Hi there. This is my first post on Table Tennis Daily. I have been playing for just under a year now, having learnt the basics as a teenager many years ago. I'm using Joola Zack on an allround blade and I've got to the stage where I'm hitting most things on the table. Top spin to top spin is fine, I am pretty consistent playing topspin against backspin, "open ups" as I've heard it called. The trouble is that there are plenty of players that I just can't seem to hit it past, I can't hit the ball hard enough without losing control. I've borrowed an Off carbon blade fitted with Tenergy 05 for a few minutes and it was quick, but I couldn't control it. For some reason I don't seem to play well with hard sponges either. I've tried a blade with Neo Hurricane 3 (standard) on one side and a soft sponge on the other and I can't seem to get consistency with the NH3 and I'm hopeless against backspin with it. Every time I borrow a hard sponge the ball flies all over the place. I think I'm looking for a set up that is half way between the Zack and the full on Tenergy option, with a mid to mid soft sponge. Has anyone got any suggestions? The options I've been looking at are things like, Tenergy 05FX, Rozena, Evolution FX-S, FX-P and EL-S, Andro Rasanter R37 and R42. I am concerned that they might end up being too advanced, but I guess I've got to start somewhere - right? Has anyone out there been through a similar thing? Is there something someone could recommend? Is there a blade someone could recommend that goes well with one of these options? Are there other options I'm missing? All help & experience much appreciated.