Timo Boll talks about his equipment

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If H3 on BH does not make any sense, why did he play with black H3 blue sponge on his backhand then. From matches that I have seen, it was visible that he used same rubbers as Ma Long, H3 both sides. Then, his racket was turned around, which make sense that he turned it on training and just said to himself "I like it". Why would he move his hard tacky H3 on BH and replace it with Tenergy on FH, not just take black 05. It makes IMHO less sense, then turning around racket to softer, yer still tacky rubber. From the picture I can see white creamy sponge, anyway, the quality is not good, therefore it is not 100% evidence. yu.JPG
 
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If H3 on BH does not make any sense, why did he play with black H3 blue sponge on his backhand then. From matches that I have seen, it was visible that he used same rubbers as Ma Long, H3 both sides. Then, his racket was turned around, which make sense that he turned it on training and just said to himself "I like it". Why would he move his hard tacky H3 on BH and replace it with Tenergy on FH, not just take black 05. It makes IMHO less sense, then turning around racket to softer, yer still tacky rubber. From the picture I can see white creamy sponge, anyway, the quality is not good, therefore it is not 100% evidence. View attachment 16282


Let's not hijack this thread. It is about Timo's equipment.
Still, your conclusion about Zhuo Yu using a H3 on the bh is wrong! It was briefly discussed on another thread. The picture you posted is indeed not a very good one, but there are better pictures. Zhou Yu is sponsored by Donic and uses a Zhou Yu 3 blade with either a Bluefire or Bluestorm on the bh. The blue sponge from the Bluefire/Bluestorm is brighter than the blue sponge of a H3 (not by much, but you can see the difference), which is visible in this picture...
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...u-Yu-Bluefire-on-backhand&p=224286#post224286
 
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What a blow to the "technique trumps" camp...

Not sure how. Variation in playing strength is more influenced by technique than equipment. How does this change that?

What it really shows is that Timo and top players are human and that after close losses or when they don't like how their equipment feels, they change or like the rest of us.
 
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New video:


At 1:40 he starts talking about his 101g forehand T05 with which he started the tournament and then switched to a 100g T05.

He also preparing on of his other 4 blades with another 100g forehand rubber, because his current rubber is already starting to show some signs of wear, but he will decide it on the fly if he will switch the next time he uses it.

These video are first published as unlisted on Youtube and can only be found on his blog here:
https://www.timoboll-webcoach.com/wordpress/
 
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If H3 on BH does not make any sense, why did he play with black H3 blue sponge on his backhand then. From matches that I have seen, it was visible that he used same rubbers as Ma Long, H3 both sides. Then, his racket was turned around, which make sense that he turned it on training and just said to himself "I like it". Why would he move his hard tacky H3 on BH and replace it with Tenergy on FH, not just take black 05. It makes IMHO less sense, then turning around racket to softer, yer still tacky rubber. From the picture I can see white creamy sponge, anyway, the quality is not good, therefore it is not 100% evidence. View attachment 16282

Yeah, let's move to the thread Jimbob linked. I post my reply there.
 
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Not sure how. Variation in playing strength is more influenced by technique than equipment. How does this change that?

What it really shows is that Timo and top players are human and that after close losses or when they don't like how their equipment feels, they change or like the rest of us.

Mostly because of the reason that he switches to softer rubbers when playing in bigger halls and vice versa. I read this from amateurs all the time on Chinese forum, that the ball appears to travel faster in smaller halls.

That may have to do with auditory perception. It takes more time for the sound wave to travel in bigger halls. The air density and current is more complicated as well. The temperature is likely another factor. These are outside the realm of technique and human control but rarely gets discussed.
 
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Mostly because of the reason that he switches to softer rubbers when playing in bigger halls and vice versa. I read this from amateurs all the time on Chinese forum, that the ball appears to travel faster in smaller halls.

That may have to do with auditory perception. It takes more time for the sound wave to travel in bigger halls. The air density and current is more complicated as well. The temperature is likely another factor. These are outside the realm of technique and human control but rarely gets discussed.

I believe the tables and lighting has more to do than hall size. Also, if the floor is slippery, then players can't loop that hard. In a bigger hall the humidity is less, compared to smaller. (hall height is the important factor, obviously) There might be tendencies when we compare big halls for competitive table tennis (good flooring, good ventilation) and smaller ones (school sports hall). And of course there is a psychological effect that when someone claims that 'bigger halls are faster' then people start to feel that 'yeah, it's really faster'. I don not deny that there are faster halls and slower halls, but it's the overall effect of many things. Also, the players playing in the hall (your muscles 'learn' if you need more power)
 
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