Moving in on service return

Hi All,

I notice most professionals will first stand some distance from the table and then move in to return once the service is played. However, what surprises me most is that they moved in even before their opponent's bat touches the ball. On what basis they decided to move in? Based on the ball throwing or based on the opponent motion? If they need to move in anyway, why are they stand so far in the first place? Hope someone will clear my doubt on this.

Cheers,

Most pros serve short (either very spinny or no spin).  So 90%+ time is OK to step in to take the ball at its highest point (taking ball at highest point allows the returner more angles and options).  If the score is really tight, the server will be under lots of pressure, under those situations it is difficult to keep the ball short even for the pros and so if the serve comes off the table, standing 1 step behind the table is just the right distance for the returner to loop drive the long serve putting the server on the defensive or winning the point outright.

When I play against really good players (1800+) I would do the same thing initiallly 1 step behind the table then after the contact, move in to get a better return.  Playing against intermediate players I usually just hop in place after the contact because 90% of the time the ball will be long so I get myself ready to loop the serve with either forehand or backhand.

 

Most coaches tell you it's easier to move forward than backward, so they start back and move forwards once they get to a point where they can tell it's not going to be a long fast serve. What amazes me is how far apart some of them spread their legs! Like Timo for instance.