JOOLA USA

Coaching Corner: Serving Long or Short
By Larry Hodges, USATT Certified National Coach and member of U.S. Table Tennis Hall of Fame

Players often ask if they should serve long or short. The simple answer is learn to do both. (A short serve is a serve that, given the chance, would bounce twice on the opponent's side of the table.)

At the lower levels, few players serve short. It's simply not that important to do, since few players at that level can really loop against the serve consistently. However, starting at the intermediate level (say, 1600-2000), players start to regularly loop deep serves. At that point, you either learn to serve short, or you learn tricky deep serves to make it difficult for opponents to loop the serve consistently. This latter is more difficult in the long run.

If you want to reach the intermediate level and beyond, then I strongly recommend you develop both long and short serves, but focus on the short serves. When you serve short effectively (low with varied spin), then you are in control of the point against players your level. When you serve long, your opponent is in control if they can effectively loop the serve.

A short spinny serve (or a no-spin serve that looks spinny) is usually returned long, allowing you to loop. Only at the advanced levels can players drop this serve short, and even there it's a tricky shot, often popping up or going into the net. More likely you will face either a long push (loop! forehand or backhand) or a flip. If you keep the serve very low and vary the spin, your opponent won't be able to flip your serve that aggressively, allowing you to attack the flip, either by looping or hitting.

But long serves, when thrown in when the opponent isn't quite ready, are often free points. Some players make the mistake of serving short over and over, making it easy for opponents. Short serves are far more effective when there's the threat of a long serve. The opponent can't step in early for the short serve since he had to guard against the deep serve.

There are plenty of players at intermediate and even advanced levels who dominate matches serving mostly long. (At the advanced levels, Canadian star Pradeeban Peter-Paul and former U.S. Team Member Ashu Jain are primary examples.) They are the exceptions, and generally do this by developing very tricky deep serves, and then learn to counter-attack against the opponent's attacks. It's not an easy style to play! It's much simpler to serve short and loop.

One last option: develop "tweeny" serves. A tweeny serve is a serve where, given the chance, the second bounce would be very close to the opponent's end-line. Sometimes they go an inch long, sometimes an inch short. It can be very difficult for an opponent to judge these. The table may get in the way if they loop, and the ball is deeper than most short serves, making it difficult to push short or flip. If they do return it defensively, you have more time to react than off a short serve. The down side? If the serve goes long, and the opponent judges it properly, it can be an easy loop.

So develop both short and long (and tweeny!) serves, mix them up, and utterly confuse your opponent!