Site Products
Larry Hodges, table tennis coach

Do You Serve a Lot of Net Serves? Good!!!

(by Larry Hodges)

There are many aspects of a good serve, but one of them – which I’ve written about before – is the importance of serving low. This puts tremendous pressure on the opponent, especially if he wants to attack your serve. Even on passive returns he’s forced to lift the ball a bit, which causes a loss of control and a greater likelihood of popping the ball up.

But how do you know if you are serving low? One way is how often you serve net serves. (Technically, they are let serves, but for this article I’m going to call them net serves.) Some players likely pride themselves on “clean” serves that never nick the net, but I’d advice the opposite. If you really are serving low, then you will get a higher number of serves that nick the net. You are unlikely to actually serve into the net too often, assuming you are practicing your serves, but if you want to serve really low, the ball’s going to brush the net sometimes. Make it a badge of honor!

Here’s a serving drill. Get a box of balls and practice serving low, short, spinny serves. When you feel comfortable with the serve, try serving so the ball does nick the net. You are used to serving with enough net clearance to cleanly go over the net, but perhaps you are giving it too much clearance, leading to a higher serve, which makes things easier for your opponent. See just how low you can serve and get it over the net – and the best way to do this is to actually try to serve as low as possible while still going over the net – and that’s a serve that just nicks the net. Do twenty serves and see how many net serves you can do without actually serving into the net!

Latest News

Keep Your Left Arm Up

July 30, 2025
1 Backhand Topspin from Backhand against Topspin to Backhand, 1 Forehand Topspin from middle against topspin to Backhand,… Read More

Nishant Lebaka – Backhand Loop Transition Play

July 30, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Nishant Lebaka is focusing on his Backhand Loop Transition play… Read More

Rogelio Castro – Serve & Shortgame Play

July 29, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Rogelio Castro is focusing on a Serve, followed by a… Read More

Lift the Ball

July 28, 2025
WAIT FUNCTION: 1 backspin serve robot will play 1 random backspin ball anywhere on the table, either Forehand… Read More

Freitas ALC + Dignics 09C + Dignics 05 – Need Mid-Distance Power?

July 28, 2025
(by Bowmar Sports) In this video, Coach Brian Pace emphasizes the importance of finding the right equipment setup for… Read More

Consistency and Good Form Lead to Speed and Power

July 28, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) Don’t be that guy who spends years smacking shots but also missing over and over,… Read More

Geovanny Coello – Gameplay Sequencing

July 28, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Geovanny Coello is working a player on Gameplay Sequencing https://youtu.be/zGRnfYszoWQ… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Central Florida Table Tennis Club

July 27, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) With its location near the junction of Highway 423 and 441, just northwest of downtown… 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.