Pushing with no spin when returning serves?

How do you return an underspin serve with a dead ball?
In other words, instead of giving the other player his underspin back, how do I just kill the spin and give him a no spin ball?

This seems very useful against loopers that need the spin (like me!)

Thanks!

The stroke changes a little bit instead of cutting under the ball you push it back in a foreward motion but with the same angle as if you were hitting a chop. You can also hold the bat more loose. The looser you hold the blade the more spin can be absorbed by the bat before the ball is released. If the guy can disguise that shot well and make it look like his normal chop it can cause a problem in the timing of your loop for sure

Instead of pushing down, under, and forward on the ball as you would to push back, I usually get under the ball and just lift it up a tad over the net to drop it short with little to no underspin.  As you lift it up, most of the underspin will be eaten up against your topsheet but since your under the ball it lifting it up, that will prevent it from going into the net. Of course you have to disguise this a lil.  If they misread and push back, it will normally pop up just enough for you to either flick, loop drive, smash or play wide angle placements very easily.

Yep I agree with Figgie, you have to mix it into your own push game  and disguise or you're gonna get flipped.  Either that or you place it where they can't easily flip you.

The secret to dropping a dead short ball against a short underspin serve is the the timing of when you hit the ball. The ball contact must be right off the bounce of the ball. If you wait for the ball to rise any further, the energy from the spin of the ball will reach is full potential. It is when the ball has just touched the table that the spin is the least.

Then you need to keep in mind that if you want to drop a short dead ball, you need to use minimal force to bring the ball back to the other side. It's important not to use any forearm or should movement, but to use only wrist. In order to pull this shot off, your body needs to be within close range of the balls position after its bounce. If you extend your arm, you're generate too much power, so good footwork is required for you to place the ball short and dead.

The exact position of where you want to hit the ball is... well... imagine this happy face is a ball and that line immediately afterwards is your blade. This is the general angle you want to use to pull off the shot. /

However, every player will do this shot slightly differently, because there are different variables you need to consider. Even if the served ball was the served with the same directional spin, same amount of spin, same ball speed, and same ball trajectory... you need to consider the equipment you're using (blade/rubber/glue) ..yes even different inverted rubbers react differently to each other...

The best thing to do is to get a coach. Get a high level coach who can explain ball mechanics and game theory rather than asking for help online. Online will get you so far, but to succeed, you need someone to kinetically show you the ropes.

Good luck!

Yep CGS is totally right, best way to do it is right off the bounce since you will have maximum control at that point.  CGS knows... he's the one who taught me all this.  It's really about how light you can make your touch but still be in control.  Also important is how well you understand ball mechanics. 

Yes it takes alot of tinkering and understanding of ball mechanics to be able to do it.  You should see CGS do it, its pretty amazing to throw like a spinny side under serve at him and he responds by dropping it right at the net on one of the edges.  It's amazing how much ball control and short game tactics can improve your game.  But you first have to develop the knowledge and feel for ball mechanics.

If you do it wrong and it goes too deep into the table with no spin, prepare for the flick that is coming.

cagaragesales wrote: The secret to dropping a dead short ball against a short underspin serve is the the timing of when you hit the ball. The ball contact must be right off the bounce of the ball. If you wait for the ball to rise any further, the energy from the spin of the ball will reach is full potential. It is when the ball has just touched the table that the spin is the least. Then you need to keep in mind that if you want to drop a short dead ball, you need to use minimal force to bring the ball back to the other side. It's important not to use any forearm or should movement, but to use only wrist. In order to pull this shot off, your body needs to be within close range of the balls position after its bounce. If you extend your arm, you're generate too much power, so good footwork is required for you to place the ball short and dead. The exact position of where you want to hit the ball is... well... imagine this happy face is a ball and that line immediately afterwards is your blade. This is the general angle you want to use to pull off the shot. / However, every player will do this shot slightly differently, because there are different variables you need to consider. Even if the served ball was the served with the same directional spin, same amount of spin, same ball speed, and same ball trajectory... you need to consider the equipment you're using (blade/rubber/glue) ..yes even different inverted rubbers react differently to each other... The best thing to do is to get a coach. Get a high level coach who can explain ball mechanics and game theory rather than asking for help online. Online will get you so far, but to succeed, you need someone to kinetically show you the ropes. Good luck!

Very well said...