Flat hitter

[Charbel]

Hi, my brother needs help choosing his forehand rubber. He is a flat hitter and likes to smash the ball. He needs a rubber that gives the ball a very low arc, and some people say that chinese rubbers are the best at that. But I heard that chinese rubbers are for looping not for smashing. Can you give me some rubbers for flat hitters. Thank you.

 

[dingyibvs]

Has he tried say short pips?

 

[Peter93]

V > 15 extra for sure. Fastarc G-1 is good too, however it's a little bit too soft feeling. If only they sold Fastarc G-1 50 outside of Korea...

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

Has he tried say short pips?

Once upon a time, when I was a noob still finding what style suits me. I too thought like this, what if I were to put a short-pips on FH and smash my way to victory? At around that time, Matthias Falck just defeated Ma Long in a ITTF ranked match. Come on! Matthias "the Short-Pip Wunderkidz" Falck. I had the fantasy that if I use SP on my FH, I will defeat even Ma Long. It was such a wonderful fantasy.

Off I went and bought myself a Short-Pips and put it on my FH. What happened? I lost even to a noobier player than I was. Oh! the humiliation and ego bruising. Needless to say, I tore that SP rubber off after a couple of session and swore off it.

What is my point? My point being that it is pure fantasy by using a SP does not overnight change your play level. Like any rubber, you need to take time to practice and be good at it eventually. Be it inverted, long pips, short-pips, anti or medium pips, all need practice and better still, a proper coach to teach you how to use that tool effectively.

Nothing beats a proper coaching to maximize your potential.

p/s: I still see it with my own eyes often with noobies players. They will try SP or LP on one side and hopping miracles to happen to their play level. Sure, you can beat some lower skilled player or similar level player, but if you don't develop your own game and just rely on quick fix, you're not going anywhere.

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

DHS Hurricane 2 Neo, low and dangerous arc, but not the most forgiving.

 

[mocker88]

LOKI T3 is a superb blocking and flat hitting rubber. Fast and quite grippy.

 

[Der_Echte]

Your friend is a prime candidate for a not so dynamic hard sponged ESN rubber. I mean HARD sponged like 51+ on ESN scale of hardness.

Calibra LT and Plus used to dominate that space, I do not know if they make them any more, but a rubber like them is right up his alley.

 

[TensorBackhand]

Your friend is a prime candidate for a not so dynamic hard sponged ESN rubber. I mean HARD sponged like 51+ on ESN scale of hardness.

Calibra LT and Plus used to dominate that space, I do not know if they make them any more, but a rubber like them is right up his alley.

I think Hammond Z2 is like the new Calibra. Hard and fast, great for pounding the ball. It is Daiki's top rubber now replacing Calibra.

Also agree with mocker that T3 is fast and good for blocks and flat hits. I used it on bh.

Actually im boosting it now to try on again to replace my presto speed. Presto required me to loop every backhand, putting a lot of stress on my elbow

 

[Der_Echte]

Ironic as FUK that I sometimes use old school soft (think 35 on esn scale or less) Nittaku Hammond on BH and boss at the endline with a high emphasis on SPIN.

some prominent 2500+ female coach inTX used Hamond since the ice age and she had GREAT results counter punch and counter topspin off the bounce...

 

[Der_Echte]

U outta try 3.0 to 3.5 TENNIS 2-3x a week to help ur FH elbow painz. If this is too short a message, damn the word censor to hella.

 

[Der_Echte]

Then again, you could be exactly like the Russian Pastor I have been trying to train the last year plus... he been a ball slapper over 40 years and those habits die damn hard. He IS however, a dog that can learn new tricks, but as a coach, the results are too damn slow to bear sometimes.

having said that, tonite, I made progr4ess getting him to understand spacing from endline after my spin attacks (last match of night last two games he ripped a 2200 usatt player a new arschlosch pounding his block from my heavy topspin (because he positioned himself 1-2 feet from table and hit those high balls at shoulder height on the way up.)

I been pounding that into him for months and only today I make some understanding with him. That means either he is stubborn or and deaf as all letout or the coach (ME) is ineffective in communicating critical points.

Let's say it is the coaches fault (me) by default and go from there.

I think I am getting a lot better or at least inventive in how I change my communication to drive home the point and get commitment. At least better this month. Some coaches don't do a damn in one year with some people. Either the player or coach,.. let's go with the coach being responsible and go from there. I am accountable and had better provide value for my players and friends or I am shyt.

 

[dingyibvs]

Once upon a time, when I was a noob still finding what style suits me. I too thought like this, what if I were to put a short-pips on FH and smash my way to victory? At around that time, Matthias Falck just defeated Ma Long in a ITTF ranked match. Come on! Matthias "the Short-Pip Wunderkidz" Falck. I had the fantasy that if I use SP on my FH, I will defeat even Ma Long. It was such a wonderful fantasy.

Off I went and bought myself a Short-Pips and put it on my FH. What happened? I lost even to a noobier player than I was. Oh! the humiliation and ego bruising. Needless to say, I tore that SP rubber off after a couple of session and swore off it.

What is my point? My point being that it is pure fantasy by using a SP does not overnight change your play level. Like any rubber, you need to take time to practice and be good at it eventually. Be it inverted, long pips, short-pips, anti or medium pips, all need practice and better still, a proper coach to teach you how to use that tool effectively.

Nothing beats a proper coaching to maximize your potential.

p/s: I still see it with my own eyes often with noobies players. They will try SP or LP on one side and hopping miracles to happen to their play level. Sure, you can beat some lower skilled player or similar level player, but if you don't develop your own game and just rely on quick fix, you're not going anywhere.

Even switching between inverted rubbers can take a couple weeks to adjust, of course you can't expect instant results switching to SP. If you hit more than you loop though, then clearly SP would fit better.

 

[yoass]

Some say Tenergy 25 fits this niche. I've been willing to get a feel of it, but have never encountered it in the wild.

I can say that Fastarc-G1 is versatile enough to enable flat hits, whenever appropriate; as is Gewo's Nanoflex FT-48. And I'm curious about Hammond Z2.

 

[Brs]

+1 on stiga calibra series, which is still sold afaik. A hitter at my club uses calibra on a primorac carbon and smashes everything 100 mph.

About switching to SP - the key thing is how long has the OP's brother been playing? I changed to SP backhand after six years with smooth rubber. It took about six months to get back to my level after a quick drop of +/- 100 usatt points. Not bad. But a guy (speedy iirc) posted that it takes five years to learn to really play properly with SP. He was right. I had to alter my timing, which changed my table position, so also my fh, which needed new equipment, and a different stroke on both sides. Surely for a natural flat hitter it would be easier, but changing to SP is not a trivial undertaking. And a lot of players won't be happy with five years of adjustment time. I love playing with pips and would change again if I had a do-over. But so many people have Gozo's experience too.