Service Archives - Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching

The dark arts of serving

08/04/202408/04/2024 by Tom Lodziak

There are multiple aspects to service – technical, tactical, mental and psychological. We often talk about the first three – how to serve, serve tactics, mental preparation – but we don’t often discuss the fourth part – how to psychologically unsettle your opponent. Or what I call “the dark arts of serving”. In this article I share some of the psychological tactics which players use when serving. All of these are entirely legal to do. They are not guaranteed to unsettle your opponent, but they often do… Keep reading

Which type of server are you?

13/04/202409/10/2023 by Tom Lodziak

Many players have good serves. Serves which are low and spinny, with plenty of spin and placement variation. Serves which are difficult to return and win lots of points. But there is often a huge difference in what players do after they serve. How players approach this key part of their service routine determines whether they truly have a strong service game. I am going to highlight three types of server. Which one do you most identify with? Keep reading

The curse of the strong server

12/06/2023 by Tom Lodziak

Some players are so good at serving that it can become a weakness. This is what often happens at lower levels… A player will develop some strong, spinny serves. His opponents don’t have the receiving skills to return many of the serves. He wins many points outright with his serve. But problems arise when the strong server faces higher ranked players – players who are capable of returning his strong serves. Now his service game becomes a weakness… Keep reading

How often should you use long serves?

27/12/202207/11/2022 by Tom Lodziak

Is it true that you should only serve long occasionally? Most players and coaches would say that you should serve short, or half long, most of the time and only use a long serve now and then. But there are times when using lots of fast, long serves is absolutely fine, and strategically the best thing to do. Here’s some scenarios… Keep reading

The surprising power of a no-spin serve

07/10/202226/09/2022 by Tom Lodziak

When serving, most players usually try to generate very heavy spin. This is undoubtedly a good thing. A heavy spin serve can be very challenging to return. But players often neglect using no-spin serves. In this short article I explain the benefit of using no-spin serves and give some tips on how to use them effectively. Keep reading

Tips for serving effectively in doubles

27/04/202225/04/2022 by Tom Lodziak

Serving in doubles is something we have all experienced, but probably not given as much thought to as our singles service game. I don’t confess to having all the answers, but in this article I give a few thoughts on effective serves to do when playing doubles, focusing on placement, spin variations and forehand vs backhand serves. Keep reading

How many different serves should you use?

11/10/2021 by Tom Lodziak

I have been experimenting with my serves for the past few months. During the summer I only used my pendulum serve in matches. Then I switched to using multiple service actions when playing matches. Which approach is best? One service action or multiple service actions? Here’s my latest thinking… Keep reading

Do your serves complement your playing style?

27/03/202106/10/2020 by Tom Lodziak

I have a player I coach who has very strong drives. He can hit the ball hard and with good ball placement with both his forehand and his backhand. However, this player has a service problem. Yes, his serves are decent and spinny, and sometimes win him points outright. But in general his serves do not complement his playing style. He often gets stuck in pushing rallies and loses the point. In this blog post, I explain how you can use your serves to set up the type of rally you want and win more points. Keep reading

How to do a legal table tennis serve

20/11/202307/06/2019 by Tom Lodziak

One aspect of table tennis gets people more animated than any other. Serves. Or more precisely, illegal serves. I play local league table tennis and illegal serves are very common. I’ve seen full-grown men (it’s always men!) argue, swear, throw chairs and threaten physical violence because of the questionable legality of a player’s serve. So in this blog post, I will state very clearly what the service rules are and encourage you to play by these rules. Keep reading

How to destroy opponents with long serves

31/03/202118/05/2018 by Tom Lodziak

If you play table tennis at an amateur level, especially at lower levels, you can dominate your opponents with long serves. These are serves which land very deep on your opponent’s side of the table, ideally with a lot of speed and spin. In this blog post, I explain why long serves are effective (especially at lower amateur levels) and how to do devilish long serves which can give your opponents nightmares. Keep reading