it all comes down to the contract yes but reality comes in wherein companies also do not want their players decrease in performance just because they switched to a different equipment. HUgo Calderano for once was not forced by Xiom to switch everything to Xiom though he is using an all Xiom blade and rubbers now.
They are forced to switch - sometimes, players switch handles so they can use blades they like while keeping their sponsorship requirements intact. Any exceptions are in the contract - it isn't about your playing level. Many players go to a different sponsor and use equipment they may not love because the sponsorship dollars they get are more. Butterfly doesn't need more than Timo and Harimoto to sell rubbers. Most players below that are unlikely to get deals as good as those guys. So someone who may like to use Tenergy but gets paid more by Xiom wil have to use Xiom if he wants the money. While ESN has closed the gap, there are still different opinions about what all this means.
i am still in contact with companies and have insider info. other things speak for themselves.Can I just ask how do you guys know all this stuff about professionals and contracts?
Do any of you know any current professional players?
Are there any current professional players on the forum who could enlighten us?
Is it possible that some professionals can switch equipment without worrying too much and maybe others are very sensitive.
I read somewhere that when a pro tries a new blade they have about 10 of the same blade try them all and pick the 3 they like best!
Can I just ask how do you guys know all this stuff about professionals and contracts?
Do any of you know any current professional players?
Are there any current professional players on the forum who could enlighten us?
Is it possible that some professionals can switch equipment without worrying too much and maybe others are very sensitive.
I read somewhere that when a pro tries a new blade they have about 10 of the same blade try them all and pick the 3 they like best!
Can I just ask how do you guys know all this stuff about professionals and contracts?
Do any of you know any current professional players?
Are there any current professional players on the forum who could enlighten us?
Is it possible that some professionals can switch equipment without worrying too much and maybe others are very sensitive.
I read somewhere that when a pro tries a new blade they have about 10 of the same blade try them all and pick the 3 they like best!
switching your handle to your brand is not entirely correct in saying that it is a different equipment. Also, your player ranking does affect what you can ask in a contract. your assumption that all are forced is not entirely correct.
Can I just ask how do you guys know all this stuff about professionals and contracts?
Do any of you know any current professional players?
Are there any current professional players on the forum who could enlighten us?
Is it possible that some professionals can switch equipment without worrying too much and maybe others are very sensitive.
I read somewhere that when a pro tries a new blade they have about 10 of the same blade try them all and pick the 3 they like best!
I know two players, and I have seen their blades, who are top pros and use Butterfly blades where the handles were changed to match their sponsor's brand.
Yes, a player with a higher ranking can negotiate more things. But that doesn't mean that the player is not forced to use the equipment of the sponsor. And it is not about being a top player, it is about what is in the contract. Some players ask for clauses to let them use equipment that they play best with but some companies refuse. Tibhar is especially notorious for refusing to let players use equipment from other brands.
I know two players, and I have seen their blades, who are top pros and use Butterfly blades where the handles were changed to match their sponsor's brand.
Yes, a player with a higher ranking can negotiate more things. But that doesn't mean that the player is not forced to use the equipment of the sponsor. And it is not about being a top player, it is about what is in the contract. Some players ask for clauses to let them use equipment that they play best with but some companies refuse. Tibhar is especially notorious for refusing to let players use equipment from other brands.
Yogi is focused on discussing flagship players who are going to be the center of attention for marketing and have blades named after them, etc. This is a very small proportion of all sponsored players. And even still, in many of these examples, they are still forced to use their equipment. I doubt that Xiom was going to let Hugo use whatever he wants for years on end, no matter how flexible they were at the early stages of the transition period.
I can't believe this is having to be discussed ad nauseam because someone who admittedly doesn't know how equipment sponsorships work started spewing off theories about what pro players do when it comes to changing equipment or meeting sponsor demands.
we have different perspectives here but at the end of the day there are players that are forced and some players that are forced. although, to say that they are all forced to change equipment is very incorrect. even if you cite an example of player having a butterfly blade with a different handle. I will take make FZD's infinity blade before with a viscaria blade. even if you changed the handle to infinity the fact remains it is still a different blade from the brand he represents. yes you will go back again to your argument that it depends on the contract but it does not remove the fact that top players have a much more leg room or choices.
And top players/flagship names are a tiny proportion of all sponsored players so it is not really worth focusing on just that small bit. What you are saying is not necessarily wrong, but if you look at this discussion in context of Lasta's original claims that sponsored players don't bother to try equipment from their own company, and that essentially all rubbers are created equal, I don't think you would be so passionately arguing what you are.
Carl do you not have any friends to practice with or do you live on top of a mountain alone??
Hi,"Player experience" is a computer science term, most often mentioned in game design. It's about maximizing the experience the player goes through when they play a game.
I'm borrowing the concept here to emphasize the importance of starting from the player's perspective when we talk about equipment and technique.
Below is what happens when you start from a purely physics standpoint, kinematics to be precise. All you need to do is follow the formula to play like Franziska and Niwa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO8Gb8LHkeg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogeTLjES9vY
As far as different rubbers....I have wanted to stay away from that discussion, but....there are plenty of rubbers that do everything well enough for me to use them. But that does not mean there isn't enough difference to matter. It means I can get by with less.
However, my experience is that T05 is really more consistent and better at what it does than most of the attempts from other brands in the past to duplicate what T05 can do. Maybe these days there rubbers that compare favorably or are better.
I have not tried any of the Dignics rubbers. But I would not be surprised, if a lot of top pros are using them, that there is a real reason that some our level may not be able to feel, but that the top pros can feel and they know why they are choosing the rubbers they choose.
I still think, one of the most interesting things in this whole discussion is what NextLevel was describing about how, with H3 you can get so much spin on low impact shots compared to the Euro rubbers. That leaves a lot of food for thought if you ask me.
I actually meant on high impact (I could have made a mistake). On low impact shots, you feel as if you aren't spinning unless you put in a lot of effort. But when looping really hard, you feel as if you can loop anything once you are willing to put in the effort.