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Robo-Pong Ping Pong Tips |  |
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Greetings! If you cannot read this newsletter, please visit our Robo-Pong web site. You are receiving this because of your interest in the game of ping pong/table tennis. Newgy Industries is the world's leading manufacturer of table tennis robots: our Robo-Pong line of robots is for recreational and expert players alike.
Email us (in 100 words or less) how your ping pong rules poster from Newgy has helped save the day-- and head off a potentially nasty ping pong dispute. If you submit the best story, you will win you a gross (144) of our 40mm Newgy Robo-Balls--plenty to last even the most avid player through the winter ping pong season. We'll announce the winner in the next 2 weeks. Don't forget to include your contact information in your email.
In the last 2 newsletters, we introduced the Backhand Serve and the Forehand Backspin Serve. In Part IV (of 5) of this series on Serving we will talk about the Backhand Right Sidespin Serve. When serving, remember, that you should primarily use a friction contact and most serves will use a wrist snap at contact to increase racket speed and spin. The third serve to learn is the backhand right sidespin serve. This serve will be difficult to learn until you have mastered the two previous serves (The Backhand Topspin Serve and The Forehand Backspin Serve). Assume the starting position for a backhand serve behind the middle of your backhand court. Stand square to the table. Now place your right forearm lightly across your left forearm so the racket is held to the left of the ball. Toss the ball up, and as it descends, pull your elbow to the right, causing the racket to slash across the back of the ball on its lower surface. Let your shoulders rotate as you pull the elbow to the right and then back. After you can perform this serve with the racket already to the left of the ball, practice starting this serve with the racket behind the ball as shown in the photo of the basic starting positions for backhand serves--and then take a backswing as you toss the ball up. Using a backswing will increase the amount of spin you can generate. Backhand Right Sidespin/Backspin Serve (Crosscourt)--Note in the top photo how the racket brushes across the ball in a left to right direction. The left to right movement produces right sidespin and the downward movement of the racket at contact produces backspin. Image 1: End of backswing. Racket has been taken to the left of the ball by reaching across and above the top of the left arm as the ball is tossed up. Image 2: Forward swing. Racket is pulled to the right by pulling the elbow across the body and back. Just before impact, the forearm begins to be released. Image 3: Just after contact. The racket continues to travel down after contact. Arm has straightened significantly. Image 4: Follow through. Elbow is pulled back hard and the forearm continues to be straightened. Images 5 & 6: End of stroke. Elbow has been pulled across the body and back so the racket ends up to the right of the body and below shoulder level.
You need to work on two variations of the Backhand Right Sidespin Serve: (1) A combination sidespin/backspin serve as shown in the top photo is produced by keeping the elbow down as you pull it to the right. Combination sidespin/topspin as shown in the photo to the left is produced by pulling up on the elbow as you pull it to the right. Practice these serves while striving to keep the ball low over the net. Produce maximum sidespin by finely grazing across the ball at high speed. Be able to do sidespin/backspin or sidespin/topspin alternately with equal ease. After being able to serve long and with good spin, work on keeping the serve short, so it will bounce twice on the other side. A much finer graze and touch will be required to do so. When working on the short serve, try to maintain the same amount of spin as when you serve long. Practice until you can do 25 in a row without missing when you serve long or 15 in a row when you serve short. Finally, practice your serves so you can serve to any location on the table. Strive to start from the same basic serve position and make your serves look similar to one another. This will make it harder on the opponent to anticipate your serve. For instance, your first serve could be a short sidespin/backspin serve down-the-line. The next serve could be a long sidespin/topspin serve crosscourt, followed by a short sidespin/topspin serve to the middle. A fourth serve could be a long sidespin/backspin serve down-the- line. Mixing up your services like this is crucial to having a good service game. By having at least 4-5 different serves that you can deliver from the same basic starting position, you can keep your opponent guessing what serve you will use next. Always vary the spin, speed, and/or placement of the ball from one serve to the next. Backhand Right Sidespin/Topspin Serve (Crosscourt)-- see bottom photo. This serve is very similar to the previous serve except the racket is pulled up just before contact. Image 1: End of backswing. Racket has been taken to the left of the ball by reaching across and above the left arm as the ball is tossed up. Image 2: (barely visible): Forward swing. Racket is being pulled to the right by the elbow. Image 3: Just before contact. Forearm has been released slightly. Image 4: Just after contact. The tip of the racket rotated forward just before contact was made. Then the elbow was pulled sharply upward to apply topspin to the ball. Contact was made on the lower surface of the ball. Image 5: Follow through. The elbow is still being pulled sharply upward. Image 6: End of stroke. Elbow has been pulled as high as possible and racket ends up shoulder height or above. Unlike the sidespin/backspin serve, the forearm never gets released all the way. Rather, it remains bent throughout the stroke. The sharp upward movement of the racket puts topspin on the ball; the right to left movement puts right sidespin on it.
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