Sharing anti-spin Rubber Techniques

[QuanQuan]

Hello everyone, I'm KenKen. I'd like to share my understanding of ANTI rubber techniques bit by bit for those who are new to using ANTI rubber. I'm simply sharing what I know and the techniques I've found effective in my own matches. If you enjoy this video series or have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment. I’ll be sharing more in the future, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel. I'm an amateur player who specializes in competing with ANTI rubber

 

[QuanQuan]

new video

 

[Lazer]

I’m afraid you are a minority. I don’t know any player using anti rubbers. I personally like ro spin so… there you go… but good luck in your quest…

Cheers
L-zr

 

[PhoenixTT]

What are the differences between popular anti-spin rubbers? How are they different from each other? (Asking about pips in only).
When a normal rubber (like Hurricane 3, or an ESN) loses its tack/grip, can you just use it as an anti-spin rubber?

 

[igorponger]

The best useful tabular source presented by the Contra Catalogue. Low friction rubbers should offer a better spin reversal according to a common sense. Yes, the grippy antis ranked at 39-55 are tenging to lose most of surface frictionality within a short time as a result of mechanical abrasion.

 

[blahness]

Im using anti now too haha, it feels so unfair and fun

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

What are the differences between popular anti-spin rubbers? How are they different from each other? (Asking about pips in only).
When a normal rubber (like Hurricane 3, or an ESN) loses its tack/grip, can you just use it as an anti-spin rubber?

Some frictionless style (modern) antis are more absorbent or more slick than others. Though the general rule of thumb is that the slower an anti is, the more it will tend to react to spin. The ones that have the most absorbing effect will often have a really thick sponge, for the most cushion, but this also allows the topsheet to deform more which results in more grip.

Not sure why you had to distinguish pips in only, antispin are only inverted rubbers. Normal rubbers cannot technically legally be used once they lose their grip as they no longer play like they were designed to. Doesn't stop a lot of players from doing this but it is what it is. They don't tend to be quite as useful for antispin purposes as a dedicated antispin because they still have the sponge of a regular rubber, and antispin rubbers tend to have specially designed topsheets and sponges to aid very specific things

 

[PhoenixTT]

Not sure why you had to distinguish pips in only, antispin are only inverted rubbers.

Only because I was unsure whether some pips-out were being marketed as anti-spin. In any case, I was only interested in inverteds.

 

[PhoenixTT]

Im using anti now too haha, it feels so unfair and fun

LOL. Are you going to invert your tagline? "Technique is at least 10 times more important than the equipment. "

Anti-spins should be called "Anti-Zone", or "Zone-Killer"

 

[blahness]

LOL. Are you going to invert your tagline? "Technique is at least 10 times more important than the equipment. "

Anti-spins should be called "Anti-Zone", or "Zone-Killer"

LOL hahaha well.... i would say even in anti, I think technique matters a lot. But for me my inverted BH technique is actually better and more precise than my FH so adjusting to anti was not too bad.

 

[blahness]

I feel like OP's setup is super slow and controlled - he did a ball bounce test and it had almost no bounce - mine still has some bounce on it. If I did a chopblock or put my bat there (ie doing nothing as per his video) without any sideways movement to rob momentum, there is no way i can block topspins of any quality.

Am interested to know OP's setup.

But i guess because Im using Butterfly Super Anti 2.0mm on Viscaria which is a kinda fast blade.

I have to go to the sides to rob momentum, which is fine because I do have the technique to do it.

What is interesting on my setup at least is that on stronger hits the anti actually has some decent 'grip' on it so I can actually finish weak balls with my BH now. I tested it by pressing the ball into the sponge and the friction became much higher. So it has very low friction when I slide the ball sideways, but when I hit it harder I think there is quite some grip. So it almost has the best of both worlds?!

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

...Im using Butterfly Super Anti...

Super anti is a classic style antispin, meaning it has a bit of usable grip and a relatively normal (if soft and slow) sponge. I think you will find a modern style frictionless antispin to be a hoot. Classic style antis are generally only good for killing spin when you're blocking passively but these modern ones are built to be very absorptive and very slick

 

[blahness]

Super anti is a classic style antispin, meaning it has a bit of usable grip and a relatively normal (if soft and slow) sponge. I think you will find a modern style frictionless antispin to be a hoot. Classic style antis are generally only good for killing spin when you're blocking passively but these modern ones are built to be very absorptive and very slick

I dont think I can ever block passive tbh. I tried that and it just doesnt work with my setup. I suspect the modern ones you can be a bit more passive and the reversal is probably higher.

I do like that I can attack hard with the anti with my current setup when I want to, this fits my idea of anti much more.

I don't like to be passive. For me I am even quite aggressive even from serve receive onwards - i want to put my opponent on the backfoot immediately and finish them off with my forehand loopkill.

 

[blahness]

For me this is how I imagine I can play BH anti, aggressively picking placements until i can take over with my FH.

 

[QuanQuan]

No, that’s not possible because the sponge of normal rubber and anti-spin rubber are different. The sponge on anti-spin rubber absorbs energy, so even if a normal rubber loses its tackiness and becomes smooth, it will still have much more rebound than anti-spin rubber.

What are the differences between popular anti-spin rubbers? How are they different from each other? (Asking about pips in only).
When a normal rubber (like Hurricane 3, or an ESN) loses its tack/grip, can you just use it as an anti-spin rubber?

 

[QuanQuan]

I feel like OP's setup is super slow and controlled - he did a ball bounce test and it had almost no bounce - mine still has some bounce on it. If I did a chopblock or put my bat there (ie doing nothing as per his video) without any sideways movement to rob momentum, there is no way i can block topspins of any quality.

Am interested to know OP's setup.

But i guess because Im using Butterfly Super Anti 2.0mm on Viscaria which is a kinda fast blade.

I have to go to the sides to rob momentum, which is fine because I do have the technique to do it.

What is interesting on my setup at least is that on stronger hits the anti actually has some decent 'grip' on it so I can actually finish weak balls with my BH now. I tested it by pressing the ball into the sponge and the friction became much higher. So it has very low friction when I slide the ball sideways, but when I hit it harder I think there is quite some grip. So it almost has the best of both worlds?!

The range of ANTI rubbers is very broad; some play more like normal rubbers, some resemble long pips, and others are closer to short pips. So, even though they’re called ANTI rubbers, different types can have distinct performances that require various techniques. For example, Butterfly's ANTI rubber still has a bit of friction and grip compared to modern ANTI rubbers. With this type of ANTI, you can’t just passively block every shot; instead, you need to apply force in different directions to counteract the opponent’s spin, almost like practicing Tai Chi.

 

[blahness]

The range of ANTI rubbers is very broad; some play more like normal rubbers, some resemble long pips, and others are closer to short pips. So, even though they’re called ANTI rubbers, different types can have distinct performances that require various techniques. For example, Butterfly's ANTI rubber still has a bit of friction and grip compared to modern ANTI rubbers. With this type of ANTI, you can’t just passively block every shot; instead, you need to apply force in different directions to counteract the opponent’s spin, almost like practicing Tai Chi.

Yes i suspected that they are different, because I tried passively blocking heavy topspins like your video and it will 100% fly out of the table if I do a passive block. I have to do some kind of sidespin chopblock to dissipate the momentum sideways, either left to right or right to left (both ways work). But what I found out that is incredibly weird is that sometimes it comes out to be super heavy underspin and sometimes it just becomes no spin?? So sometimes when they push it back it flies out of the table? So my problem sometimes is that when they push it to my FH i have no idea how much spin is there and i am the one eating my own spin variation. My success rate at FH looping those balls dropped tremendously.

 

[QuanQuan]

Yes i suspected that they are different, because I tried passively blocking heavy topspins like your video and it will 100% fly out of the table if I do a passive block. I have to do some kind of sidespin chopblock to dissipate the momentum sideways, either left to right or right to left (both ways work). But what I found out that is incredibly weird is that sometimes it comes out to be super heavy underspin and sometimes it just becomes no spin?? So sometimes when they push it back it flies out of the table? So my problem sometimes is that when they push it to my FH i have no idea how much spin is there and i am the one eating my own spin variation. My success rate at FH looping those balls dropped tremendously.

I think I have a rough idea of the reason, but it requires a detailed explanation. I might make a video to discuss this topic in the future

 

[QuanQuan]

new video

 

[blahness]

new video

What is the spin when you hit like this against topspin? Is it close to just no spin?

For me BH attack against underspin with anti is quite trivial and easy, it is almost exactly like the inverted BH loop.

The attacks against no spin and topspin are quite a bit harder imo.