The serve is the most underrated shot in table tennis — the one shot you have complete control over, and a good one with spin and variety wins points before the rally even starts. The ping-pong guide: why the serve is underrated, the techniques and how to practice.

The Serve-Is-Underrated Case

Why the serve is underrated: the complete-control (the serve being the one-shot you fully-control from the table-tennis-technique-basics chapter — the the-control; the your-shot), the wins-points-before-the-rally (the a-good serve winning points immediately from the table-tennis-technique-basics chapter — the the-free-points; the win-early), the the-spin-and-variety (the spin-and-variety making serves effective from the table-tennis-spin-basics chapter — the the-spin; the spin-and-variety), the beginners-neglect-it (the beginners neglecting serve-practice from the table-tennis-technique-basics chapter — the the-neglect; the overlooked), and the reframe (the serve as the fully-controlled, point-winning shot beginners-neglect).

The Serve-Techniques Breakdown

Table tennis serve techniques: the the-legal-serve-basics (the the-legal serve (toss, contact) from the table-tennis-technique-basics chapter — the the-legal; the serve-legally), the the-backspin-serve (the a-backspin (chop) serve from the table-tennis-spin-basics chapter — the the-backspin; the chop-serve), the the-topspin-serve (the a-topspin serve from the table-tennis-spin-basics chapter — the the-topspin; the topspin), the the-sidespin (the sidespin serves from the table-tennis-spin-basics chapter — the the-sidespin; the side-spin), the the-vary-the-spin (the varying spin to deceive from the table-tennis-spin-basics chapter — the the-variety; the vary-spin), the the-vary-placement-and-speed (the varying placement, speed and depth from the table-tennis-technique-basics chapter — the the-variety; the mix-placement), the the-short-and-long-serves (the short and long serves from the table-tennis-technique-basics chapter — the the-length; the short-and-long), and the the-deceptive-serves (the deceptive, hard-to-read serves from the table-tennis-spin-basics chapter — the the-deception; the disguise-it).

The Practice-It Notes

Practicing your serve: the the-drill-serves-solo (the drilling serves solo (a-bucket of balls) from the table-tennis-technique-basics chapter — the the-drill; the practice-solo), the the-master-the-spin (the mastering the spin-serves from the table-tennis-spin-basics chapter — the the-spin; the spin-practice), the the-vary-and-disguise (the varying-and-disguising serves from the table-tennis-spin-basics chapter — the the-variety; the mix-and-disguise), the the-target-placement (the practicing placement-and-length from the table-tennis-technique-basics chapter — the the-placement; the target-it), the the-home-practice (the practicing at-home if you have a-table from the table-tennis-home-setup chapter — the the-home; the home-practice), the the-consistency (the consistent serve-practice from the table-tennis-technique-basics chapter — the the-consistency; the practice-regularly), the the-brain-body-benefit (the table-tennis’ brain-body benefits from the table-tennis-brain-body-benefits chapter — the the-benefit; the good-for-you), and the frame (table-tennis-serve as spin-and-variety serves (backspin-topspin-sidespin) with varied-placement, drilled-solo — serve with spin and variety. Serve with spin and variety — master backspin, topspin and sidespin serves, varying the spin, placement, speed and length to deceive — drilled solo with a bucket of balls, disguising your serves and practicing consistently: serve with spin and variety, and win more points.

The serve is the most underrated shot in table tennis — the one shot you have complete control over, and a good one wins points before the rally even starts. The techniques: master the legal serve, then backspin (chop), topspin and sidespin serves — varying the spin to deceive, plus varying placement, speed, depth, and short vs long serves (disguised to be hard to read). Practice it — drill serves solo with a bucket of balls, master the spin, vary and disguise them, target your placement, and practice consistently (at home if you have a table). Serve with spin and variety, and win more points.