3 Points for Serving Winning Long Serves in Matches✌️

In my previous article, I wrote about why there is no reason not to use long serves in this day and age.

Following up on that, I would like to explain in my own way the specific points you should pay attention to in order to deliver long serves effectively.

(1) Points for a winning long serve [Focus on low trajectory and depth rather than speed]

First and foremost, it is important for an effective long serve to have a high ball speed.

If you can surprise an opponent who is waiting for a short serve by delivering a long serve, you can jam them and even aim for a service ace. As an absolute requirement for this, ball speed is indeed necessary.

However, if you focus too strongly on just "serving fast," you will put unnecessary tension into your body, making it difficult to serve consistently. Therefore, I recommend focusing on depth and low trajectory.

❶ Low trajectory is important for long serves

First, regarding the low trajectory, as I mentioned in my previous article on how to serve, everything comes down to lowering your point of contact.

Naturally, hitting the ball at waist level will result in a lower bounce than hitting it at chest level. It is important to hit the ball as low as possible, just barely clearing the net.

If you can hit the ball at the same position every time, you will always be able to deliver a low serve, whether it is a long serve or a short serve. It is necessary to instill this into your body through daily practice.

❷ Depth is also important for long serves

Next is depth. A long serve should reach as deep into the opponent's court as possible.

The method for this is also clear: if you want the ball to land deep in the opponent's court, you should also make the first bounce land as close to your own side's end line as possible. It is best to aim for the white line at the edge of the table for the first bounce. To do this, it is easier to aim and results in fewer mistakes if you serve from a position right at the edge of the white line.

If you hit the ball low, just clearing the net, and the first bounce lands on the white line on your side, you will realize that this alone is enough to deliver a good, fast long serve.

I want you to try it, even if you think I'm tricking you. If you focus on low trajectory and depth, speed will naturally follow.

If you focus only on "speed," you will inevitably make mistakes in the tense moments of an actual match, and you will likely find it difficult to use the serve again out of fear.

However, if you only focus on the two points above, you won't need to put in much extra effort, and you will be able to deliver a serve of the same quality in any situation. It is extremely important not only to have high-quality serves but also to be able to deliver those high-quality serves with confidence in any situation.

(2) Points for a winning long serve [Deliver it as inconspicuously as possible]

The previous section was about improving the quality of the serve itself, but next is the topic of how to deliver it without the opponent realizing it. No matter how low or fast it is, if you deliver it with a posture that clearly says, "I'm about to serve a long serve," the effect will be very minimal.

Generally, because you put more power into a long serve to give the ball momentum, it is easier to use a larger swing than for a short serve. However, doing so reveals your intention to hit a long serve before you even make contact. To keep your opponent from realizing your intent, you need to use the same swing and the same body mechanics whether you are hitting a long serve or a short serve.

If you have a certain amount of competitive experience, you likely have several types of serves. There are various types, such as side-spin, YG, pendulum, high-toss, and backhand serves, and the ideal is to be able to hit both short and long versions of all of them.

Needless to say, if you use a pendulum serve, showing both a short pendulum and a long pendulum serve will increase the effectiveness of your serves. Furthermore, to make it harder to read, I recommend standardizing your swing to one that makes it easy to hit a long serve.

Make the swing and body mechanics geared toward a long serve your default, and practice controlling the ball to be short using that same delivery. This will keep your opponent on guard, constantly feeling like a long serve is coming, which will make your short serves even more effective than before.

Alternatively, there are tactics such as using a large backswing to create the atmosphere of "I'm going long" before hitting a short serve, or using a small backswing to create a casual atmosphere before hitting a long serve.[[phN_open]][[phN_close]]

In any case, to make long serves work in a match, it is essential to hide your intentions while catching your opponent off guard.

(3) Points for a Winning Long Serve [3 Courses to Aim For]

Finally, let's talk about where to place your long serves. You need to be even more careful about the course than when hitting short serves.

After all, because there is a risk of being finished off with a single powerful shot, if you hit to a soft course, you will become easy prey. It is important to hit to a tight course that makes it difficult for the opponent to take a full swing, and to a course where you can predict the return even if they do hit it.

The first is the backhand side.

In this case, you must hit to a tight course that breaks the backhand side line. You should assume that if you don't break the side, you will definitely be attacked. If you can hit a tight course, the opponent will have to move around quite a bit even to handle it with their forehand, so they will be under significant time pressure.

And even if they handle it with their backhand, if it is away from their body, it is difficult to adjust the angle, and if they return it, it will almost certainly come back cross-court. If you get into this pattern, your third-ball attack should be much easier.

The second is the middle. Either forehand middle or backhand middle is fine. Attacking the middle is an essential course strategy for reaching a certain level, and serves are no exception.

I sometimes hear that a disadvantage of aiming for the middle is that "it is difficult to predict the subsequent return," but in my experience, the answer is that "it often comes back to the middle."

Of course, the story changes if you are at a high level where the opponent is used to handling the middle, but for beginners and intermediate players, you can assume that "if you hit to the middle, it will come back to the middle." Furthermore, when aiming for the middle, it is even more effective if you can hit a long serve with side spin that curves.

And the third is the forehand straight.

Many of you have likely seen the Swedish legend, Jan-Ove Waldner, blow past opponents with a long forehand straight serve. It would be great if you could score points as brilliantly as that, but in reality, you don't need to aim for that much.

It takes a lot of practice to successfully hit a fast long serve to a tight course that hugs the white line of the table every time. However, even if you miss during a match, if you can plant the awareness in your opponent that "there is also a long serve to the forehand straight," that is enough.

If you show it once or twice early in the match, that alone should significantly reduce the number of times your opponent moves around to receive. However, it is essential that the long serve you show is as fast as possible and aimed at a tight course.

♣ Summary

Although this has become quite long, I have explained how to hit effective long serves. For players who haven't had the opportunity to use long serves before, I recommend starting by practicing aiming for the backhand side, focusing on keeping the serve low and deep.

There are two risks associated with long serves. First, the risk of missing the serve. Second, the risk of being hit for an immediate winner. Of course, you cannot reduce these to zero, but if you keep the points I have shared in mind, you can minimize the risks as much as possible. If you use them proactively after that, the potential returns are very high. Please practice diligently and add this to your arsenal as a powerful and reliable weapon.

Next time, I would like to introduce three situations where you can effectively use long serves during a match.