THE SERVE

Service is the means of putting the ball into play. In modern table tennis so many restrictions have been placed on the service that there is very little, if any, advantage in serving to your opponent rather than in receiving. Conse­quently, we felt'that service could be omitted from discussion until after the other strokes were described.

Study the rules carefully (see Appendix) to make certain that you know how to deliver a legal serve. The ball must bounce on the server's side of the table first and then on the opponent's side. It must be hit from behind the table and from between an imaginary continuation of the sides of the table. Only one chance to serve is allowed, instead of two, as in lawn tennis.

Several years ago some American experts developed knuckle-ball and finger-spin serves which were quite difficult to return because of the excessive amount of spin imparted. These serves were made by "pinching" the ball between thumb and finger and shooting it out against the racket just as one shoots a marble. The terrific amount of speed and spin obtained made it so difficult to return finger-spin serves that the United States Table Tennis Asso­ciation, and soon the International Table Tennis Federation, outlawed them for use in tournament play.

It is now against the rules, in serving, to impart any form of spin by any agency other than the racket. To enforce this rule, it was established in America that the player must serve with the serving hand open and flat, fingers straight and together, thumb free (Figure 53). In England and on the Continent the enforcing of the rule is left up to the individual referee, and the player is not required to keep his serving hand open and flat. How­ever, he must be certain to use no finger spin.

SIMPLE SERVICE
In performing a simple service, keep the ball as low as possible over the net by stroking forward rather than down. It is an excellent idea to pick out a spot near the end of your side of the table and hit the ball near that spot every time. One good reason is that if you make the first bounce too near the net you will find that the second bounce will go either into the net itself or else off the other end of the table.
There are four fundamental serves: forehand chop, backhand chop, fore­hand topspin, and backhand topspin. These are made in a manner similar to ordinary drives and chops, by bringing the racket either over or under the ball.

THE FOREHAND CHOP SERVE
Figure 53. Beginning of forehand service. Note hand is extended and flat to conform to service rules. Figure 54. The racket face must be kept higher than the ball to make a good chop service. Figure 55. The racket will come around the side of the ball in an attempt to apply more spin. Figure 56. The ball is finally coming toward the center of the racket face. Hand is still outstretched.

Figure 57. Point of contact. The eyes are watching the ball intently and shall do so until finish of the stroke. Figure 58. Prolonging the contact as much as possible   to   get   an   extra-heavy chop. Figure 59. Beginning of follow-through. Eyes are still on ball even after it has left the racket. Figure 60. Completion of follow-through. The racket has passed completely under the ball.

THE FOREHAND CHOP SERVE
 
A forehand chop serve differs from a forehand chop stroke in that the ball you are serving is held stationary in your hand and is not moving toward you. This increases your difficulties. It is quite hard to chop a soft ball heavily—and much more difficult to chop a ball with no forward speed.
The only way to gain chop on the service is by a vigorous use of your wrist. Bring your racket up to your right shoulder and hold the ball in your left hand. From this position, bring the racket down rapidly and smartly at an angle of forty-five degrees (Figure 55). Keep your wrist loose, pass well under the ball with your racket, and prolong contact as much as possible.

THE BACKHAND CHOP SERVE
You can get very little chop on a backhand chop service because, due to stroking across your body, it is impossible to obtain violent wrist action. The best use to make of this serve is to place a slow, softly chopped ball just over the net. Your body, behind the shot, masks it a great deal and your opponent is often forced into giving you a high return which you can smash.

POINTERS O1S MAKING THE CHOP SERVES
Chop serves, in general, should be used against defensive players because the serves are relatively slow and do not permit heavily chopped returns. Due to its great forward speed, the topspin serve may be chopped back quite heavily.

THE FOREHAND AND BACKHAND TOPSPIN SERVES
Forehand and backhand topspin serves require the same technique, as follows. At first, you should throw the ball up in the air and bring the racket over it. (Note: This is the only legal way of serving topspin in America.) After a little practice you can conceal the direction of your service and the amount of topspin you are putting into it by not releasing the ball until the moment of contact with the  racket.  Your left  and  right hand  will  almost touch, as contact is made on a forehand topspin serve, and you will appear to be throwing the ball into the racket at the same time as you throw the racket into the ball. Thus you conceal direction as long as possible.

The forehand topspin serve is made in the same manner as the forehand topspin drive, that is, by turning the racket surface over at an angle of forty-five degrees and brushing the ball with a sweeping upward motion, applying topspin to make it rotate downward and over. The backhand topspin serve is much like the forehand topspin serve, except that it is made on the opposite side of the body. Hence, it resembles a backhand drive.

THE BACKHAND CHOP SERVE
Figure 61. Beginning of a backhand serve. The racket starts out higher than the ball and conies down to meet it. Figure 62. As the racket descends, the ball is tossed up slightly. Care must be taken not to conceal the ball from your opponent. Figure 63. Note that the four fingers are to­gether and the thumb is out­stretched, according to service rules.
Figure 64. The   outstretched   hand   indicates strict adherence to service rules and the ball is plainly in sight  at all times.

Figure 65. Point of contact. The racket is passing slightly under the ball, to produce a little backspin Figure 66. Even though the ball has left the racket and the stroke is completed, the eyes still follow it. Figure 67. Beginning of the follow-through. The tilt of the racket indicates only a slight amount of spin. Figure 68. Completion of the follow-through. The arm stretches out until it is almost straight.
 
SIDESPIN SERVES
Sidespin serves are worthwhile developing if you have a "strong" wrist, or what we might call a supple or loose wrist. Anyway, the idea in producing sidespin is to draw the racket across the ball from one side to the other in conjunction with your ordinary topspin or chop movement.
Drawing your racket across the ball to the right will make the ball angle from right to left. Drawing your racket across to the left will have the opposite effect. Try hitting the ball with varying speeds and disguise the spin as much as possible. Knowing in advance the amount and type of sidespin, you will often be able to anticipate the direction of your opponent's return and thus be able to meet it successfully.