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Hi Everyone,
Due to age and injuries that have slowed my footwork, I can no longer effectively play my normal inverted forehand attack game, where I’m always stepping around. So, I’ve been experimenting with blocking with long pips or frictionless antispin on the backhand. With inverted, I have very good control on the backhand but not much of an attack – I mostly block, though I also can quick-hit short serves pretty well. I often chop-block with it, and I use a similar motion chop-blocking with long pips. I’ve blocked with long pips ox many times as a coach so my students can practice against it, and am pretty comfortable with it. Against backspin, I can both quick-hit and quick-block aggressively. I tested it out this week and felt pretty comfortable with it. (In my peak years, I probably would have been better with one of these surfaces – it fits my game.)
The problem is that the thinness of the rubber completely throws off my grip, and my forehand falls apart. (I tried to improvise a grip by gluing a strip of inverted sponge on the bottom, but it didn’t come off well.) The lower weight also makes the racket feel unstable. (I could, of course, try metal side-tape.) I do want to stick with my current blade, a Timo Boll ALC, as that fits my forehand attacking game.
Then I had the brainstorm that perhaps frictionless anti is the answer. For example, there are the ABS, Glanti, and Bison antispin rubbers. If I got one of those in perhaps 1.7mm, that might work. But there are several types, and other brands. Any suggestions on which one to try for my game, and where to buy it from the US? (Until recent years, my level was about 2250.)
-Larry Hodges
Due to age and injuries that have slowed my footwork, I can no longer effectively play my normal inverted forehand attack game, where I’m always stepping around. So, I’ve been experimenting with blocking with long pips or frictionless antispin on the backhand. With inverted, I have very good control on the backhand but not much of an attack – I mostly block, though I also can quick-hit short serves pretty well. I often chop-block with it, and I use a similar motion chop-blocking with long pips. I’ve blocked with long pips ox many times as a coach so my students can practice against it, and am pretty comfortable with it. Against backspin, I can both quick-hit and quick-block aggressively. I tested it out this week and felt pretty comfortable with it. (In my peak years, I probably would have been better with one of these surfaces – it fits my game.)
The problem is that the thinness of the rubber completely throws off my grip, and my forehand falls apart. (I tried to improvise a grip by gluing a strip of inverted sponge on the bottom, but it didn’t come off well.) The lower weight also makes the racket feel unstable. (I could, of course, try metal side-tape.) I do want to stick with my current blade, a Timo Boll ALC, as that fits my forehand attacking game.
Then I had the brainstorm that perhaps frictionless anti is the answer. For example, there are the ABS, Glanti, and Bison antispin rubbers. If I got one of those in perhaps 1.7mm, that might work. But there are several types, and other brands. Any suggestions on which one to try for my game, and where to buy it from the US? (Until recent years, my level was about 2250.)
-Larry Hodges
