OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I agree - the best servers are serving to setup the third ball than serving to win outright.
I would add though to anyone out there looking to improve and develop a top class serve - DON'T develop serves purely for winning the point outright - if you do, then as you improve, your third ball game is surely going to suffer - eventually you will get to a level where ALL of your serves are going to be returned and you will have to have a good third ball strategy to keep the advantage that serving gives you. Developing a serve on its own purely to win a cheap point will ultimately in the long run not be fruitful [even if it may be so in the short run!].

At the level I'm at right now, I sometimes play against opponents where my serves can win the point outright and other times where they are returned strongly. It's definitely something to keep working on, the third ball attack. Even at the lower levels, always assume that your opponent will return your serve, that way it's easier to get used to being ready for that third ball attack. I spent so much time just waiting for the service winners that it's taken me some time to adjust to being ready and the movement that I need to be in proper position to attack.

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USATT Rating: 1725
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