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There is a player at my club who is turning 90 soon as well I believe. Great to know that you've picked the sport that you will never be too old to enjoy

I find the outer wood layer to be just as important as where the carbon layer sits. Head size and how the blade is balanced too. For example, 3 blades I really liked the feeling of when I was looking to switch from wood to carbon were the Harimoto ALC, Ovtcharov ALC and Mizutani Jun ZLC. All 3...

If you want to break out of the low intermediate level in anything, it's important to play with the intent to improve, not just to win. Practicing improving the quality of key skills and deliberately trying to apply those skills in matches can often lead to mistakes, but it's also the best way...

I believe the Vega Europe is probably fairly similar to the R7 Soft. More like a different flavour of soft rubber but it will likely have similar spin/speed etc.

From your descriptions it sounds like an inner carbon blade will fit best. Maybe something with limba outer if you want to keep a soft touch.

I used Mark V HPS for about 2 months before using the R7. When I moved to the R7 it felt significantly better in almost every way. The HPS has fantastic control and is good for blocking, but it is not very well suited for a proactive attacking game. It felt nothing like a tensor to me. If I was...

Anywhere between 180-195g feels good to me. 180 feels a bit light but still good. Higher than 195g starts to feel a bit sluggish. Current setup is 188g, so fits pretty perfectly in that range.

I moved from R7 to G1, but like you mentioned the R7 is just really controlled. Considering getting a sheet of R7 Hard to test how it feels compared to the G1 myself

Can't really go wrong with Rakza 7 Soft and Rakza 7. The R7 Soft will be slightly harder and faster than the Original Extra and will be able to give you more spin. The regular R7 will be noticeably harder and able to produce a lot more speed with harder shots. Both would be a meaningful...

I have no strong feelings about it, but there's a few things about it that I think make it detrimental for the majority of players. Mostly in the ways it makes the sport less accessible. 1. A lot of rubbers are boosted by the manufacturer because it alters the performance. This means that the...

Timo Boll has stated he is not superstitious at all. He just glues them all at once the same way each time, and then plays with whatever bat for the day. The next day he plays with another fresh bat. Whereas Zhang Jike is really meticulous. He has videos where he sands the top layer of his...

I also previously played with Tibhar SPW and G1/C1 for about a year. I was satisfied with changing my C1 on backhand to Vega X, it felt like a decent step up. The maximum thickness for C1 is only 2.0mm as well, so Vega X Max is a meaningful jump. The G1 is similar or even a little bit more...

Sounds like a good improvement. Definitely if your grip was incorrect, it's going to be very hard to play the modern game. My advice would be to play with the same setup again, or if you change anything make it only one variable. Either move to a different blade with the same rubbers, or...

After 2 years it's definitely going to be different to a new one, though it does depend how well it was looked after and how frequently it was used. My experience playing with the Fastarc C-1 on a fairly fast inner carbon blade is that it is very controllable, with good speed when you engage...

I'd go for 2.0mm if you go for G1. I used G1+Rakza7 and they were always within 1g weight of each other Could also try the Vega X, I consider that a fairly natural step up from Rakza 7.

If you are not using sticky rubbers or tacky hybrids, I think Xiom is a good brand. For price to performance ratios and decent durability, Vega and Omega series are hard to beat. A lot of other brands seem to be able to get high performance, but have a lot of durability concerns and cost more...

Interesting - is that because the topsheet itself is softer on the D80 or did you measure the sponge as well? Wonder if this is within normal variation, because if Butterfly ratings are correct the D80 should be about 51-53 ESN

I also really like the feel of Tenergy 05 on forehand. I've played with Tenergy 05, Rakza 7 Fastarc G1, Fastarc C1, Vega X and Dignics 09c From my direct experience, both Fastarc G1, C1 and Vega X are more controllable than Tenergy 05 but have very good levels of spin. I also have tried...

On many of these shots, you are shifting your body weight in a straight line directly forwards. But because of your footwork this is the only way you could possibly play some of these shots. You mention that your elbow is 'too bent' but with your positioning in this clip, but if you were to try...

Setting up 3rd ball attack starts with the type of serve you make, poster above did a good job explaining the most likely scenarios. Depending on what serve you do, you should already moving to the most likely best possible attacking position even before they have hit the ball back. Assuming...