Hook Serve: How to Read Topspin From Underspin?
This is a brand-new, technique-focused column in a question-and-answer format. The mystery figures answering are two former national team members. So the “Reaching the Summit” column was born.
Which has stronger spin, a high hang or a drive-loop? It seems powerful, fast balls often have weak spin.
Feeling that powerful, fast balls have weak spin is very likely a perceptual error. The incoming ball’s power is great enough that after hitting your blade, it auto-rebounds, and before you clearly feel the spin, the ball has bounced back. Actually, foreign experiments long ago put electronic chips in the ball to test the same person looping drive-loops and spin-loops. The result: spin is about the same, even sometimes the drive-loop’s spin rate is higher than the high hang’s. We ordinary players feel high hangs are spinnier because high hangs are often weak in power and hard to borrow pace from, so we feel they are spinny. Over a decade ago, high hangs had higher arcs, not often called “spin-loops” as now. Then defending high hangs, people forcefully hit them back, canceling spin with power and speed.
(Heima’s aside: I vaguely recall playing in middle school, when the opponent’s push was too spinny and I could not loop it onto the table. My dad said use more power, break spin with power — seems a similar principle.)
When I send underspin over, the cured long pips return it too fast — how do I loop it?
Wait until the long-pips ball finishes “floating-wobbling,” then loop, and it is simpler. You feel it fast because you stand too close. Back off a bit, and you find the ball starts dropping, the speed slows. The incoming ball’s front phase is fast — wait until the ball “curves” over. Even backing off a bit, looping a high hang to the opponent’s baseline, long pips are also miserable.
How do I read topspin from underspin on a hook serve?
For a hook serve, to truly receive well, first learn to serve it yourself. Generally, when judging, watch clearly whether his motion at contact is up or down. Whether just a touch, or with acceleration. Also watch the contact position and the bat angle at contact. One, watch the bat’s instant direction at contact. Down corresponds to underspin, up to topspin; an instant pause in motion is very likely just no-spin. Watch clearly whether the opponent’s arm accelerates at serve, or pauses, or just touches over. Two, watch the contact position. Bat head, the tip: dead-spin, meaning strong spin. Bat edge: average spin. Bat bottom, near the handle: no-spin.