Controlling the Backhand Sidespin Flick

Siddhartha Raja Asked 12 years ago

Please tell me sir how can i do sidespin flick with control because when i hit this stroke on forehand short pendulum serve the ball hits on then net or sometimes goes over the end of table. Please help me sir.

Jeff Plumb Answered 12 years ago

Hi Siddhartha,

For the backhand sidespin flick to be successful you have to utilise the full movement of the wrist and swing the bat through fast. If you try to play this stroke slowly you won't generate the spin required to get the ball over the net and dipping down onto the table. I know it sounds counter intuitive but the control will come from playing the stroke at speed. It is a difficult stroke to learn and will take a lot of practice to develop consistency. See if you can get a training partner to get a bucket of balls and just continuously serve a short forehand pendulum serve to you so you can practice this a lot in a short period of time.