Learn the Backhand Flick vs. a Backhand Roll from James Ignatowich

Top 5 Pro Player James Ignatowich

Hey guys, this is James Ignatowich, and today I’m going to cover how to hit the backhand flick. It’s a little different from a backhand roll. Some people confuse these two shots, but they are completely different.

The backhand roll comes more from your arm. It’s something you’ll see Ben Johns do often. It’s low.

The backhand flick, on the other hand, relies almost entirely on your wrist. When I’m hitting a backhand flick, I use basically no arm motion. It’s not as much of a low to high movement. One of the advantages of the backhand flick is that you can meet the ball more in front than if you were rolling it from low to high. This allows me to attack a few more balls with the backhand flick as opposed to the backhand roll.

However, one of the disadvantages of the backhand flick is that it might be harder to control, especially with very low dinks. I find it tougher to control and change the pace of that shot. With a backhand roll, you can change and go off pace more easily.

Another important aspect of the backhand flick is that you have to get low. The players with the best backhand flicks are down low when doing it. I don’t stand up straight because if you’re attacking a ball out of the air, usually you’re going to be attacking it around net height. Anything above net height isn’t necessarily a backhand flick; it’s more about going from high to low to crush the ball.

A backhand flick is most effective when the dink is around net height, maybe slightly higher or lower. You’re getting low and meeting it as far in front as possible.

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James Ignatowich is a top 10 professional pickleball player originally from Connecticut, now residing in Delray Beach, Florida. A former Division 1 tennis player at Vanderbilt University, James made a transition to pickleball, quickly rising to prominence in the sport and often playing doubles with Tyson McGuffin and Anna Bright. In addition to his athletic achievements, he runs his own podcast, where he shares insights into the game and interviews other professionals. My paddle | PPA | MLP | jamesignatowichnewsletter |