Site Products
Larry Hodges

Reverse Serves

Posted on

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame

Many players have at least one strong serving motion. Often they are forehand pendulum (racket tip down), forehand tomahawk serves (racket tip up), or standard backhand serves with a left-to-right motion (for righties). These are all excellent serves that opponents at your level will inevitably adjust to. Perhaps watch how coaches or top players do it. (Youtube is your friend.) Or just ask them to show you, and they’ll be delighted.
To make these serves more effective you should develop the reverse versions. They might never become equal in effectiveness as the regular version, but at the very least they give you a variation that the opponent isn’t used to. This makes them uncomfortable, plus they now have to guard against these serves as well as your regular versions. Plus, some players (including me!) are better against one type of sidespin serve than the other.
  • If you have a forehand pendulum serve, learn to do the reverse, where you contact the ball with the same side but going in the opposite direction. It’ll be awkward at first, but soon becomes natural.
  • If you have a forehand tomahawk serve, now you contact the ball with the opposite side, with the racket moving right to left instead of the normal left to right.
  • If you have a backhand serve, contact the ball with the same side but moving right to left instead of the normal left to right.
 Here’s a simple way of looking at it. Have you ever found a player who was happy his opponent had more serve variations? So, be perverse and do the reverse!

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more

Latest News

Reverse Serves

March 23, 2026
(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Many players have at least one strong… Read More

Strong Start for Americans at WTT Youth Contender Houston

March 22, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) Houston is host of the WTT Youth Contender Series event this week and… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Saint Louis Table Tennis Club

March 22, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) Arch Pickleball and Badminton Club has been in operation in Bridgeton, Missouri – a suburb to the… Read More

A Ninth Title for Miwa Harimoto

March 19, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, lower photo WTT) It can be tough to remember how young she is because of… Read More

China Has Biggest Movers in Men’s Rankings

March 19, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) With five players currently in the top 20 and a strangle hold on… Read More

Coaching Opportunity – PongPlanet Table Tennis Club (San Francisco Bay Area, California)

March 18, 2026
(By PongPlanet) PongPlanet Table Tennis Club in the San Francisco Bay Area, California is currently seeking a professional… Read More

🎥 Episode 6: Ask The Expert Live With Logan Rietz | How do you select the right equipment?

March 18, 2026
(by Bowmar Sports) Choosing the right table tennis equipment can feel overwhelming especially when you're just starting out.… Read More

🎥 Episode 5: Ask The Expert Live With Logan Rietz | Decoding Equipment Specifications

March 17, 2026
(by Bowmar Sports) In this live session of Ask the Expert Logan’s breaks down understanding Table Tennis Rubber… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.