Reading direction of serve early for backhand flick

Hi Coach,

I just watched the swedish open finals between Yan An and Fan Zhendong. And Fan Zhendong was recieving the most serves with a backhand flick on the forehand side. And a lot of other players do it.

I can already do a backhand flick on a short backspin serve but not really on the forehand side. I can do it from the middle of the table. but Im not quick enough to move to the forehand side so quick, only if I gamble he is going to serve to my forehand Im fast enough on the forehand side.

 And I always see players like Fan Zhendong, Yan An, Ma Long, Zhang Jike and a lot of more players already move to the forehand side before the opponent even contacted to ball.

Is there a trick to know which direction the opponent is going to serve before they contacted the ball?

Hi Rob,

This is something that comes with many years of training.

They are seeing some cues in the swing of the player as to where they are going to hit the ball.  It isn't very much before they contact.  The other thing is that they are able to move so fast that is looks like they are there before their opponent hits the ball.

You are right, a lot of players are using this stroke now because you can use your wrist better on the backhand side for the flick.