets way more than they would

with a lot insurance though

and this leads to the opponent being

able to see what can happen and in

advance you'll be ready for this long

Surf and it takes this whole element of

surprise away right so when you serve

long

it has to be the exact same movement as

a short serve up until the very last

moments up until the point of contact

this is a perfect long serve and

subsequently it's also a perfect short

serve because it works the other way

around as well so again I'll demonstrate

what the difference is between a bat

long serve and a bad short serve and a

good long-served and a good Shore to

serve all right so if I surf let's say

for example I'll just serve a basic

short surf all right I just do this

but then all of a sudden if I want to

serve along I open my record watch the

way I open my record before the movement

all right

immediately people will know that you

will serve long so again I'll try to

demonstrate it but I'm going to try to

hide as much as possible up until the

very last moment that I'm going to serve

long all right so short serve

and long so

[Applause]

there's a very big difference in this

and you have to be aware of that

key point four is same movement

different point of contact

as I said before that you have to

camouflage the difference between a

short serve and a long serve as good as

possible the same goes with a circle

backspin with no Spin and with topspin

and the best way to do this is to be

aware of where you have to hit the ball

on your racket in order to play a

certain serve key Point number five is

the importance of keeping your wrist

loose when certain there's nothing worse

for a serve than serving with a fixed

wrist one that is completely stable when

it doesn't move at all throughout the

entire swing throughout the entire

gesture all right so whatever serve you

do it is important to try to keep your

hand relaxed otherwise it's harder to

camouflage the difference in a long and

a short surf it's harder to camouflage

the difference between rotations in in

the syrup so keep your wrist loose is

the message

so I'll demonstrate again the difference

between a good serve with a loose wrist

and a bad surf with a fixed one so if I

were to serve with a completely fixed

Wrist all right this is what would end

up

it limits my ability to put rotation in

the ball and it limits my ability to

hide what I want to do with my serve all

right and this makes it easier for the

opponent to read myself so a big No-No

rule

now if I'm playing with a loose wrist

this is more or less what it would end

up like

foreign

[Applause]

just an overall much much better serve

so main message again keep your wrist

loose

all right we're halfway there and now up

to key point six key point six is watch

the first bounce instead of the end

result

what do I mean with this is something I

learned along the way when trying new

alcohol service when practicing on new

Surf and some go easier than others

maybe you've experienced it yourself

that some serves you learned it maybe in

a couple of days you get the feeling for

it very quickly but other serves they

take weeks months years so what I mean

with this is looking at the first bounce

instead of the end result

is because I try to reverse engineer

myself when I had a little bit of

trouble with serving consistently with a

certain surface it was with this one

something which I was learning a couple

of years back and when I was serving a

short diagonal and I was practicing this

I had a lot of trouble with controlling

the length of my surf and then I dialed

back and I looked at the problem from

its source and then I thought well if

the first thing that coaches tell you

when trying a little long serve is that

you have to have the first bounce very

close at the end of the table now why

not apply the same principle with a

short serve how can you have control

over the second part of the movement of

the trajectory of the ball if you

haven't touched it well you have control

over the first part of the trajectory

directory of the ball all right the part

before it bounces on the table and

another reason why I decided on this

method is because as you might know if

you play on different tables sometimes

the table is a little bit faster a

little bit slower and the bounds it can

vary also sometimes the ball it's almost

like it's playing on rubber or a

quicksand you know it's a full break

after one bounce and in some other

tables the ball slides through

completely so if you don't want to take

into account the type of table you're

playing on every time you play a match

then try this method of looking for the

perfect first bounce and you will see

that this first bounce and this exact

place

exact place translates to almost every

table now let's try to demonstrate what

I did when I tried to practice this all

right and what I did is I took a serve

that I knew how to

perform perfectly I measure the bounce

first bound from that ball and from

there I just took a little piece

of edge there and I dipped it on the

table from there on I knew where I had

to play the rest of my service all right

also the diagonal ones the ones I go to

the middle the ones that I go down the

line for but it's a little bit hard from

this angle to show you and also it's a

little bit hard to explain it with my

Edge tape so therefore

I'm going to switch angles for you all

right so what I did with a reverser or

with any reverser

you have to

take the first bounce which you play

Down the Line

and from there on you draw a straight

line which goes a little bit backwards

and why it doesn't go a little bit

backwards because it's quite contrary to

what you think normally if you play a

diagonal serve well I mean it's a longer

movement it's a longer trajectory of the

ball so therefore you would think that

you have to serve a little bit deeper if

you want to get at the same length well

no it's quite a country because remind

you we're talking about a reversal and

you have to keep in mind the rotation

that comes with the ball well if I serve

my surf right here

the size ring of the bulb also makes it

move forwards a little bit more so if

you take this into account the

trajectory it's not

this

but instead it's a little bit moving

backwards and it's not straight either

all right it's not straight either but

if you just do a regular side Spencer

well then the side spin it makes the

ball move backwards so it doesn't

accelerate the ball and it doesn't push

the ball further so therefore

if you play this earth and the first

bounce

is something along the side of here well

then you're not going back

you're not going backwards if you want

to start that then you stay about the

same position as you would

and there you go the short serve as it

should be

he point seven is knowing the difference

between a short Forex

like this one

a short form like this one or a short

forums like this one you would think

they're all the same service and they're

all short in the foreign parts of the

table well I'm here to tell you it's

nuts it's completely different even a

five centimeter shift to the left or to

the right can make a huge difference as

an opponent because you have to move a

little bit further you have to move a

little bit more to the side and this

changes your entire position so it's

very important to practice as much as

you can these small differences and to

be able to control them in a perfect way

because some people might be able to

receive quite well from the short form

and it looks like this because they

don't have to move a single step well

let's say if you move them a little bit

to the side and all of a sudden they

start receiving like this and they start

pushing in the neck and they start

pushing out or if you serve more in the

middle and they will stand directly in

front of their ball well then all of a

sudden they're not a good short for

Keepers anymore from a short form right

so know the difference between a short

foreign short forms and short form

so we're already up to 3.8 and key point

eight is how to set yourself up for

Success service is all about what you

like and what you want to do with the

ball after yourself so therefore you

need to do something which suits you if

you surf a regular size for the surf and

everybody who comes in with a flick all

the time and you're bad at controlling

this flick well why continue doing it

why not surf a reverser why not switch

it up and then on the other hand if

you're somebody who's not so good after

a long pushball and the ball comes back

a little bit too fast if you do a

reverse serve well then switch it up

again maybe serve more to the back end

maybe do again another side concert or

serve a little bit more along you know

it's all about what your preferences are

and you have to play accordingly

key Point number nine is a good gamepl

well what do I mean with this is

sometimes in table tennis things get a

little bit too complicated and you

cannot even figure out what rotations on

the ball are anymore you cannot control

a short ball after your surf well

because maybe you're varying too much

well then it's time to switch things up

and maybe go for a little bit more of a

simple approach all right and the first

person that comes to mind to a great

success with just the basic surface

he was an Olympic champion he was a

world champion and all he did 99 of the

time was just a basic backhand serve

short very low but with no rotation but

the great thing about this serve was is

that he knew how to follow up he was not

surprised of anything that would come

after this served so if you feel as if

you're losing this advantage of having a

good server because you cannot figure

things out yourself of what you want to

do after yourself well then maybe just

dump it down a little bit and take a few

serves out or take a little bit of the

quality out of your serve as long as you

keep the basic principles of keeping

your shirt low keeping your surf

camouflaged

so now here we are at the last key point

and that is be patient and practice 40

hours a day as much as you want it

doesn't matter all right some of my

services they took years before I could

Implement them into a match and that's

not because I was not confident enough

maybe sometimes it was maybe sometimes I

was not confident enough that I would

keep the serve short but other times it

was also because I couldn't find a way

to follow up my service so that is

equally as important in a surf practice

as just to serve on its own so it takes

a lot of time before you develop a good

serve and this shouldn't discourage you

from keeping on practicing this Earth

alright as I mentioned it takes a long

time so just be patient and cross the

process and stay practicing yourself

so guys that is the end of the video I

hope you learned something from it I

hope maybe some of the key points or all

of the key points were quite helpful to

you let me know what you thought of it

if you have some suggestions if you have

some remarks some questions doesn't

matter just leave a comment below uh if

you like the video then like the video

maybe subscribe to my channel as this

helped me a lot with being able to

produce videos in the near future and

I'll see you next time