Site Products
Coach Jeffrey Zeng

How to Train a Good Serve

Posted on

(by Coach Jeffrey Zeng)

There are many types of table tennis serves, each with its own characteristics. Let us look at the types of table tennis serves without considering the factors such as the soleplate, sponge, and rubber.

  • According to the clap hands
    1. Shoot with left hand – For opponents who shoot with the left hand, they can send the ball to the right triangle more often.
    2. Shoot with right hand – For opponents who shoot with the right hand, you can throw the ball back to the left small triangle more often.
  • By station
    1. Forehand position
    2. Backhand position
    3. Middle position
  • Divide by gesture
    1. Forehand
    2. Backhand
  • According to the beat surface
  • By rotation – 24 kinds of effective rotation and non-rotation. The rotating ball can be divided into the following 6 types according to the prominent main rotation:
    1. Upward rotation
    2. Downward rotation
    3. Left hand rotation
    4. Right hand rotation
    5. Clockwise rotation
    6. Reverse rotation
  • According to the length of the arc
    1. Long ball
    2. Short ball
    3. Half out billiards
  • According to the falling point (line)
    1. Left triangle
    2. Right triangle
    3. Left triangle
    4. Right triangle
    5. Left triangle
    6. Right triangle
    7. Network front area
    8. End line area (pursuit area)
    9. Central district
  • Score by throwing height
    1. Low throw
    2. Middle throwing
    3. High throwing
  • Comment on a good serve from five elements
    1. High speed
    2. Strong or soft power, with obvious contrast
    3. Strong or weak rotation or no rotation, with obvious contrast
    4. Low arc
    5. Precise or tricky landing point
  • Five serving strategies in the game
    1. Observe the opponent’s state and serve
    2. Serve according to their own state
    3. Change five elements
    4. Variable rhythm serve
    5. Key point serve

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

Use More Forearm

March 9, 2026
Logan Forehand short backspin serve from Backhand to Backhand, robot plays long backspin Forehand, Forehand topspin from Forehand… Read More

Return to Ready Position Even When Blocking in Drills or Warmup

March 9, 2026
(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame One of the banes of my coaching… Read More

Lots of Changes in the Rankings

March 8, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) Wang Chuqin has held on to the top position, but there was some shuffling throughout… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Rhode Island Table Tennis

March 8, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) For most of the year, the Rhode Island Club is open 5 days each week for… Read More

WTT Champions Chongqing Preview

March 8, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) We don't always do "preview" articles on WTT Champions events, but this particular event isn't… Read More

Contact More in Front of the Body

March 6, 2026
Robot plays long backspin to Backhand, Logan plays Backhand long push to FH, robot plays long topspin to… Read More

Want a More Aggressive Chop?

March 4, 2026
Robot plays long backspin to Backhand, Logan plays Backhand long push to Backhand, robot plays 2 times long… Read More

Geovanni Coello – Panamerican Masters Championship

March 3, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Geovanny Coello is in action as he wins the Panamerican… 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.