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True. Yet for me, a slightly toned down T05 is a better T05. That’s not a matter of price at all. I don’t know at which level that tradeoff becomes a positive one, but am fairly certain it’s a rather high one. Ito Mima, iirc, uses G-1 on her FH, and I don’t think it lacks the pressure needed...

My old, still highly revered coach keeps hammering in his mantra: VPS (“vastheid, plaatsing, snelheid/spin”) - i.e. consistency, placement, shot quality. In that order. We all like and are drawn towards the big shots, the spectacular rallies. On all but the highest levels, everything hinges on...

Just my €0,02. I’ve settled on G-1 on the BH, at 1.8mm. Its firmnesss gives me confidence in service reception. When opening up or counterspinning, the shot quality I get is high. The spin generated often surprises my opponents. My game is not just spin. I like to step in and flat hit -...

I see a lot of things, but the overarching issue (in my eyes) is a general lack of stability. There are footworkproblems, technical issues, but the one thing that strikes me is a tendency to back away from the ball at the point of impact.

The Arctic Wood felt surprisingly good to me; more so than the Celero. I absolutely loved my ‘Offensive Wood’ (with the Kjell Johansson handle), but me and the Offensive Classic did not click.

Kallberg on a roll there.

Brokenball, you keep pointing fingers elsewhere, even hinting at xenophobic slurs. Your freedom to move your fist ends where my nose starts. You’re free to smoke, but not on the bus. Your behaviour is not setting a good example. You make it sound like a tough guy boast; but it is simply...

Actually, nothing, realistically. I think at some point one has to let go of the illusion of control. I shouldn't have contracted it from my daughter 14 days after she was in the clear; but I did. She shouldn't, unexpectedly, have been forced out of the clinic she was in; but she was. Could...

These are scary things, and if you live long enough chances of encountering one of these are substantial enough to justify that. However, right now the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is the more imminent threat, I'd say. Anecdotal, but since it concerns myself I can attest to its truth and am willing to...

Amazing how this gets politicized. Wacky hoe basic sanitary measures in the midst of a pandemic that’s on the verge of collapsing the health care system gets equated to an infringement. We need to stop that, folks. No, strike that. We need to take many steps back and stop there.

My wandering mind takes me back to the 38mm celluloid days, when we trained with Double Circle (you don't want to know how we pronounced that back then) balls, and played matches with the Schildkröt ball. I can't recall a better one, at that time.

I like the Lezolines. Then again, I liked a cheapish store brand, Artengo, equally well for similar requirements and bought a few pairs so I can air them extensively before reuse. [edited to fix brand name spelling error]

I was saddened today to read about the demise of Jacques Secrétin, at 71 years of age. Secrétin was a great player in his own right, winner of many tournaments, a long-time fixture in the world top 10, winner of 61 french championship titles, a personality in TT, and an inspiration in bringing...

Well, you gotta flick it. Or you can spin it. You gotta take that extra step before you spin it. So say Roula, with fingers aplenty twenty. It is known.

No, that’s not what the triceps do. They might aid in shortening the stroke and a faster recovery. Ito reads spin well and plays smart. She denies choppers the spin to work with, choosing speed over spin.

Isn't burl wood considerably more irregular than wood with a normal grain?

I found my “n is alpha and omega” blade a couple of years ago and haven’t felt tempted towards another since. Sometimes a rubber piques some interest and if it crosses my path then I sometimes play with it for a while. I find that I have equal fun playing with these, and can mention a few...

Yeah @MOG, but I was keeping a straight face and playing along.

I think a blade can be harder on one and softer on the other side. But I don’t think a blade can be flexy on one side, but stiff on the other. Similarly, I don’t think it can have a different weight or a different center of gravity on both wings. That’s just not possible.

Timo Boll OFF Vladimir Samsonov ALL+ Lin Yun Ju OFF+ Alexander Shibaev OFF+++++ (“red haze” territory) Gionis Panagiotis ALL John Hilton ALL- Evgueni Chtchetinine DEF Vincent Purkart DEF— Desmond Douglas OFF- Mima Ito OFF++ Hina Hayata OFF+ Ding Ning OFF Liu Shiwen OFF+ Ni Xialian ALL-