My Butterfly Dignics 09C Review: Why I think that most amateur players should avoid it

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I think that I have already explained to you in another thread my coaching experience on both the technique and gear aspects but since you ask again, I dont mind answering again.

I have been the coach of our amateurs for 2y now. We have grown the group from a small 15 people to about 40 since I'm there, it's so successful that we need another day for the training because we don't fit anymore. I don't want to brag, this is the reality. Also, our amateur teams have started winning and promoting much more, now 3 of them promoted last season where before none of them had promoted before. These people range from beginners to intermediate players, let's say until 1800 USATT. And about me, I play at the second highest regional level in the netherlands, have won a tournament recently of level about 2000 USATT and have trained at multiple places including borussia dusseldorf last year (and again this year). I always say though, I am and will be an amateur, I learn every day, I stay always humble (the above is objective data, I never will say this unless you ask me, I hate bragging), I'm not perfect, but I train hard and have an inmense passion to help others. That is what matters to me the most.

About gear, I have tried more than 100 rubbers and blades combined, and have now about 30 more ready to be tested at home. I have now given advice on gear for about 2 years, and if you look at my google reviews, you will see it's all 5 stars. I dont buy any reviews, it's all real people I have helped and are happy. I can give you his emails if you want to ask yourself ;)

Not sure how much more data I can provide, is there anything else you'd like me to comment on? I'm happy to do so :)
The good thing is you are helping people. The bad thing is that the actual impact of these equipment recommendations vs the impact of coaching, I dunno. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people, likely including myself, play with stuff that is likely suboptimal for them. What that means however in the big scheme of playing level is in my humble opinion far smaller than many people think it is vs coaching. Obviously, there are Sabine Winter level equipment changes that radically impact playing level and confidence. But more often, equipment changes leave you 100 points within where you started which is significant in the big scheme of things, but not as significant as the impact of coaching.
 
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I was now thinking, since I always get some heat from you @ThePongCommenter and @NextLevel , why dont I give you free advice on gear and technique and we put it here in the forum so other people can see it? It's the easiest way to show you all how I work and I really dont mind doing it for free so everybody has an example, it would be my pleasure to try to help :)
I think the very point of dispute is whether this is of any real value vs the amount of hours I have spent training etc. I often win matches after changing equipment, and then come back to earth. I need many more hours to play than I currently do - I am lucky to play twice a week.
 
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The good thing is you are helping people. The bad thing is that the actual impact of these equipment recommendations vs the impact of coaching, I dunno. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people, likely including myself, play with stuff that is likely suboptimal for them. What that means however in the big scheme of playing level is in my humble opinion far smaller than many people think it is vs coaching. Obviously, there are Sabine Winter level equipment changes that radically impact playing level and confidence. But more often, equipment changes leave you 100 points within where you started which is significant in the big scheme of things, but not as significant as the impact of coaching.
Thanks, and all good, I understand your perspective and I respect it. For me however, since I help people on both, I believe and have seen it's a combination, with the wrong gear people do not improve as fast, and indeed often players have a suboptimal setup, but sometimes it's not that bad so impact is small. It's worse if you just got started (like me in the beginning) and get a viscaria and no coaching :)
 
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Thanks, and all good, I understand your perspective and I respect it. For me however, since I help people on both, I believe and have seen it's a combination, with the wrong gear people do not improve as fast, and indeed often players have a suboptimal setup, but sometimes it's not that bad so impact is small. It's worse if you just got started (like me in the beginning) and get a viscaria and no coaching :)
Every coach has a philosophical approach to these things. Sometimes it can lead them to discount things they haven't seen which or to find explanations which are not what others might see if given all the data. For example there are some coaches who do not give a student as much attention if the student doesnt play with or how they want. Or who after a student does good with something they thought impossible just say "but he would be much better if he had started with Mark V on a 5 ply all wood all speed blade". I have always felt that it is easier to teach someone who uses things you are familiar with. Though some rare coaches know how yo train ball quality even in amateurs without respect to a hard-core technical or equipment framework - the biomechanics they approve of are wider and they just make sure that the student isn't killing themselves but try to get a better ball.

All just my way of saying with aomething this complicated, the good thing is you are helping people. The details ultimately, maybe one day we will have someone who is truly scientific about it.
 
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Great thread. I only have personal anecdotes since I have used many rubbers discussed in this thread.

When I was only rated 1000 USATT, a local coach recommended I get Viscaria+Tenergy 05 on forehand (and tenergy 19) on backhand. I never ended up taking lessons with him, go figure. But soon after, I did acquire an even better coach. I remember he asked me what kind of paddle I had, he wasn't really happy when i told him what I just purchase but he was still willing to work with me.

Anyways, I trained with him semi-regularly, as much as a I could as a 31 year old guy with multiple jobs. I went from 1000 USATT to 1500 in approx one year, all with my viscaria/tenergy 05+19 setup. Then my coach moved away. dang it.

Then I remembered a club mate let me try his set up, he had hurricane on his paddle. i instantly fell in love with the "slingshot" sensation from the rubber. Next week i put h3n on both of my Viscaria's on the forehand. I also switched to d09c on the backhand. I gained my next 200 points over the next 18 months. I remember I used to say that d09c and boosted hurricane were really similar (but I only used d09c on my backhand, and h3n on my forehand). Progress was not as fast as I would like, but I didn't have a regular coach anymore, and I was only able to train 1-2 times week. Either way, I was happy to still be progressing, even if slower than I wanted.

Then at the beginning of 2025, I switched to h3n 38 degree on my backhand (because I was sick of paying the high price for d09c, and from then until now, I've gained a little over 150 rating points. give or take the dips i experience from time to time. I was able to do this while being a new father and practicing significantly less than before my son came into my life.

For me, there is definitely a difference between d09c and h3n (boosted). even 38 degree hurricane is harder than d09c, which for me means I have to swing a lot harder if i want to engage the rubber. Its easier to do a dead block with h3n, or change the pace in general. Its easier to touch the return short. Its easier to get really spinny short serves with my backhand. but its also a lot easier to miss into the net if i don't have a proper stroke.

The one thing about hurricane is there is no real science to boosting. this weekend, i reboosted my rubbers, and i felt like i was missing a lot more balls than normal because of the added speed. i suppose now that i'm 1850, i'm able to make the proper adjustments, but if i was using d09c, i wouldn't have to make those same sort of adjustments. the rubber would just slowly die off until i eventually switched to a new rubber.

Either way. i'm sticking with hurricane because its cheaper, and its more fun for me, espeically when i hit a top class loop on forehand or backhand. maybe ive slowed my progress, but i'm a dad in my mid 30s. i'm not going pro. at my tournament, i got second place in the 1950 event and won 75$. that was basically enough to take my wife to a steak dinner at texas roadhouse, and that made me and the wife happy lol.
 
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using a 1700 EJ as reference is quite funny to me it seems ;)
Vs Fan Zhendong? Or Timo Boll?

No one is using him as a reference, you have to read the posts to understand what he is being used for and whether how he is being used has any relevance. He was originally being used as an example of the ridiculousness of having someone use a rubber with which he is not familiar (Tibhar K3 Pro) with for a short period without a commitment to adapt to it and throwing it away as an evaluation of how good the actual rubber is. And I did that because a similar story was being offered as hard evidence of D09c's limitations..

Now I just found the fact musclepong switched to 09c and thought it was funny enough to post a followup video. Coming from Nittaku Hurricane (Turbo I think though) boosted. So far, no complaints for what it is worth. But again, in the big scheme of things, anything about him has as much weight as Fan Zhendong saying Zyre is not a good rubber. The main thing is to know where they are coming from so you can take what they say in the right context.
 
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, but i'm a dad in my mid 30s. i'm not going pro. at my tournament, i got second place in the 1950 event and won 75$. that was basically enough to take my wife to a steak dinner at texas roadhouse, and that made me and the wife happy lol.
I loved the whole post @Jslick89 but this is the part that got me, my wife let me go to a day tournament in january and I won too, I won zero euros though, but I paid dinner anyways to make her happy and thank her so I could go :))
 
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Great thread. I only have personal anecdotes since I have used many rubbers discussed in this thread.

When I was only rated 1000 USATT, a local coach recommended I get Viscaria+Tenergy 05 on forehand (and tenergy 19) on backhand. I never ended up taking lessons with him, go figure. But soon after, I did acquire an even better coach. I remember he asked me what kind of paddle I had, he wasn't really happy when i told him what I just purchase but he was still willing to work with me.

Anyways, I trained with him semi-regularly, as much as a I could as a 31 year old guy with multiple jobs. I went from 1000 USATT to 1500 in approx one year, all with my viscaria/tenergy 05+19 setup. Then my coach moved away. dang it.

Then I remembered a club mate let me try his set up, he had hurricane on his paddle. i instantly fell in love with the "slingshot" sensation from the rubber. Next week i put h3n on both of my Viscaria's on the forehand. I also switched to d09c on the backhand. I gained my next 200 points over the next 18 months. I remember I used to say that d09c and boosted hurricane were really similar (but I only used d09c on my backhand, and h3n on my forehand). Progress was not as fast as I would like, but I didn't have a regular coach anymore, and I was only able to train 1-2 times week. Either way, I was happy to still be progressing, even if slower than I wanted.

Then at the beginning of 2025, I switched to h3n 38 degree on my backhand (because I was sick of paying the high price for d09c, and from then until now, I've gained a little over 150 rating points. give or take the dips i experience from time to time. I was able to do this while being a new father and practicing significantly less than before my son came into my life.

For me, there is definitely a difference between d09c and h3n (boosted). even 38 degree hurricane is harder than d09c, which for me means I have to swing a lot harder if i want to engage the rubber. Its easier to do a dead block with h3n, or change the pace in general. Its easier to touch the return short. Its easier to get really spinny short serves with my backhand. but its also a lot easier to miss into the net if i don't have a proper stroke.

The one thing about hurricane is there is no real science to boosting. this weekend, i reboosted my rubbers, and i felt like i was missing a lot more balls than normal because of the added speed. i suppose now that i'm 1850, i'm able to make the proper adjustments, but if i was using d09c, i wouldn't have to make those same sort of adjustments. the rubber would just slowly die off until i eventually switched to a new rubber.

Either way. i'm sticking with hurricane because its cheaper, and its more fun for me, espeically when i hit a top class loop on forehand or backhand. maybe ive slowed my progress, but i'm a dad in my mid 30s. i'm not going pro. at my tournament, i got second place in the 1950 event and won 75$. that was basically enough to take my wife to a steak dinner at texas roadhouse, and that made me and the wife happy lol.
Jslick89, anecdotes like yours, mine, @victormanriquey etc. are all important (we just shouldn't confuse them with scientific data without having done serious research). Everything you wrote is aligned with traditional wisdom. I have played tournament TT for roughly 15 years now, spent and bought and tested a ton of rubbers. Reviewed sometimes online a ton of rubbers. I wish I had realized I could turn it into a business model, maybe I would be coaching TT now instead of looking for work. But seriously, for many of the reasons you listed, I went to tacky rubbers. I broke USATT 2000 when the plastic ball came out using Yinhe Big Dipper on a Samsonov Force Pro Blue edition. In fact, I suspect I would be the Hurricane 3 on both sides player if I had a lower body that didn't hurt when I trained it hard. That said, I would be lying to you if I didn't point out I have beaten good players with both faster and slower rubbers than that,

I have a better backhand than forehand and I have played with 40 degree H3 on both sides of my paddle as recently as 2 years ago. One of my best friends thinks I should play with Skyline TG3 on both sides because it suits me well. I don't boost though. And I am at a level where if I don't boost, those rubbers mean I have to do certain things to work harder (this is why my coach made me use Dignics 80 on both sides). I know Hurrricane is not the same as D09c. The beauty of Hurricane is its quasi-linearity. And linearity is something I love in a rubber. But when you get to a certain level and the demands of speed are also important, the balance between linearity control becomes largely dependent on how much you can get out of your rubber in both directions. Health also matters too of course, people who complain about the non-linearity of 09c or japanese rubbers often change their mind when they have to make loops and blocks from 6 feet off the table with short strokes.. The good thing is that there are world class players using H3 on Carbon blades so it is not impossible. We even have some H3 trained users in Texas and their balls are just impossible because the level of physicality is different (they are 2200+ though). I can play like that on a good day for 30 minutes and then become a waste after that for a week. But I will say it again - if Fan Zhendong had not used D09c on his forehand during his period of having issues on tibhar tables, including using it on both sides for one match, some people would have continued this argument that H3 and D09c are so dissimilar because no top Chinese player can play with D09c on forehand for this and that reason. Ultimately, it comes down to what problems are you trying to solve and what gets you there. You can even get better with H3, and then retain that level moving to other rubbers - surprising but true.

Looking at Zezima play, I am now inspired to try Tenergy 19. Wish me luck lol!
 
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All this discussion did was to make me want to throw to the bin my Butterfly boycott and try Dignics 09C on my backhand. Or should I just directly try Zyre? @Gozo Calderano you decide for me.
Then someone find me a place where I can buy a new Dignics or Zyre for 50 euros (and get it delivered to Spain) maximum please :D
 
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I loved the whole post @Jslick89 but this is the part that got me, my wife let me go to a day tournament in january and I won too, I won zero euros though, but I paid dinner anyways to make her happy and thank her so I could go :))
Don't worry victor, i also take my wife to dinner after tournament, even if i win zero dollars. Funnily enough, if i want to play an extra day of table tennis during the week, it usually costs me a "wife's trip to Sephora" or Target. And I thought table tennis was supposed to be a relatively cheap hobby LOL.

Jslick89, anecdotes like yours, mine, @victormanriquey etc. are all important (we just shouldn't confuse them with scientific data without having done serious research). Everything you wrote is aligned with traditional wisdom. I have played tournament TT for roughly 15 years now, spent and bought and tested a ton of rubbers. Reviewed sometimes online a ton of rubbers. I wish I had realized I could turn it into a business model, maybe I would be coaching TT now instead of looking for work. But seriously, for many of the reasons you listed, I went to tacky rubbers. I broke USATT 2000 when the plastic ball came out using Yinhe Big Dipper on a Samsonov Force Pro Blue edition. In fact, I suspect I would be the Hurricane 3 on both sides player if I had a lower body that didn't hurt when I trained it hard. That said, I would be lying to you if I didn't point out I have beaten good players with both faster and slower rubbers than that,

I have a better backhand than forehand and I have played with 40 degree H3 on both sides of my paddle as recently as 2 years ago. One of my best friends thinks I should play with Skyline TG3 on both sides because it suits me well. I don't boost though. And I am at a level where if I don't boost, those rubbers mean I have to do certain things to work harder (this is why my coach made me use Dignics 80 on both sides). I know Hurrricane is not the same as D09c. The beauty of Hurricane is its quasi-linearity. And linearity is something I love in a rubber. But when you get to a certain level and the demands of speed are also important, the balance between linearity control becomes largely dependent on how much you can get out of your rubber in both directions. Health also matters too of course, people who complain about the non-linearity of 09c or japanese rubbers often change their mind when they have to make loops and blocks from 3 feet off the table with short strokes.. The good thing is that there are world class players using H3 on Carbon blades so it is not impossible. We even have some H3 trained users in Texas and their balls are just impossible because the level of physicality is different (they are 2200+ though). I can play like that on a good day for 30 minutes and then become a waste after that for a week. But I will say it again - if Fan Zhendong had not used D09c on his forehand during his period of having issues on tibhar tables, including using it on both sides for one match, some people would have continued this argument that H3 and D09c are so dissimilar because no top Chinese player can play with D09c on forehand for this and that reason. Ultimately, it comes down to what problems are you trying to solve and what gets you there. You can even get better with H3, and then retain that level moving to other rubbers - surprising but true.

Looking at Zezima play, I am now inspired to try Tenergy 19. Wish me luck lol!
I think you and me are in agreement. h3n and d09c are similar enough but not the same, although i'm not sure if the pros are the best measuring stick for any of us since they can pick up any paddle and kick all our asses, but FZD did prove that you can play at the highest level with both rubbers.

Pretty beastly of you to play with 40 degree h3 on backhand lol. 38 degrees is definitely a stretch for me but ive been growing into it over the past year. My backhand has definitely improved because I have to make the correct stroke and use the full kinetic chain. but its at the cost of missing more balls long or into the net. You make an interesting point to take the things you learn with one rubber and translate into the next. maybe i'll try that one day next year when i get through my stash of h3n. these rubbers last so long lol.
 
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Don't worry victor, i also take my wife to dinner after tournament, even if i win zero dollars. Funnily enough, if i want to play an extra day of table tennis during the week, it usually costs me a "wife's trip to Sephora" or Target. And I thought table tennis was supposed to be a relatively cheap hobby LOL.
I just give my wife all my prize money at this point. It rarely covers my entry fee, it is more just a sign that I am not so terrible at table tennis that wasting my time playing has been all for naught,
 
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Jslick89, anecdotes like yours, mine, @victormanriquey etc. are all important (we just shouldn't confuse them with scientific data without having done serious research). Everything you wrote is aligned with traditional wisdom. I have played tournament TT for roughly 15 years now, spent and bought and tested a ton of rubbers. Reviewed sometimes online a ton of rubbers. I wish I had realized I could turn it into a business model, maybe I would be coaching TT now instead of looking for work. But seriously, for many of the reasons you listed, I went to tacky rubbers. I broke USATT 2000 when the plastic ball came out using Yinhe Big Dipper on a Samsonov Force Pro Blue edition. In fact, I suspect I would be the Hurricane 3 on both sides player if I had a lower body that didn't hurt when I trained it hard. That said, I would be lying to you if I didn't point out I have beaten good players with both faster and slower rubbers than that,

I have a better backhand than forehand and I have played with 40 degree H3 on both sides of my paddle as recently as 2 years ago. One of my best friends thinks I should play with Skyline TG3 on both sides because it suits me well. I don't boost though. And I am at a level where if I don't boost, those rubbers mean I have to do certain things to work harder (this is why my coach made me use Dignics 80 on both sides). I know Hurrricane is not the same as D09c. The beauty of Hurricane is its quasi-linearity. And linearity is something I love in a rubber. But when you get to a certain level and the demands of speed are also important, the balance between linearity control becomes largely dependent on how much you can get out of your rubber in both directions. Health also matters too of course, people who complain about the non-linearity of 09c or japanese rubbers often change their mind when they have to make loops and blocks from 6 feet off the table with short strokes.. The good thing is that there are world class players using H3 on Carbon blades so it is not impossible. We even have some H3 trained users in Texas and their balls are just impossible because the level of physicality is different (they are 2200+ though). I can play like that on a good day for 30 minutes and then become a waste after that for a week. But I will say it again - if Fan Zhendong had not used D09c on his forehand during his period of having issues on tibhar tables, including using it on both sides for one match, some people would have continued this argument that H3 and D09c are so dissimilar because no top Chinese player can play with D09c on forehand for this and that reason. Ultimately, it comes down to what problems are you trying to solve and what gets you there. You can even get better with H3, and then retain that level moving to other rubbers - surprising but true.

Looking at Zezima play, I am now inspired to try Tenergy 19. Wish me luck lol!
I enjoyed the read @NextLevel , indeed, quite impressive you could handle the 40 degrees on BH, I definitely would play worse with it, but I have a better FH than BH :)

And oh gosh! GL with that T19! hahaha I look forward to hearing the results!
All this discussion did was to make me want to throw to the bin my Butterfly boycott and try Dignics 09C on my backhand. Or should I just directly try Zyre? @Gozo Calderano you decide for me.
Then someone find me a place where I can buy a new Dignics or Zyre for 50 euros (and get it delivered to Spain) maximum please :D
Im in spain for a couple days visiting family, if you find two, send me one as well ;)

Don't worry victor, i also take my wife to dinner after tournament, even if i win zero dollars. Funnily enough, if i want to play an extra day of table tennis during the week, it usually costs me a "wife's trip to Sephora" or Target. And I thought table tennis was supposed to be a relatively cheap hobby LOL.
Hahaha this is so true, I will bring mine to the clothing stores, I have the strong feeling our wives would be good friends (and they can vent together about their husbands TT sillyness xD). Probably the wife of nextlevel can join as well haha
I think you and me are in agreement. h3n and d09c are similar enough but not the same, although i'm not sure if the pros are the best measuring stick for any of us since they can pick up any paddle and kick all our asses, but FZD did prove that you can play at the highest level with both rubbers.
I agree to this too :)
 
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I enjoyed the read @NextLevel , indeed, quite impressive you could handle the 40 degrees on BH, I definitely would play worse with it, but I have a better FH than BH :)
I played with D09c on my backhand when it first came out and during Covid, I trained with it and played the first covid tournament with it. My opponent's coaches in one match (2600+ players) said my forehand was awesome and my backhand sucked lol. So I caveat these things with saying that even if I used the rubber, it doesn't mean it was the best thing I could use or what I should be using. But if forced to pick between 37 and maybe even 38 degree Hurriciane or 40, I am going with the 40 sorry. I have to get someone who uses 37 degree to teach me how that works.

I surprisingly don't have any recorded matches from the tournament where I used H3 on both sides of a Cybershape. I do have matches with D09c backhand and Golden Tango backhand. But let me run off to go try Tenergy 19 right now - EJing for the win (just not the win in table tennis)!

EDIT: Looks like a tornado is coming through my area so I might have to stay at home,,, will see...
 
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All this discussion did was to make me want to throw to the bin my Butterfly boycott and try Dignics 09C on my backhand. Or should I just directly try Zyre? @Gozo Calderano you decide for me.
Then someone find me a place where I can buy a new Dignics or Zyre for 50 euros (and get it delivered to Spain) maximum please :D
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Yeah so before I became the coach most of them had no rating increase per year/season, our amateur players were very stuck on gear and technique and so I wanted to help because I was once in that position as well. This is sadly not a rare thing in dutch clubs from what I have experienced. @Tyce can comment from his point of view of the 'recreational' amateurs and low league players. By the way, not all were using too fast gear for them, some used too old gear too. And most needed technical tips as well ofc.

I've seen the Dutch club system from quite a few perspectives. As a youth player, then adolescent switching to seniors, coaching kids on matches from starters to nationals, working as an assistant-coach training kids and the occasional adult group. Nowadays I'm playing as a senior in a club where a high-level national player does the training sessions for both kids and (beginner) adults as well as accompanying national level kids on the international scene.

At most of the clubs, I'd say 80% or more, the situation is the same:

There's either no organized coaching, or once a week, and there's just enough resources to cater the absolute beginner (who you want to cater, because a club needs members to stay viable). When you outgrow the beginner group - that's it. You either keep training in that group, or you're on your own.

If you do have well organized coaching, there's a big correlation with having an actual junior group (most clubs only have senior teams), and the resources will go there (again, you want those, because junior members are long term investments).

I have yet to see a Dutch club in action that's both big enough to have resources left after catering to beginners and juniors, and then be willing to spend those resources on developing adults that would otherwise also just stay and pay. They probably exist, yet if there were more than 8-10 clubs doing that nationwide I would be highly surprised. (In comparison, there are over 8-10 clubs in the Rotterdam metropolitan region alone.)


This is partially due to the Dutch culture of "just don't stand out". We have multiple actual proverbs that will tell you to "stay at your level" despite (weirdly) not having a clearly defined class culture (like say our British neighbors have). Hopes, dreams, ambition, striving, those are things for kids. Adults just need to stick to what they can do. And as such, you will rarely see an adult who has been in the sport for more than 2-3 years still improve and climb the ranks.

So when someone like me, who started playing almost 30 years ago wants to improve, there isn't much response. I'm basically on my own. Private coaching sessions don't come cheap, I would pay more for 45m of coaching then I do for 2 months of club membership fee. And even then, coach only knows what equipment he's used to. Getting coached on fitting and equipment by someone who isn't trying to sell it to you, and has experience with several different styles of equipment, is pretty much unique.
 
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I could not help myself sharing this today

tl;dr: intermediate player, not much time to play, uses backhand to block passively, plays viscaria and D09c 2.1 on BH (and also on FH). Says he likes tacky rubbers but is looking into R7 and other tensors :D

This is for me a good example of people buying the wrong gear (due to not being well informed) for their level and playstyle, which then has consequences on their overall game (he says balls fly off the table as his main problem). It's of course quite extreme, but I see this almost daily on reddit :)
 
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I could not help myself sharing this today

tl;dr: intermediate player, not much time to play, uses backhand to block passively, plays viscaria and D09c 2.1 on BH (and also on FH). Says he likes tacky rubbers but is looking into R7 and other tensors :D

This is for me a good example of people buying the wrong gear (due to not being well informed) for their level and playstyle, which then has consequences on their overall game (he says balls fly off the table as his main problem). It's of course quite extreme, but I see this almost daily on reddit :)
Any video of him playing so we can diagnose whether his balls are flying off the table because of his equipment or his technique?
 
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Any video of him playing so we can diagnose whether his balls are flying off the table because of his equipment or his technique?
Not that he shared, I can ask, very likely his technique is not very good either of course, he is an intermediate that doesn't play too much, but my point was that what is this kind of player doing with such a setup, makes no sense at all
 
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