Reading spin on receive

Setup

1. P2 serves from the right end with a box of balls on a chair beside the table.
2. P1 receives from a ready stance near the backhand half of the left end, about an arm's length behind the end line.
3. A third player can stand back from the table as a judge and gather the balls.

How it runs

1. P2 serves short or long with backspin, sidespin, topspin or no spin, always with a legal serve.
2. P1 calls the spin out loud ('back', 'side', 'top' or 'none') as the ball leaves P2's bat, then returns it.
3. Against backspin, push; against topspin or no spin, drive or flick; against sidespin, angle the bat to counter the side.
4. P2 says whether each call was right. 10 serves, then swap, counting correct calls and returns that land.

Coaching points

• Watch the server's bat at contact, not the toss: the direction the bat travels tells you the spin.
• A bat moving down and under the ball means backspin; a bat moving across the ball means sidespin.
• Read the flight too: backspin tends to float and hold up after the bounce; topspin dips and kicks forward.
• When unsure, play a safe return with a slightly open bat, deep to the middle.

Common mistakes

• Only picking up the ball after it bounces, which leaves very little time.
• Using the same bat angle for every serve.
• Deciding before the serve instead of reading it.