Modern rubbers are killing the rotation in the topspin play

[Yurifi]

this week, during one of the practice sessions, as I was teaching how to impart good rotation on forehand topspin, I realised, why all the kids and youger players know how to hit the ball hard but lack rotation, and also, why everyone is saying - "with the plastic ball, there isn't so much rotation on the ball anymore ..." yes, because of modern tensor rubbers.

when I was a kid learning how to play good topspin, we had a choice - Butterfly Sriver and Tibhar Rapid. as we got better some more options opened, me, being top 5 kids in the country had the privilege to use Yasaka Mark V. you had to work hard with those rubbers. you had to do everything, that's how we learned how to create rotation. especially me, I had a great feeling for rotation, for placing the ball on the table with rotation than with power.

fast forward 20 years ...

I started playing table tennis after 20 years of hiatus. first thing my father, also my coach, told me, was - it's harder now, the plastic ball is tougher to create rotation. of course, after warming up, the first thing I wanted to do was - topspin. and everyone I played with was amazed by the level of rotation I was able to put into the ball. as I was playing I got the opportunity to be a sparing partner to younger players (U13, U15 and U17) and was shocked - yes, they all can create a lot of power, but rotation is lacking a bit ... so during preseason practices I kind of delved into topspin and how to teach them about how to put more rotation into the ball. and it is so hard with Tenergy 05 because it is so springy, there is basically no dwell time! ball just flies. some kids are now fitting Dignics09c and it is much less springy and I realised, it is the extreme tensor effect probably behind this saying - "with the plastic ball there is much less rotation ..."

so - I cannot put them back onto "Srivers and Rapids", some of them are not ready yet for the D09c (even though they want it, of course) - so which rubbers to use to teach them how to put proper rotation into their topspin strokes?

 

[ThePongCommenter]

Modern rubbers aren't killing it, they're responding to the ball that killed it. Spin isn't gone from the game, it just can't be the only thing you have in your shots if you want to play at a higher level.

 

[Tyce]

I remember. You used to have to choose between playing flat or playing with spin - and I absolutely loved it.
Serve with heavy spin, opening up, heavy, and when the time was right, flat hit the heck out of it to finish the point.

Nowadays, most attacks (in developed modern players) are power loops. Being able to block a 1st team player's loop was unimaginable back in the day, now it's standard.

I am one of those that just never got on well with tensors. Sure they're fun for flat stuff but it sucks to put heavy rotation on. Especially the faster ones (Tenergy).
What works for me is surprisingly simple: slow rubbers.
This can be tacky (my favourite option since there's zero tensor involved) but just as well the likes of Vega Europe, Rakza 7 soft. I wouldn't even use Rakza 7 regular for this, even though it's a great step up once you get the hang of it.
I'm so positively surprised by Mercury 2 on my BH that I'm keen on keeping it for competition. FH is Hurricane 3, slow as a donkey but so much power to learn to wield.

I also firmly believe that the transition between using tensors on an allwood or mild carbon blade, and sticking Hurricane on that same blade is way too big. It is much easier to use on a Viscaria type blade if your background is like that, simply because you will still have that initial bounce. The fact that it comes from the blade instead of the rubber actually makes it more reliable imo. Feels like a dependable backbone.

More backstory (lol). I have been dabbling with different rubbers and blades for quite a bit and with varying results.
On wood, the best ones for heavy spin have been Fastarc G1 and Rakza 7. I didn't like Hurricane until I was up to Clipper, which has that backbone because it's thick enough for it. (in comparison, Fextra is too weak for Hurricane but kinda worked with Mercury 2).
I have used 37d Hurricane 3 soft on a Korbel which did feel like a better combination than the 39d.
There's a guy in my club who plays very heavy, slow spin balls and does it quite well up to a level I will never be able to reach. He used Vega Europe, those balls were unblockable. Switched to Rakza 7, and it's even harder to block.

Bottom line, if the ball leaves the rubber too quickly, they need to slow down the rubber.

 

[piligrim]

Another nostalgic topic from 70+ old schoolers )))

 

[Yurifi]

Modern rubbers aren't killing it, they're responding to the ball that killed it. Spin isn't gone from the game, it just can't be the only thing you have in your shots if you want to play at a higher level.

will all due respect, it’s gone. I’ve seen plenty of matches where it was power vs. power. but the I saw that power being tamed by rotation and not so much power. twice. once in A. Lebrun vs. Park Gyuhyeon, where Park started playing with more rotation and less power and Lebrun was completely lost. same happened between Ovtcharov and Uda - Ovtcharov took away all power and Uda was completely lost.

many times I see that combining power and rotation is the key. everyone can play with power nowadays, bang-bang all out, but when you start mixing rotation and feel and reduce some power - they are in serious trouble.

 

[Yurifi]

Another nostalgic topic from 70+ old schoolers )))

I am 43. 😉

 

[piligrim]

I am 43. 😉

Sound like 70 ))))