Hey Alex,
No you are not barking up the wrong tree at all, I feel the small grip change you mention here is spot on, getting the thumb slightly higher and pressing into the rubber allows the wrist to come into play more and means the thumb and index finger put more pressure on the rubber which allows for higher control just like when serving and using a similar grip as you mentioned. As you also said it’s not a big change, more like a very slight adaptation and shouldn’t feel like a big change when returning after the flick.
The backhand flick is now an absolutely key shot in modern table tennis in order to be positive early in the rally, so definitely a shot worth practising and getting confident with. When things get back to normal and you have access to a table again we’ll obviously be happy to have a look at a video and give you some feedback on this shot.
Glad you are enjoying the site! Tom
