Table Tennis Receive: When to Push, Drop, Flip or Chiquita

Short serve comes in, you push it back because you are not sure what else to do, and your opponent loops it past you. After a few of those points, receiving starts to feel stressful. Good receive is as much about stepping in and choosing well as it is about touch.

Updated 2026-10-18 ・ Left-handed? Mirror left and right.

What the receive is for

The receive is your answer to the opponent's serve, the second ball of the rally. Its job is to stop the server from setting up their favourite third-ball attack and, when possible, to let you attack first.

Against short backspin serves you have four main options. A push returns backspin, ideally deep. A short drop keeps the ball short enough to bounce twice on the server's side. A flip hits the ball over the table to attack first. A chiquita is a backhand flick with sidespin that also takes the initiative. Against long serves, looping is the usual answer.

No single option is always right. Being able to play several from the same setup makes it much harder for the server to wait for the third ball. This guide is written for right-handers. Left-handers should mirror the directions.

Key points of good form

1. Step the right foot under the tableFor short balls, step your right foot under the table and bring your body close. Reaching with only the arm puts contact too far away and makes the racket face unstable.
2. Bring your head close to the ballLean forward so your head is near the contact point. The closer your eyes are to the ball, the easier it is to judge timing and length.
3. Contact around the top of the bouncePushes and flips taken around the peak of the bounce take time away from the server. Waiting for the ball to drop makes it float and makes your intention easier to read.
4. Keep the elbow bent and the swing smallShort-game strokes become more reliable as the swing gets smaller. A drop shot barely moves, and a flip needs only a short swing of about 20 to 30 centimetres.
5. Recover straight awayPush off the stepping foot and return to a neutral ready position. Being ready for the fourth ball lets you deal with whatever the server does next.

Common breakdowns: symptom, cause, fix

How the app looks at your receive

Table Tennis AI Coach (TTAIC) reads the positions of your joints (a pose skeleton) from phone video and turns body movement into numbers. Analysis runs on your device, and nothing is sent to a server unless you choose to allow it.

For receive, the app looks at knee bend on the stepping leg, how far you lean forward, elbow angle, where the wrist reaches peak speed, and how long you take to return to the ready position. Its stroke reading covers short-game strokes such as the push, drop shot, flip and chiquita, but small strokes look alike and can be confused.

Short-game movements are small and are easily hidden by the table or the opponent depending on camera angle. Treat the app's observations as a guide. If you have a coach, reviewing the same clip together is a good way to talk through decision-making.

Receive drills

Repeated flips over the table

7 min ・ You need: Table、Multiball feeder、Balls

1. Have the feeder place short balls over the table.
2. Step in with the right foot and bring your head close to the ball.
3. Flip the ball with a short forward-and-up action around the top of the bounce.
4. Recover to the ready position immediately and wait for the next ball.
5. Play sets of 10 and check on video that your body is not standing up.

Receive through to the fourth ball

8 min ・ You need: Table、Practice partner、Balls

1. Ask your partner to mix short and long serves.
2. Against short serves, choose a push, drop shot or flip.
3. Against long serves, return with a loop.
4. Do not stop after the receive; keep playing until you return the server's third ball.
5. Every 10 serves, review which choices made your next ball easier.

FAQ