As is often the case, the real reason many players have trouble looping against a heavy backspin is they simply aren’t used to doing so. They are used to less backspin, and so the stroke and racket angle used for that is ingrained into them. When facing heavy backspin, it’s a strain trying to get it over the net. But there shouldn’t be any real strain. It’s usually one of two things – racket and stroke angle, or power.

The easiest way to loop a heavy backspin is simply to lower the racket a lot, tip down, with an open angle, and really stroke up. This means bending your knees (especially back leg), dropping your playing shoulder, and driving both upwards and forward, but with the emphasis on up. Once you get used to it, it’s rather easy to loop either against heavy backspin with slow or medium speed, but with lots of spin, since you’ll be converting the incoming backspin into topspin. If you try this and still go into the net, just lift the ball up even more, even aim to arc the ball well off the end. Once you get the knack of it, it’s easy. (If you have knee problems and can’t bend the back knee much, no problem; just drop your shoulder and spin up, driving your shoulders up and around, producing a slow, spinny loop.)

The other way, often called Chinese style, is to simply overpower the backspin. This means looping with a lot of power, sinking the ball into the sponge, and driving it both forward and up. (It’s easier with a harder sponge.) But because you use a lot of power here, you don’t have to lift as much as you’d think. This method takes athleticism – but at 64 and not really in training, I can still do it (unless I’m tired), though not as well as I used to.

If you aren’t training regularly, are elderly, or aren’t in good physical shape, the latter method likely won’t work very well. But anyone can loop against a heavy backspin by using the first method – just arc that ball up over the net with lots of topspin – and now your opponent has to face his own heavy backspin coming back as topspin!

For this, I’m assuming you know how to flip, either forehand or backhand, preferably both. (If not, YouTube is your friend! Or work on it with a coach.) But many players have trouble flipping against heavy backspin, and so just push those balls back. But that makes you predictable, a serious weakness.

Instead, learn to use all three receives against a short, heavy backspin serves – push long or short, and flip. Perhaps favor one or two of these receives, and use the other one or two receives as a variation.

But how do you flip a ball that’s low and heavy with backspin? It’s all about the racket angle and contact. Most players get used to flipping against moderate backspin. Most players can’t really serve both short and very heavy, and so you get less practice against it. And when they do see it, they fall back on what they are used to – flipping moderate backspin, and since there’s more backspin then they are used to, they go into the net.

Against heavy backspin, open the racket a LOT. Once you do this, lifting it is easy. Just brush under and behind the back of the ball with a topspin stroke, and lift the ball over the net. With practice, you’ll find something amazing – it’s often easier to flip against heavy backspin then against a no-spin ball. Why? Because you can easily convert all that incoming backspin into outgoing topspin. The trick is really just reading the spin and opening the racket more than you are used to.

Work with a coach or practice partner on this – have them serve low, short, heavy backspin over and over as you work on flipping it. Ideally, have a box of balls so you can do this over and over without playing out the point. Once you get used to doing it, you’ll never have trouble flipping against heavy backspin again.

There are really only two things you have to do tactically in a match, sort of a one-two punch. You must figure out:

• How to force your game on them
• How to nullify what your opponent does that threatens you.

What is the strongest part of your game and how can you force that on your opponent? With experience, you’ll learn (or have already learned) how to do this. For example, if your strengths is looping against backspin, and your opponent pushes backspin serves back long, then there’s your answer – serve backspin (short if necessary), they push it back long, and you get to dominate with your strong loop against backspin. Or if you are quicker than the opponent, then perhaps serve topspin, or fast and deep, or topspin their serves back and look to play quick, aggressive shots to all three spots – the wide corners and at their middle (playing elbow). In general, look for ways to serve, receive, and rally so as to set up your strengths.

What parts of your opponent’s game might give you trouble? Just as above, figure out how to use serve, receive, and rallying to avoid those issues. Or, sometimes, play right into what gives you trouble until you get used to it, and then it’s no longer a threat. With experience, you’ll find ways to stop or adjust to whatever it is that gives you trouble.

So, how’s your one-two punch?

Picture two up-and-coming players. One has really tricky serves, often going long, and wins many points when opponents miss the serve or give him easy pop-ups – but when opponents read the serve, they often attack them, putting the server on the defensive. The other has simple serves that don’t directly threaten opponents as much, mostly very low and short backspin or no-spin, and so gets fewer easy points directly from his serve - but they aren’t attacked effectively that often. He learns to move and follow up each serve with an attacking shot, often against long pushes.

Guess which one progresses faster?

Players who rely too much on their serve often fall behind in the long run when they start facing players who return serves better, and that’s when the great server discovers he’s fallen behind in the rest of his game development. However, the player with simpler serves, while improving faster and perhaps reaching a higher level, is somewhat handicapped by the lack of serves that really challenge the opponent, including those few “free” points a player with good serves gets.

One note – it’s a myth that simple serves aren’t often popped up. But this usually happens when the server fakes backspin but serves no-spin, and the opponent pushes it back like it has backspin – and so pops it up a bit. But such serves don’t directly threaten opponents as much as tricky, spinny serves, especially long, breaking serves or fast no-spin ones. At lower levels, such serves are deadly; at higher levels, they get attacked, and so are mostly effective as surprise serves.

So, what should you do? Find a balance. Develop tricky serves, but learn to win in practice matches without using them except sparingly. But you do need to use those tricky serves in practice matches so you instinctively learn how often and when best to use them. Find a balance and develop your entire game, and you’ll have the best of both worlds.

Let’s keep this simple. If you lose the first game of a match because it takes you a game to adjust to something the opponent does, that’s okay. Ideally, you’d adjust sooner and perhaps win that first game, but credit your opponent if he’s developed something that wins him that first game.

But if you lose a match because you didn’t adjust to what your opponent did, that means either you messed up or your opponent is simply better.

How do you quickly adjust to an opponent? There are two ways. First, after going up against whatever your opponent does that gives you trouble, you should simply get used to it until it’s no longer a major threat. You might even play into it intentionally sometimes, so as to better make that adjustment – such as playing into an opponent’s long pips or other surface until you are comfortable against it. Second, you can adjust your tactics so the opponent can’t do whatever it is that gives you trouble. If you have a good serve and receive game, then you can control and dominate points, and with that, you can take away whatever the opponent does that might give you trouble.

Always remember that Adjustment is just an anagram for Student Jam – and if you are a good student of the game, you’ll get out of those jams by making an adjustment!