What are the differences between rubbers?

some rubbers are more sticky, that will affect the spin and the control of the balls, some are , softer, harder that will affect the bonce of the balls, some are lighter or heavier, that will affect flexibility, Chinese rubbers are normally heavier., and more sticky and cheaper.

Weight affects how quickly you can accelerate the bat since more mass requires more energy to accelerate, all things being the same.

Thickness affects how strong you can hit the ball before it compresses the sponge fully, at which point no more energy can be stored by compression, no more spring can be provided by sponge, and no more spin can be imparted to the ball since it leaves the paddle quicker.
Thickness also affects weight, all things being the same.

The main difference between 'traditional' chinese rubbers and those that aren't is their hardness; they're much harder than the regular european sponge (and topsheet too).
A secondary difference is that, unlike european sponges, the surface of the rubber is tacky, which helps creating spin in cases where the sponge isn't pressed enough, and to make sure the ball doesn't slip when hitting it at very shallow angles (same thing, but worth noting).


The question you should have asked is about the hardness of the sponge/rubber which is, to my thinking, the most important part.

the same type of rubber (i.e: T05) but thickness 2.1mm will be heavier than 1.9mm. Is it correct?

Yes but the heaviness really isn't the major factor in the difference between 1.9 and 2.1.
It can't be more than like, a gram of difference I think.


Although there's a video of Timo Boll where he talks about the rubbers he uses and he seems to be 'on the gram' accurate about what he wants to use, which was interesting.

FULL JOYMENT ....

1.8 millimeters sponge will give you a full joyment of playing the game. I always liked those allround sponges ever since I was a kid.

Using 2.0 mm / 2.2 mm sponges is probably a good option for the youth only.

Be happy.

GusShnaps said:

Hey guys!

I have a couple of doubts about rubbers and what changes in each type.
First, how does the thickness and weight of the rubber/sponge change your game (what is the difference between thick and thin, heavy and light sponges/rubbers)?
I also wanted to know what are the main differences between Chinese and other rubbers?

Edit: I also wanted to know what is the difference between soft and hard rubbers

Thank you!

Click to expand...

There are loads of details in rubbers that give small differences each time such as pimple arrangment, pimple structure, top sheet thickness and so on, but all you need to know from beginner and intermediate is the hardness ( the softer the spinnier )(normally) (37.5 degrees is about average softness) and 47.5 is about average hardness. And that soft blades pair well with hard rubbers and hard blades pair well with soft rubbers.