Yasaka Rakza Z Review: Still a good hybrid rubber in 2026?

[victormanriquey]

I know it's being a while since Rakza Z came into the market, and since the TTD team did a fantastic review on it and compared the rubber to the Dignics 09c, but since I have played with the rubber for a fair amount of time (so it was an easy review), and the new Razka 7 Hard came into the market (so people have been asking me how the Rakza Z still is in 2026), I thought to make a quick in-depth review of it.

I used the Yasaka Sweden Extra and the DHS Wang Chuqin to review it this time, having tried it before on the Nittaku Violin and Acoustic, and the DHS Long 3. It was first on the YSE, and then moved it to the WCQ (which has a different head size), it's not like I don't know how to cut rubbers if you notice that in the blog photo (which is a bit true anyways hahaha).

Anyways, probably not a super controversial post this time, I still think is a good and controlled linear hybrid rubber in 2026, and I also still think that it has more control and a better price than the Dignics 09c for example, and that for many medium level amateurs, the difference will not justify the price increase. But you can let me know what you think as always, I enjoy a good conversation, so bring it on!

Here is the full review: https://www.tabletennisequipmenthelp.com/blog/rakza-z-review

And here is the TL;DR if you are in a hurry or don't want to click on the whole thing:

Category	Rakza Z
Weight	On the heavier side, usually around 52g cut
Sponge feeling	Hard hybrid sponge feeling but feels softer than what Yasaka says it is
Spin potential	Very high, it's one of the key characteristics of the rubber
Speed & Gears	High gears, medium-slow at first, fast if you activate it properly
Throw angle	High-ish throw, but not as high as Dignics 09c
Loops	Very good for any kind of loops
Serves	A lot of spin and control on serves
Flicks	Easy backhand flicks due to higher throw angle
Pushes	A lot of spin on wrist-based pushes, can drop ball short easily
Blocks	Easier to block than with Dignics 09c, but not super easy
Flat hits	Not the best rubber for flat hitting
Boosting	Not needed for amateur players
Price	Average, usually around 40-50 euros
Durability	Very good, lasts a long time

Hope you like it and let me know your thoughts!

Thanks,

Victor

PS. Next on the roadmap is Nuzn 45/48, and also Bluegrip C2/S2, with comparisons on those, and after that, I have things like Loki Arthur China, Big Dipper V, Sanwei Gear, and a lot more, so I won't be bored for a while

 

[K.K]

rakza z is a good rubber, but a bit too slow and the hand feeling the rubbers creates is not good, feels muted.
all those softer hybrids have problems with power generation and i think a normal rubber would be better in that hardness. if you go harder the picture changes and i think something like rakza z extra hard is the overall better rubber. pricewise i would rather buy vega china instead, because yasaka rubbers are a bit too expensive for what you get

 

[Lula]

Think the arc of the ball was way to high. Very unatural blocking backhand.

 

[kapahoo]

Too heavy, otherwise great.

 

[Table10Ice]

Too heavy, otherwise great.

Thank you, kapahoo! From here on I might have a new nickname for my wife! 🤔

 

[victormanriquey]

rakza z is a good rubber, but a bit too slow and the hand feeling the rubbers creates is not good, feels muted.
all those softer hybrids have problems with power generation and i think a normal rubber would be better in that hardness. if you go harder the picture changes and i think something like rakza z extra hard is the overall better rubber. pricewise i would rather buy vega china instead, because yasaka rubbers are a bit too expensive for what you get

Yeah hybrid rubbers are different than your normal tensors, also this is a particularly linear hybrid so it accentuates that feeling.

The EH is good too, maybe I ll review it another day. Vega china review is coming soonish! I have the rubber at home ready to go

 

[victormanriquey]

Think the arc of the ball was way to high. Very unatural blocking backhand.

Yep one of the main issues is the throw, that's why I mentioned it needs adjustment time, it's a bit tough in the beginning but I personally enjoy the high-ish throw for flicks and opening loops, I didnt find it too extreme I had a tougher time on 09c for that same topic

 

[victormanriquey]

Too heavy, otherwise great.

Yep this is a good short tldr haha

 

[kapahoo]

Thank you, kapahoo! From here on I might have a new nickname for my wife! 🤔

You're welcome! 😅

 

[navuzor]

rakza z is a good rubber, but a bit too slow and the hand feeling the rubbers creates is not good, feels muted.
all those softer hybrids have problems with power generation and i think a normal rubber would be better in that hardness. if you go harder the picture changes and i think something like rakza z extra hard is the overall better rubber. pricewise i would rather buy vega china instead, because yasaka rubbers are a bit too expensive for what you get

How does the Vega china compares to rakza X in term of playing characteristics?

 

[maxtor]

Even Z extrahard is kind of "dead". Very good service, very good opening of downspin balls, but its following attacks are very easy to return. Realy hard to counter with good quality and speed.

 

[NextLevel]

I know it's being a while since Rakza Z came into the market, and since the TTD team did a fantastic review on it and compared the rubber to the Dignics 09c, but since I have played with the rubber for a fair amount of time (so it was an easy review), and the new Razka 7 Hard came into the market (so people have been asking me how the Rakza Z still is in 2026), I thought to make a quick in-depth review of it.

I used the Yasaka Sweden Extra and the DHS Wang Chuqin to review it this time, having tried it before on the Nittaku Violin and Acoustic, and the DHS Long 3. It was first on the YSE, and then moved it to the WCQ (which has a different head size), it's not like I don't know how to cut rubbers if you notice that in the blog photo (which is a bit true anyways hahaha).

Anyways, probably not a super controversial post this time, I still think is a good and controlled linear hybrid rubber in 2026, and I also still think that it has more control and a better price than the Dignics 09c for example, and that for many medium level amateurs, the difference will not justify the price increase. But you can let me know what you think as always, I enjoy a good conversation, so bring it on!

Here is the full review: https://www.tabletennisequipmenthelp.com/blog/rakza-z-review

And here is the TL;DR if you are in a hurry or don't want to click on the whole thing:

Category	Rakza Z
Weight	On the heavier side, usually around 52g cut
Sponge feeling	Hard hybrid sponge feeling but feels softer than what Yasaka says it is
Spin potential	Very high, it's one of the key characteristics of the rubber
Speed & Gears	High gears, medium-slow at first, fast if you activate it properly
Throw angle	High-ish throw, but not as high as Dignics 09c
Loops	Very good for any kind of loops
Serves	A lot of spin and control on serves
Flicks	Easy backhand flicks due to higher throw angle
Pushes	A lot of spin on wrist-based pushes, can drop ball short easily
Blocks	Easier to block than with Dignics 09c, but not super easy
Flat hits	Not the best rubber for flat hitting
Boosting	Not needed for amateur players
Price	Average, usually around 40-50 euros
Durability	Very good, lasts a long time

Hope you like it and let me know your thoughts!

Thanks,

Victor

PS. Next on the roadmap is Nuzn 45/48, and also Bluegrip C2/S2, with comparisons on those, and after that, I have things like Loki Arthur China, Big Dipper V, Sanwei Gear, and a lot more, so I won't be bored for a while

I don't know about having a lower throw angle than 09c, maybe for your technique. It's less controversial but this is also an inferior rubber to Dignics 09c in terms of speed and for the Extra Hard version, weight. Durability is good but also debatable, 09c plays better when stickiness is lost for both. Z is easier to spin with but much harder to kill the ball with as well. Basically, Rakza Z will not be on the forehand of a strong player and likely not on the backhand for many with dynamic backhands as well as Z plays with a speed limit. As someone who used and committed to Rakza Z, it is not in the same class as Dignics 09c, and definitely better suited to a certain kind of amateur, but that same kind of amateur will struggle to produce the kinds of shots they need to get better it so in my experience, it locks you into a specialist style. But again, everyone is different.

 

[victormanriquey]

How does the Vega china compares to rakza X in term of playing characteristics?

I think you meant Rakza Z right @navuzor ? I can tell you soon, I have only tried vega china once, and my memory of it is like a H3N but a bit livelier and heavy rubber, but since i have one sheet at home ready to test in depth soon, I will let you know

 

[victormanriquey]

Even Z extrahard is kind of "dead". Very good service, very good opening of downspin balls, but its following attacks are very easy to return. Realy hard to counter with good quality and speed.

Yes Rakza Z (EH) is not a rubber to overpower the opponent, it can go fast if you hit into it, but it does not have the same quality as something like D09c, it also costs way less so they have different audiences

 

[victormanriquey]

I don't know about having a lower throw angle than 09c, maybe for your technique. It's less controversial but this is also an inferior rubber to Dignics 09c in terms of speed and for the Extra Hard version, weight. Durability is good but also debatable, 09c plays better when stickiness is lost for both. Z is easier to spin with but much harder to kill the ball with as well. Basically, Rakza Z will not be on the forehand of a strong player and likely not on the backhand for many with dynamic backhands as well as Z plays with a speed limit. As someone who used and committed to Rakza Z, it is not in the same class as Dignics 09c, and definitely better suited to a certain kind of amateur, but that same kind of amateur will struggle to produce the kinds of shots they need to get better it so in my experience, it locks you into a specialist style. But again, everyone is different.

Yeah for me it's definitely lower, not like a world of difference, but with D09c you get surprised when you test it at first, I was like 'whoa that throws high' and with Rakza Z afterwards I was like 'okey a bit easier to control that throw'. So I guess that's how I would describe the first impression, and during the next months I still thought it was like that.

I know this one would be less controversial, Rakza Z is more linear in all senses, has less juice to discuss haha And agreed, D09c has more speed and spin, durability if found quite all right, 4-5 months it lasted last time, not bad at all compared to other hybrids (like K3). Also yes, RZ is easier to spin and not a ball killer, it's an inbetween rubber for many people including me when I was developing backhand.

I do wonder @NextLevel , can you specify what you mean with 'certain kind of amateur' and 'locks you into a specialist style'? I'm curious whats behind that

 

[NextLevel]

Yeah for me it's definitely lower, not like a world of difference, but with D09c you get surprised when you test it at first, I was like 'whoa that throws high' and with Rakza Z afterwards I was like 'okey a bit easier to control that throw'. So I guess that's how I would describe the first impression, and during the next months I still thought it was like that.

I know this one would be less controversial, Rakza Z is more linear in all senses, has less juice to discuss haha And agreed, D09c has more speed and spin, durability if found quite all right, 4-5 months it lasted last time, not bad at all compared to other hybrids (like K3). Also yes, RZ is easier to spin and not a ball killer, it's an inbetween rubber for many people including me when I was developing backhand.

I do wonder @NextLevel , can you specify what you mean with 'certain kind of amateur' and 'locks you into a specialist style'? I'm curious whats behind that

You will almost never hit a ball that the opponent can't block. Trust me I have tried.

 

[Novarac23]

I’ve been using Rakza Z for about 3ish months on my FH. My reasoning of choosing this is that I wanted to get something that will help me with the backspin when I open up (especially on heavy pushes). My FH is still very much developing so take this with a grain of salt but topspin to topspin rally if I properly engage the sponge, ,while not 09c level, has plenty of speed. Yes it is slower, especially on the lower gears, but when sponge was properly engaged (which is hard because it requires your footwork to be good / your body in the right place) is plenty fast for my level. I could see though for folks > 1800/1900 it might start to be a limiting factor on the high end Of gears.

For example yesterday I played a match against a 1800 USATT guys with 2 09c and an MK carbon (outer carbon blade). I remember one point specifically where he opened up on the FH side, I moved my body in the right pplace, ripped through the ball (I could feel the ball sinking into the sponge) and that ball flew past by him.

 

[victormanriquey]

I’ve been using Rakza Z for about 3ish months on my FH. My reasoning of choosing this is that I wanted to get something that will help me with the backspin when I open up (especially on heavy pushes). My FH is still very much developing so take this with a grain of salt but topspin to topspin rally if I properly engage the sponge, ,while not 09c level, has plenty of speed. Yes it is slower, especially on the lower gears, but when sponge was properly engaged (which is hard because it requires your footwork to be good / your body in the right place) is plenty fast for my level. I could see though for folks > 1800/1900 it might start to be a limiting factor on the high end Of gears.

Yep I agree with this @Novarac23 , I think usually at that level or a big higher you may wanna consider 09c from the same philosophy or faster hybrids.

For example yesterday I played a match against a 1800 USATT guys with 2 09c and an MK carbon (outer carbon blade). I remember one point specifically where he opened up on the FH side, I moved my body in the right pplace, ripped through the ball (I could feel the ball sinking into the sponge) and that ball flew past by him.

Yeah I can relate to this as well

 

[NextLevel]

I’ve been using Rakza Z for about 3ish months on my FH. My reasoning of choosing this is that I wanted to get something that will help me with the backspin when I open up (especially on heavy pushes). My FH is still very much developing so take this with a grain of salt but topspin to topspin rally if I properly engage the sponge, ,while not 09c level, has plenty of speed. Yes it is slower, especially on the lower gears, but when sponge was properly engaged (which is hard because it requires your footwork to be good / your body in the right place) is plenty fast for my level. I could see though for folks > 1800/1900 it might start to be a limiting factor on the high end Of gears.

For example yesterday I played a match against a 1800 USATT guys with 2 09c and an MK carbon (outer carbon blade). I remember one point specifically where he opened up on the FH side, I moved my body in the right pplace, ripped through the ball (I could feel the ball sinking into the sponge) and that ball flew past by him.

Oh I know those shots. When you can teach me how to produce them, let me know and I will try the rubber again. Thanks.

 

[Novarac23]

Oh I know those shots. When you can teach me how to produce them, let me know and I will try the rubber again. Thanks.

To be fair, this was my first time ever in my life being able to produce a shot like that in a game. It could have been just pure luck! In general I did notice that if I just hit the ball without really thinking about "activating" the sponge the rubber feels incredibly slow on my Tibhar Samsonov Black Force Pro 7 ply blade, but once I dig into the sponge it seems to me like it goes reallllly fast