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Table tennis serve: check your form with your phone
The serve is the only stroke in table tennis you control completely, and the one you can practise entirely alone. The rules matter as much as the spin: the ball must be tossed upward from an open palm and struck from behind the end line and above the table.
No equipment needed. Practise at home. Just do the swing properly in front of your phone. No court, ball or shuttle is needed, and a racket is optional: the coach judges your movement, so a shadow swing at home in a hallway or garden is enough.
What good looks like
- Hold the ball on a flat, open palm, with your free hand behind the end line and above the table.
- Toss the ball near vertically upward, at least 16 cm, without spin.
- Strike the ball as it falls, from behind the end line, so it bounces first on your own side.
- Vary the contact to change the spin, but keep the same preparation so the receiver cannot read it.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
A low toss
A toss of under 16 cm is a fault. Toss it clearly upward.
Hiding the ball
The ball must be visible to the receiver throughout. Keep it in front, not under your body.
Contact in front of the end line
The ball must be struck from behind the end line and above table level.
What Formanti checks on your serve
At the moment of contact, on every swing you take.
- Contact in front: hand clearly in front of your shoulder. meet it in front of you, not beside or behind
- Contact height: about waist height. the height this shot is usually hit at
- Backswing: short and compact. less swing back means more control on this shot
- Arm height (only if far off): 0–90°. Low to the table, hidden spin
- Elbow (only if far off): 30–160°. Contact below waist, free hand tosses 16cm+
- Body at contact: legs not locked, no leaning back. a stable base to hit from
Your ready stance
Hold still between swings and the coach talks you into position.
- Knees: 100–150°. Soft, bent knees let you push off in any direction
- Back lean: 8–40° forward. A little forward: not upright, not hunched
- Feet apart: 1.2–2.2× shoulder width. Feet wider than your shoulders, for balance
What your report looks like
When you finish, you get a report like this one.
- How many swings were in range, out of how many.
- The one thing to work on next, then the next, each with a drill.
- Every swing as a picture with your skeleton on it: ticked, or flagged with what was off.
What you hear and see when you are off
Hitting it too close to you
The coach says: “Meet it further out in front.”
On screen: Meet it further out in front.
Drill: Shadow swings, freezing at contact: your hand should be clearly in front of your shoulder before you swing for real. If the ball is too close, move your feet, not your arm.
Hitting it too high
The coach says: “Let it drop. Meet it lower.”
On screen: Meet it a little lower.
Drill: Shadow swings with your knees bent, freezing at contact at the right height, so your legs do the lowering and your arm stays quiet.
Hitting it too low
The coach says: “Take it a bit higher.”
On screen: Meet it higher.
Drill: Shadow swings freezing at contact at the right height, then feed yourself a ball and take it on the rise.
Too big a backswing
The coach says: “Shorten the backswing.”
On screen: Keep the backswing short.
Drill: Shadow swings with a wall behind you that your racquet may not touch, or with your back against a real wall.
Arm too low
The coach says: “Get that arm up a bit higher.”
On screen: Lift your hitting arm a lot higher at contact.
Drill: Shadow 10 swings in slow motion and freeze at contact: check where your elbow is before you speed up.
Arm too high
The coach says: “Keep that arm a bit lower.”
On screen: Keep your hitting arm a lot lower at contact.
Drill: Shadow 10 swings in slow motion and freeze at contact: check where your elbow is before you speed up.
Arm too bent
The coach says: “Straighten the arm more. Meet it long.”
On screen: Straighten your arm a lot more through contact.
Drill: Slow shadow swings, pausing at contact: your arm should be almost straight with a soft bend.
Arm locked straight
The coach says: “Keep a little bend in the elbow.”
On screen: Keep a lot more bend in your elbow at contact.
Drill: Slow shadow swings, pausing at contact: keep a soft bend and finish with a wrist snap.
Legs too straight in your stance
The coach says: “Bend your knees”
On screen: Bend your knees.
Drill: Hold a low ready stance for 20 seconds between reps.
Hunched over in your stance
The coach says: “Chest up, don't hunch”
On screen: Chest up, don't hunch.
Drill: Hold the ready stance with your chest proud for 20 seconds.
Drills you can do alone
- Same-toss routine: do 30 serves with the same toss and preparation, changing only the contact, to learn to vary the spin without giving it away.
- Target serving: place a towel on the table, and aim your serves at it to practise length.
How to set up your phone
Prop your phone up 2 to 3 metres away with your whole body in view, at about hip height. For the serve, stand side-on to the camera on your hitting side: how far in front you make contact and how big your backswing is can only be judged from the side. It all runs on your phone and nothing is uploaded.
Guide values: where the hand should be at contact comes from coaching rules (Coaching consensus across the sport: contact in front of the body, at a height that suits the shot, compact where the stroke is short.) and has not yet been checked against real players. Contact point and backswing need you side-on to the camera.
Frequently asked questions
What are the basic rules of a table tennis serve?
The ball is tossed near vertically at least 16 cm from an open palm, struck from behind the end line and above the table, bouncing first on your own side.
How do I get more spin on my serve?
A faster, thinner contact and a wider range of the bat's motion. Keep the preparation the same for each serve.
More table tennis practice
Forehand drive · Backhand drive · Smash · Forehand loop · Backhand flick · Push · Chop