Mix up serves of different length and spin. Some examples of advanced
serves include medium-long, deep, short, down-the-line, pure spin, pure
speed, etc. Serves to the elbow tend to be very effective, since the
receiver must quickly decide (and often does not in time) to use a forehand
or backhand.
Develop a third-ball attack. This is where you serve, the receiver
receives, and you nail one in for a winner. An example is a short backspin
serve, followed by a long push, then a powerful loop.
Attack whenever you can, primarily on a long serve. It has been proven
that the player to open the offense most often usually wins point, set, and
match.
When receiving a serve, keep your eyes mostly on the opponent's racket. If
you have ever seen World Champion Jan-Ove Waldner play, you can see that he
makes a quick glimpse at how high the ball is tossed, then watches back down
to the racket. If you keep your eyes on the ball, the server will baffle you
with his deceptions.
When receiving, mix up your returns. Most players too often tend to push,
allowing their opponents to start the offense. Mixing up loops, drives,
pushes, chops, etc. provides for excellent variation and a bewildered
opponent.
If you are ready for professional equipment, begin with a medium-fast
blade (rather than fast). A medium-fast blade allows you to rely more on
technique than on equipment to get the ball over the net. It will also
provide optimum control. The most important consideration for a blade,
however, is that it provides good "feeling." As for rubber try to
get the "beginner" kinds for the beginning. The reason for this is
because beginner rubbers are designed with less spin and speed, and this
translates into easier returns of spinny balls. Trying to return a sidespin
serve will be a hair-pulling experience for a beginner if he/she uses an
overly spinny rubber.
Forehands are the way to go. To hit forehands wherever you are on the
table, you will need to develop good side-to-side footwork. But it never
hurts to work extra on your backhand so that your opponent won't know what
hit him/her when you blast that down the line backhand smash! The best
players are always two-winged, or being able to attack almost equally well
on both hands.
Find some cool serves to experiment with. Examples include a high, heavy
backspin serve that bounces on your side near the net, on the opponent's
side near the net, and goes back over to your side. Or you can go about 20
feet to the side of the table and, standing sideways, nail the ball on the
side so that it arcs back to the table and opponent. Not only is it a heck
of a lot of fun, trying these serves also promotes the development of
'touch' and spin.
When you are losing in a match, or have missed several shots in a row,
don't get mad, get even. Ask yourself what needs to be done in order to beat
the problem that is plaguing your game. Then try the solution. If it doesn't
work, do it again. Until the match is over, you should never give up. If it
is your turn to serve, then you are allotted a reasonable amount of time per
serve to wait and think things over before you toss the ball. Take advantage
of it.
