Hey Gabriel, I think many players struggle with these type of returns. There are a couple of things that will really help, first off is working on your forehand flick and gradually getting more comfortable with playing it a bit stronger so it’s not easy for the opponent to attack. Of course this will take time so another thing which is really important here is the placement of your flicks and making it hard for the opponents, even a slow flick can still be effective if you manage to get them out wide or right into the body.
Also being able to play an aggressive push on these side spin type serves will really help, so getting someone to serve them to you in practice and trying to come around the side of the ball and push through to keep it low. This video I think will really help you so check this one out:
Personally I find playing a push back much easier than a forehand flick which can be a hard shot, but everyone is different and you might find after some time working on it your flick becomes a good weapon! So starting to try to really focus on this area of your returns and improving it will help, but for the short term placement is very important if you shot quality isn’t always the best. Try to look for where the opponents are weak and play them into those areas, also returning into the body/crossover is always good because they have to move into position and don’t get an east ball to attack straight away. Tom
