Yep, people produce & transfer energy, but rubbers can have different efficiency levels when it comes to transferring that energy.
The ‘bounce test’ shows this to certain extent. A ball dropped from the same height bounces less for a tacky top sheet than it generally does for grippy one. Its the level of rubber tackiness that can make a difference not necessarily the sponge.
Having said that, some sponges are also more effective/efficient at transferring energy.
Skill levels of players also has a big say!!! If you are a technically good player with solid strokes all round, as Carl said he can play with pretty much most rubbers out there, it’s just a matter of choosing which one you like best, a lot of rubbers are in the same ‘ball park’ as it were.
Andro’s ‘Made for me, Made for you’ Yep there’s hype involved, but the ad that’s flicking over on the right of my screen as I write this, makes no mention of the respective rubbers performances. It doesn’t say this does more or less, is better or worse !!! It just hints that R53 is better suited for Pro’s, and R45 is better suited for amateur’s.
They did the same for R48 !!! But now I guess it’s much harder for them to get a ‘known’ player that fits into the middle bracket!!!!
Pretty good marketing though!! Some will see it and just go all out ‘I want to use what a Pro uses’ regardless of their own ability. Others may think, ok I’m not at a Pro’s level, and get R48/45 instead!!!!
Manufacturers can’t really say something like ‘ 6 yrs in development, 25,000 hrs testing, has resulted in the optimum rubber for YOU
LESS SPEED, LESS SPIN, LESS CONTROL !!! Ohhh sod it just use the old version it was way better!!!