Learn the banana flick in table tennis: a backhand flick with side- and topspin against short backspin serves – with prerequisites, mistakes and FAQ.
The banana flick is a backhand flick that you pull over the table with side- and topspin so that the ball flies in an arc ("like a banana"). It is mainly played against short backspin serves when you do not want to push but attack. In an analysis of the best women from 1970 to 2021, "banana" and "strawberry" flicks are named as techniques with which serves can be received in a disguised and varied way [2].
The honest answer to "do I have to master this?": no. The banana flick is a stroke for advanced players. It pays off if you regularly face short backspin serves and the normal flip is secure. The risk is real: in an analysis of 48 top players, forehand and backhand flip were the most frequently lost techniques [3]. At the same time the backhand flick is increasing among the best: among men the number of backhand flicks rose [1], and women's returns are dominated by backhand returns [2].
A note on context: I found no dedicated biomechanics study of the banana flick itself. A study with ten national players describes the racket motion of a backhand flick and its follow-up strokes, but without a specific banana variant [4]. The rest is practical standard.
The price is high: the banana flick requires you to judge length and spin of the serve correctly before the bounce, and it hardly forgives mistakes at the contact point. Whoever uses it too early loses more points than he wins (practical experience). That is why it is pro level: it is the top of the flip chain, not its start.
How long does it take? If your flip is secure, it takes weeks to months until the banana flick is stable under pressure (practical experience, not a study).
The banana flick builds on the normal flip. If you cannot get the normal flip on the table in 7 of 10 cases, practise that first [3].
Milestone: Your normal backhand flip lands on the table 8 of 10 times.
Recognise length and spin of the serve early. In a brain-scan study experts and non-experts had to predict serves from videos that stopped at the moment of contact; their brain activity could be assigned to the correct group with 90.48 % accuracy [6]. That does not mean you have to be a clairvoyant, but that reading is trainable (inference).
Milestone: On 7 of 10 short serves you predict whether it is backspin or no spin.
Against backspin you open the racket face more. Research on the forehand topspin against backspin shows that advanced players adapt to different spins more via racket angle than via stroke path [7] (transfer to the backhand, no direct measurement). On the banana flick you brush the ball at the side and on top and guide the racket in an arc around it. The wrist provides the speed.
Milestone: 5 of 10 banana flicks show a visibly curved trajectory (partner reports the sidespin).
Target zones: elbow zone or wide to the backhand. Among the best women the backhand is chosen more often than the forehand on returns [2], a hint at the importance of backhand returns.
Milestone: 6 of 10 banana flicks land in the back third.
After the flick you prepare block or counter. In a study with ten national players the backhand block after a backhand flick showed a more compact pattern than the forehand block [4].
Milestone: You return the next ball in a controlled way in 7 of 10 cases.
Disguise the banana flick: start with the same racket position as for the normal flip or the push and decide only at the last moment. Against an opponent who serves and keeps his serve motion the same, that is your advantage. In a training series of 20 balls count how many you play with banana, normal flip or push; if you always choose the same stroke, it is easy to read (practical experience).
A backhand flick with side- and topspin, played against short backspin serves; the ball flies in an arc. "Banana flick" is named in the literature as a return variant [2].
When the serve comes short, you have read it safely and want to attack. Otherwise the push is safer.
Yes. Flips are the most frequently lost techniques overall in an analysis of 48 players [3].
I found no biomechanics study on the banana flick itself. There are analyses of backhand flicks and their follow-up strokes [4].
Chop Defence in Table Tennis: The Backspin Defence From Behind the Table