1. Home
  2. Sports
  3. Table Tennis / Ping-Pong

Table Tennis/ Ping-Pong - Forehand Pendulum Topspin/ Sidespin Serve

By , About.com Guide

6 of 9

End of Follow Through

Photo of FH Pendulum Topspin/Sidespin Serve - End of Follow Through

End of Follow Through

(c) 2006 Greg Letts, licensed to About.com, Inc.
The ball has been struck and is on its way towards the table, while the player has finished his follow through.

Points to look for:

  • The wrist has now snapped forward, adding to the spin put on the ball.
  • The follow through has ended quite soon after hitting the ball, since the player wishes to make a quick recovery to a ready position.
  • The shoulders, hips and waist have all turned a little more to the player's left, which will reduce the amount of movement necessary to get into a neutral ready position.
  • As shown by the small blur trail, the ball is not moving forward all that fast, since much of the speed of the bat has been converted into spin.
  • Note also that although the player's stroke was a mixture of forward and left to right movement (as viewed by the camera), the ball is moving straight forward. This is because the spin put on the ball tends to throw it in the direction that the bat is moving (forward and to the right), while the angle of the bat face (which was facing to the bottom left of the photograph) tends to push the ball to the left. The left and right forces have almost cancelled out in this particular serve, producing a serve that is moving forward.

Explore Table Tennis / Ping-Pong

About.com Special Features

Holiday Central

What to eat, where to go, fun things to do and how to save money on the perfect gifts. More >

Introduction to Pilates

Learning Pilates fundamentals can help you get the most out of your exercise regime. More >

  1. Home
  2. Sports
  3. Table Tennis / Ping-Pong
  4. Beginner's Guide
  5. Basic Concepts
  6. Basic Strokes
  7. How to Serve
  8. Table Tennis/ Ping-Pong - Forehand Pendulum Topspin/ Sidespin Serve - Step 6

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.