Is it the right approach to try to return every backspin serve with a backhand flick?

[delerious]

The majority of serves that I receive are backspin serves to my backhand side. I've been trying to do the backhand flick almost all the time with those serves. Only if the serve is really short or low, or if it's to my forehand, will I do something else. I just don't feel like getting into an unending push battle, which I don't win that often anyway.

It feels good when I do the flick right - I win the majority of those points. But I'm not very consistent with it - maybe I only hit it successfully 1 out of every 3 tries. Perhaps this is why I have lost 18 out of my last 20 matches.

Is this the right approach to be taking with backspin serves? Do I just keep doing this and taking a beating at the club in the hopes that I will improve my consistency? Or is there some other approach I should be taking?

 

[JeffM]

There are many approaches to backspin serve to your bh side. If they are short serves, you can try push short (left, right, centre), push long (left, right, centre), or attempt the flick.

I believe practice will improve your consistency, but on the times that you did not get it, think about whether you have correctly read the spin and the amount of spin on the ball.

Have you tried multiball practice with similar amount of backspin each ball and then see what your % of success is?

 

[turbozed]

I'm sure someone else will provide a more detailed response to your main question, but have you considered that the reason why the majority of serves you get are backspin serves to your BH is because the opponents know they have a 66.6% chance of winning the point?

 

[TensorBackhand]

The majority of serves that I receive are backspin serves to my backhand side. I've been trying to do the backhand flick almost all the time with those serves. Only if the serve is really short or low, or if it's to my forehand, will I do something else. I just don't feel like getting into an unending push battle, which I don't win that often anyway.

It feels good when I do the flick right - I win the majority of those points. But I'm not very consistent with it - maybe I only hit it successfully 1 out of every 3 tries. Perhaps this is why I have lost 18 out of my last 20 matches.

Is this the right approach to be taking with backspin serves? Do I just keep doing this and taking a beating at the club in the hopes that I will improve my consistency? Or is there some other approach I should be taking?

It sounds like you should be doing a push return.

Get better at doing push rallies and lifting backspin before trying to learn flick.

 

[pingpongpaddy]

The majority of serves that I receive are backspin serves to my backhand side. I've been trying to do the backhand flick almost all the time with those serves. Only if the serve is really short or low, or if it's to my forehand, will I do something else. I just don't feel like getting into an unending push battle, which I don't win that often anyway.

It feels good when I do the flick right - I win the majority of those points. But I'm not very consistent with it - maybe I only hit it successfully 1 out of every 3 tries. Perhaps this is why I have lost 18 out of my last 20 matches.

Is this the right approach to be taking with backspin serves? Do I just keep doing this and taking a beating at the club in the hopes that I will improve my consistency? Or is there some other approach I should be taking?

Hi delerious
no perhaps about it. giving away 66% of return points is inviting failure.
ask yourself what sort of rally you want. Not pushing?
so good options are:

1. flick when it works to varied points
2. push ..... Long to varied points. This encourages a topspin return which you can block or counterhit. be Brave!
3. push .....short to varied points. Yes this is the one you don't like , but remember on the next ball if opponent pushes you can push long to varied points to encourage opponent to topspin,
   
   the thing is variation in service return is essential if you want to improve
   
   pushing practice should be part of your regular practice. It should be like this:-
   push minimum 15 minutes every session paying attention to quality short and long and FOOTWORK
   part of pushing practise MUST include opening topspin from pushing situation Be Brave!
   If you want to play at a higher level you need to Master the push and opening topspin from pushing situations
   Strong players are good at pushing and opening from pushing situations!
   
   hope this helps
   good luck

 

[longle]

Well, people in the past era believed that returning serves by short push is the best way. Maybe you can try with this video ?

 

[blahness]

You shouldn't be only getting 1/3 success rates especially against spin you already know. This is a sign of technique deficiency and it means that something is wrong with the stroke or your understanding of how to overcome underspin with the chiquita. But the chiquita is a very advanced stroke and I would suggest an easier way to convert rallies into topspin. Just push long and fast and do an opening loop if the opponent doesn't do it himself.

 

[h3llary]

I've heard it's easier and more effective to do banana aginst side-backspin. Where there is more pronounced backspin on the serve and less sidespin it's harder to do banana (Kirill Skachkov's advice). I usually just push long to the other side of the table or push short. If you don't want to do engage in those push battles just wait for the long push to open with a slow spinny loop

 

[ricospin]

I personally like to flick if the spin is “reversed” (for right handed players). This spin will be more natural to receive on backhand. I tend to flick reverse side top serves that go in to my bh more than flicking under. Flipping under requires a certain consistency that I am still learning.

With backspin, it’s safer to push and develop push variations, and then finally return/receive variations.

 

[blahness]

I've heard it's easier and more effective to do banana aginst side-backspin. Where there is more pronounced backspin on the serve and less sidespin it's harder to do banana (Kirill Skachkov's advice). I usually just push long to the other side of the table or push short. If you don't want to do engage in those push battles just wait for the long push to open with a slow spinny loop

Yes he's right, chiquita against pure heavy backspin is very hard, but still possible especially if you already know the spin. The easier stroke is actually the strawberry which also produces a sidetopspin but is really easy to use against heavy underspin.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

A bh flick is a very powerful shot for short under spin balls, but requires high level of training and skill set to do correctly.

If you are not training it correctly, then the execution of it would be in consistence. Then I would rather just got a place the ball back with a underspin push or drop shot.

Out of the text book shots today, BH flick is the most difficult one to get right.
So 1 out 3 is normal.

So either you get those training hours in and make technical correction to your technique, or lower your risk taking chance.

 

[Der_Echte]

Tony said it short and sweet.

You can go one of a couple ways.

1 - Keep flipping with BH and use your matches as training. You will lose points, games, and matches, but you have to at some point start trying to use the BH flip in real matches anyway, even if you trained them.

2- Push return short or long and train ur BH flip until you can do 80% plus, then start using it in matches, you will still fail at first, but grow quicker.

 

[BobFL]

I think you answered your own question. Statistics do not lie in this case. Probability before possibility.
You definitely need to improve your push game. Backhand flip is super-hard to master.
One of the most important aspects of table tennis is shot selection. Your shot selection has become a weakness that your opponents exploit. I suggest you simply stop playing that shot for a month, for the sake of experimenting. Work hard on the push game and you will see results.

 

[lodro]

I discovered that there are several levels of BH flick and if one does a BH flick without also having full control over the spin, speed, length and position of the ball, your opposition will simply slam the ball back at you.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

One thing to understand is, no matter what return you are talking about, you should not always do any one kind of return. It is important to have many ways to return any ball that comes to you.

Even if your return is very good, if your opponent knows that you will always do one certain thing in a specific scenario, they can key on your return and make you pay for being predictable.

 

[tackyfh]

You should vary your receive, an aggressive long push or a push to set up the opening loop can be better choices rather than just focus on BH flick

 

[delerious]

Thanks for the replies. I thought that since I'm playing against beginners (600-800 level), if I can master the backhand flick then I should be able to win most points with it. But maybe it's too hard to master right now.

I can go back to pushing. I used to push almost 100% of the time before I learned any attacking strokes. But I can work on placement and short vs long pushing. Another thing about pushing is that I feel like with most of the pushes I receive, it will double bounce before it goes off the end of the table, so that I can't try to loop it. But I just saw a video where the coach says that even if you feel like it will double bounce, it actually won't double bounce 95% of the time.

 

[h3llary]

Thanks for the replies. I thought that since I'm playing against beginners (600-800 level), if I can master the backhand flick then I should be able to win most points with it. But maybe it's too hard to master right now.

I can go back to pushing. I used to push almost 100% of the time before I learned any attacking strokes. But I can work on placement and short vs long pushing. Another thing about pushing is that I feel like with most of the pushes I receive, it will double bounce before it goes off the end of the table, so that I can't try to loop it. But I just saw a video where the coach says that even if you feel like it will double bounce, it actually won't double bounce 95% of the time.

If u want to secure that opening, try to do long push. Your opponent will have hard time playing it short so the second bounce will be unlikely and he will give you long push back as well

 

[blahness]

Thanks for the replies. I thought that since I'm playing against beginners (600-800 level), if I can master the backhand flick then I should be able to win most points with it. But maybe it's too hard to master right now.

I can go back to pushing. I used to push almost 100% of the time before I learned any attacking strokes. But I can work on placement and short vs long pushing. Another thing about pushing is that I feel like with most of the pushes I receive, it will double bounce before it goes off the end of the table, so that I can't try to loop it. But I just saw a video where the coach says that even if you feel like it will double bounce, it actually won't double bounce 95% of the time.

If it crosses the middle point between the net and the end of the table on the 2nd bounce, it will almost certainly go out of the table on the 2nd bounce.

 

[NextLevel]

Thanks for the replies. I thought that since I'm playing against beginners (600-800 level), if I can master the backhand flick then I should be able to win most points with it. But maybe it's too hard to master right now.

I can go back to pushing. I used to push almost 100% of the time before I learned any attacking strokes. But I can work on placement and short vs long pushing. Another thing about pushing is that I feel like with most of the pushes I receive, it will double bounce before it goes off the end of the table, so that I can't try to loop it. But I just saw a video where the coach says that even if you feel like it will double bounce, it actually won't double bounce 95% of the time.

That is a good coach and very important advice. Especially on down the line serves. Too many players underestimate how many serves are truly long. Only trained pros serve viciously half long on a regular basis and they mess it up all the time under pressure. People who wait for the serve tend to be able to attack with more options. At the pro level, time is at a premium so things are usually aggressive unless they can't read the spin. At the amateur levels, take as much time as you need to get a well read and placed return and prioritize waiting for the long or loose short return over thinking the serve is short. If you are repeatedly making mistakes trying to return a serve with techniques for short serves, the serves are likely long serves.