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How to Receive Short Serves in Table Tennis

Playing strategy 03 of 16 • Receive

How to receive short serves in table tennis without handing the server an easy attack: step in, read the spin, drop it back short or flick it, then open the rally yourself.

Diagrams show the table from above, you on the left. Solid gold lines are your shots, dashed lines your opponent’s. Tap any step to enlarge it.

Use it when — Your opponent serves short backspin or no-spin to set up their own third-ball attack.

The pattern

Receiving short serves, step by step

The animation plays the whole sequence; the frames below break it into single shots.

Animation of receiving short serves: They serve short to your forehand; Step in and drop it back short; With nothing to attack, they push long; Now you open first with a loop — ANIMATEDThe whole sequence, shot by shot. It loops.

Strategy 3, step 1: They serve short to your forehand — STEP 1They serve short to your forehand

Strategy 3, step 2: Step in and drop it back short — STEP 2Step in and drop it back short

Strategy 3, step 3: With nothing to attack, they push long — STEP 3With nothing to attack, they push long

Strategy 3, step 4: Now you open first with a loop — STEP 4Now you open first with a loop

Why it works

Why this pattern wins points

A short serve is designed to make you push long, so the server can loop. If you return it short instead, the server has nothing to attack either, and the player who is first to get a long ball usually opens the rally. Mixing a short touch with flicks and fast long pushes stops the server from guessing what is coming back.

Key points

Step in under the table with your racket-side foot for a short ball to the forehand, so you reach it with your body, not just your arm.
Read the spin from the bat contact: a brushing downward contact is backspin; a flat or slapping contact usually means little spin.
Play the short touch early, just after the bounce, with a soft wrist and an open bat so it stays low and short.
Mix it up: drop short, flick a slightly high or no-spin serve, and use a fast long push to a corner. One reply every time is easy to read.

Common mistake

Pushing every short serve long and high. That hands the server exactly the ball their serve was designed to create.

Common questions

Should I push or flick a short serve?

It depends on the serve. Drop a low, heavy backspin serve back short; flick a serve that is slightly high or has little spin. Using both, plus the occasional fast long push, keeps the server guessing.

How do I read the spin on a serve?

Watch the bat at contact. A brushing, downward contact is backspin, a sideways brush is sidespin, and a flat or slapping contact usually means little or no spin, even if the action looks big.

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