Hard Rubber on Backhand Side

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Hey guys,

Recently I noticed a weird preference on my part. Normally, I hear everyone taking a a slightly softer rubber on their backhand, because it engages at lower speeds where the hard rubber does not. What I noticed is that I prefer the opposite. In fact a bit harder rubber on the backhand helps me control the placement on slower balls (in case of flicks and such) and also gives me enough power when I go for the kill. Currently I'm using Rhyzer 48 for forehand and Rhyzer 43 for backhand, but I noticed that sometimes if I switch sides, I get more consistency midway into a match. This has caused me to think maybe it's better to have identical 48s on both sides next time I'm changing rubbers. Has anybody faced the same issue?
 
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Maybe it's that way. Or maybe you just like to have less catapult on the backhand, could be either way. Harder rubbers often have less catapult effect and are easier to control in short game, perfect example is H3
 
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Against higher ranked players I switch so my H3 Neo is on BH. I then have a higher percentage of blocks on drives. Or is it because i consciously compensate and put a softer touch on the return?

I vary due to opponent.
When i passive block with the Hurricane 3(on my forehand) the ball becomes slow and dips down, which makes it harder for the opponent to loopkill the ball, hence it is easier to block. However if there is a lot of spin the ball jumps out alot.
 
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JST

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In the lowest leagues in my country many players use hard rubbers such as H3n on BH because they mostly chop/push and block, basically never spin and very few punch drives. If your style is similar (= stronger FH and defensive BH) then it is good combination. The recommendation of softer rubber on BH is mainly for attackers who use BH on par with FH.
 
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MDP

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For me a harder rubber on backhand and softer rubber on forehand, feels quite natural aswell.
My backhand-technique is more controlled so a harder and faster rubber feels better for blocking, killing shots, pushing, ... I get the control and spin from my movement.
While on my forehand, a softer rubber gives me more safety over the net when topspinning. Pure power and speed I don't need to compensate with faster rubber.

Previously I played with Vega Europe (FH) and Vega Pro (BH), but I will make the change to 2x vega pro next season as I improved a lot.
 
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i play with SpinArt which is according to Butterfly is their hardest sponge, and its Tensor giving max spin.

I do confirm that its possible to load BH drives with a lot of spin, but i've got very good control for the short game (push/flick) or blocks. For the BH serve, it gives that extra spin as well !

I like very much this rubber and its a perfect fit for my style (attacking near the table, like Harimoto ?)
 
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I think it's personal preference. I'm a two-wing looper, very aggressive on both FH and BH and I like hard rubber on both sides. I play with Tenergy 80 and Evolution Mx-s on the backhand and they are very good for me. I can't "feel" and control soft rubbers, especially when I hit the ball hard.
 
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It might be racket speed. If you use a lot of wrist or whip on your backhand it could be a faster stroke than your forehand.
 
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Maybe it's that way. Or maybe you just like to have less catapult on the backhand, could be either way. Harder rubbers often have less catapult effect and are easier to control in short game, perfect example is H3

I think this is a factor indeed. I used to be much worse in short game with bouncy rubbers, but now I'm better (for my level). However, I noticed that I can play with almost anything on forehand relatively well (even with superbouncy Stiga Calibra LT sound), but this is not the case with the backhand at all. It can really mess with my game.


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In the lowest leagues in my country many players use hard rubbers such as H3n on BH because they mostly chop/push and block, basically never spin and very few punch drives. If your style is similar (= stronger FH and defensive BH) then it is good combination. The recommendation of softer rubber on BH is mainly for attackers who use BH on par with FH.

I'm striving to be a two wings attacker but not there yet. Maybe perseverance leads to improvement [emoji16]


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i'm not an EJ.
as I wrote b4, and you can see from my profile, i am using a hard sponge rubber (SpinArt)

today for a few minutes i tried some butterfly carbon blade with a Razka soft to some player who liked my BH.

Well, i can tell you the quantity of spin is clearly higher with my setup. I think its due to the blade mainly, I feel the ball is bouncing off the bat quickly, the ball is fast, but less contact with the rubber so less spin. The Razka is less tacky. So its faster balls, but less spin, the trajectory is flatter as well (ball possibly higher). . Not very desirable for my game near the table, but I understand that people who like to take one or more steps away from the table to attack can like this because of the extra power.

With my setup My topspin may not be as fast but has more "pressure" due to the extra spin. I think its also easier when close to the table to find the short side of the table, and to use this for the short game.

just my 2c.
 
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