Rank the Top 5 FH and BH in the world today!

[Zezima]

Quadri has the best forehand. Might not look aesthetically pleasing but that's overrated.

 

[TensorBackhand]

A lot of people mention Aruna... I know Aruna has a very powerful forehand and it is impressive to look at on occassion. But in terms of overall reliability and effectiveness, would you rather have Aruna's forehand? I think I'd prefer LJK

 

[AchyGeorge]

Just on backhand? I’ll offer CXT, Ladies game is much more backhand focussed. I suppose she doesn’t play many / any big Kreanga powerloops, but over and close to the table … very good indeed.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

Best backhand? I nominate Bernie Szocs!

 

[netdriver]

im top 1 FH and BH with a USATT rating of 1 and 0 tournaments

 

[PhoenixTT]

Why isn't Xu Xin included? Is it because he's retired? Or a god?
My top 5 FH has only one name Xu Xin.

 

[netdriver]

Why isn't Xu Xin included? Is it because he's retired? Or a god?
My top 5 FH has only one name Xu Xin.

TB asked for players currently playing internationally

xu xin isnt rly retired but since he is retired from playing matches internationally he doesnt count

 

[Snek]

Someone really mentioned Benedek Olah. Torille perkele!

 

[Mssousa01]

Hugo's backhand is incredible, guys. it's fast, strong and extremely spinny

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

FH:
Tony
Zeio
Zeio
Tony
Maybe Tony

Same for BH

In all seriousness, name top 5 EJ on TTD?

i'm glad we kicked out ERT

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Lol if you look at the blade frequency spreadsheet, Im the smallest fish in the pond. There are people EJing 5 times more than me

not many people bring 8 rackets to play tt at a given day
not even yogibear has that many when he is sampling

 

[rpb23]

Before we discuss who has the best forehand or backhand, we should first establish some consensus what constitute a great forehand or backhand.
There are many attributes to constitute a great forehand and backhand, I'll list some essentials of them here, you can add more:
Consistency, self explanatory
Power, penetrating opponents' defense, good reference is against choppers
Pace, how fast it can be executed repeatedly
Versatility, ability to change the placement, spin and pace
Usage, how often you use the shot to win points, good for these forehand or backhand dominant players
Winning rate by the shot, important if you win the majority of points by your favorite shot.
....
Other less essentials:
Mechanically sound, good example is Ma Long's forehand and Aruna's
Overall winning percentage, you have to be at the top 20 or 30 in your sport to be qualified in the discussion
.....

Based on the essential listed above, I'll say Ma Long has the best forehand as he has top score on all essentials except power.
Also based on the essentials above, one player, Xu Xin, many folks ignored here also is in the top five forehand. Xu Xin's forehand lacks the pace as he often loops far from the table, but he excels in all other departments.

 

[mcfly]

i'm glad we kicked out ERT

we can’t - he will “love it love it more” 😂

 

[rpb23]

Talking about the top five forehand, did anybody still remember Wang Liqing or Korea's Olympic gold medalist Ryu Seung-min? In their heydays, few players can hang with them with forehand power loops.

 

[rpb23]

FH:
1. Ma Long
2. Wang Chuqin
3. Fan Zhendong
4. Quadri Aruna
5. Truls Moregard

BH:
1. Fan Zhendong
2. Lin Yun-Ju
3. Lin Shindong
4. Harimoto
5. DIMA

No way I'll put WCQ's forehand ahead of FZD. I won't even put WCQ on the top 5 list

 

[Robin0910]

No way I'll put WCQ's forehand ahead of FZD. I won't even put WCQ on the top 5 list

You won’t put his forehand in the top 5 of the current internationally active players? He has one of the most complete forehand of the era right now and he wins the vast majority of his points from his forehand kills, pivots and counters. His flicks and opening loops are top notch as well.
There’s a reason he’s world no 1 rn

 

[rpb23]

You won’t put his forehand in the top 5 of the current internationally active players? He has one of the most complete forehand of the era right now and he wins the vast majority of his points from his forehand kills, pivots and counters. His flicks and opening loops are top notch as well.
There’s a reason he’s world no 1 rn

Yeah, he is no.1 but for a long stretch of time, he played like outside of top 20. If he had a reliable forehand, he won't allow him to play subpar for so long. Can you imagine Ma Long in anytime of his career would allow him to get beat pretty much by any opponents for a few months? When Wang is on, his forehand is quite good, when he is off, the forehand is error prone full of low level mistakes, which is exactly the mark of an inconsistent, unreliable forehand. BTW, Wang's forehand is a threat not far away from the table. But once he gets into loop rallies away from the table, his forehand loses potency most of the time.

Using LGL's cruel words against Xu Xin here: 'Yeah, you are no. 1, but beside that, you achieved nothing.'

Lets give WCQ some more time, win some grand slams(worlds, Olympic, etc), then we'll put him into consideration.

 

[Robin0910]

Yeah, he is no.1 but for a long stretch of time, he played like outside of top 20. If he had a reliable forehand, he won't allow him to play subpar for so long. Can you imagine Ma Long in anytime of his career would allow him to get beat pretty much by any opponents for a few months? When Wang is on, his forehand is quite good, when he is off, the forehand is error prone full of low level mistakes, which is exactly the mark of an inconsistent, unreliable forehand. BTW, Wang's forehand is a threat not far away from the table. But once he gets into loop rallies away from the table, his forehand loses potency most of the time.

Using LGL's cruel words against Xu Xin here: 'Yeah, you are no. 1, but beside that, you achieved nothing.'

Lets give WCQ some more time, win some grand slams(worlds, Olympic, etc), then we'll put him into consideration.

We’re discussing players’s technique and not their titles.
Wang Chuqin is less potent away from the table than Ma Long but still better than everybody else, except Fan Zhendong when he’s in his game. And it’s not like he is often forced into rallies anyway since he is the type to finish the point as soon as possible.

The forehand alone wasn’t the problem for his losses in the past few months. He missed everything from backhand to simple receives. Fan Zhendong had a period like this just before the Olympics. It’s a mental thing and not caused by his forehand or else he would have never even reached world rank Top 5 had his fh been vastly subpar to his compatriots.

 

[Machi]

Tensorbackhand
Callmezaddy
Zwill
Wrighty
Disaster

Honorable mention for Yogi.

how about michael zhuang?

 

[greenbeanmachine]

honestly I'm kind of insulted that I didn't make your top 5 equipment junkie list