Problems with Backhand Flick

Hi ping skills!

I have been playing table tennis for a bit and your videos are very helpful. However, I need an important question answered.

I have been trying to learn a backhand flick/spike for a while now but I can't get it right. Normally the ball just slams into the net and doesn't go over. There are days that this flick goes over the net but I feel like it is a weapon that hurts me more than my opponent. When it works, it ends the rally very fast in my favor, but when it doesn't work I lose too many points and get frustrated by it not working. How can I get better at this flick? Should I keep doing this stroke as a means of trying to end a rally in my favor? Am I flicking wrong?

If you answer these questions, that would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Drew,

Without seeing you playing the stroke, it is hard to tell exactly what is going wrong.  Perhaps you are trying to hit the ball too hard.  Try to slow the stroke down a little and see if you can get more consistency before trying to hit it hard again.

The other thing to think about is hitting the ball at the top of the bounce.  This makes a big difference in the success of the stroke.  Take a look at our lesson on the Backhand Flick as well.