Now we have taken a closer look at the properties of blades and rubbers. If you prefer a rather passive and defensive playing style, a hard rubber might be the right choice. If you like to play aggressively and want to have maximum spin and speed then you’d probably want to choose a softer rubber. If you play a few steps away from the table, a softer rubber is probably the right choice. In general, if you play closer to the table, you should choose a hard rubber.
Unlike blades, there is no clear tendency as to which rubbers are favored by professional players. When playing far away from the table, soft rubbers are advantageous because the catapult effect helps to bring blocks to the opponent’s plate. When blocking, soft rubbers can cause the ball to fall away without active movement. However, you can generate more spin due to the longer contact with the ball. Soft rubber is therefore more “forgiving” of your own mistakes than a hard one.Ī soft surface increases the contact time with the ball but is not 100% consistent with your strokes. This allows you to benefit from the catapult effect and – despite perhaps not quite perfect technique – to play fast and hard balls.
The full control also means that hard rubbers actually have no fault tolerance and punish insufficient technique.įor a block, hard rubber is advantageous, as it allows the ball to bounce further off the racquet without active movement.Ī softer rubber makes the racket more elastic. More Make Ping Pong Paddles Sticky again - This is how! Due to the lack of effect, the strokes may be a bit slower.
The effects are similar to those of the bladesĬompared to the stiff wood, with hard rubber, you have less catapult effect but full control, and your stroking movement is converted exactly. The thicker the sponge, the softer the rubber. The effect can come from both the thickness of the sponge and the texture of the rubber. The rubber can also influence the hardness of the table tennis bat. However, if you want to generate the maximum speed with your strokes you should consider using a soft blade. In general, most advanced players tend to play stiff woods because they don’t need the catapult effect due to their technique and prefer to have full control of the ball. This means that softer woods are even somewhat faster, although the ball does not always fly exactly to where the own swing would have placed it. On contact with the racket, the ball is accelerated additionally. The corresponding vibration, however, has another advantage and that is called the catapult effect. This is especially advantageous in passive play, i.e.
You have slightly longer contact with the ball, which gives you more time to give the ball the desired direction and rotation. With soft blades, you don’t get this direct feedback, because the wood is more elastic. It is easier to notice when you have made a mistake because it vibrates less. When playing with stiffer woods, you get direct “feedback” from your paddle. This means that you have full control over the shot. However, this also leads to the fact that your own swing is converted 1 to 1. This reduces the contact time with the ball. More With which Rackets do Pro Table Tennis Players play with?Ī stiff wood is not as elastic as softer blades. Due to the higher weight, you can generate more drive when hitting the ball. Often other materials are used, such as carbon, which make the racket heavier and harder. There are different properties here as well. We start from the inside out – that is, with the blade. I will explain step by step what effects each of these have on the characteristics of the racket. Thus, there are hard and stiff blades, hard and soft rubbers, and sponges of different thicknesses. The basis is the blade, then you got the sponge with the rubber on top of it.Įach of the three components can influence the hardness of a racket. Which components influence the racket hardness?Ī racket consists of three layers. Find out which one suits your style of play by reading this article. Both variants have their advantages and disadvantages. This gives you 100% control.Įven at the highest level, both hard and soft rackets are played. Hard rackets, on the contrary, implement the stroke movement 1 to 1 without additional help. When leaving the bat, the so-called catapult effect occurs, which additionally accelerates the ball. This gives you a longer time to feel the ball. The soft racket is pressed in a little more by the ball. Hard and soft rackets differ mainly in the contact time with the ball. In this post you will learn how the two variants differ and how components influence racket hardness. Whether you play with a hard or soft racket has a big impact on your game. I did everything right! If you know situations like this, you might want to reconsider the hardness of your racket. Forehand – topspin the ball goes out of bounds.