Is It Necessary to Use Different Blades in Different Venues?
It started because a foreign friend said he previously played in a small venue and found the Fan Zhendong ALC quite good. But this time he went to a big hall, converted from a badminton court, and felt the Fan Zhendong ALC’s balls were soft and limp. So he switched to the Heima-tuned ALC he carried with him, and finally felt the bottom power was enough. I said: why do some pros use the Fan A and not feel the ball quality is insufficient in a big hall? On one hand, because they have better power. On the other, maybe because they chose a heavier Fan A. Of course, the Butterfly-signed players’ are different — the customs are clearly springier than retail. So, the question: in different venues, do we need different blades?
1
Koki Niwa once said in an interview: small venue, Koki Niwa all-wood; big venue, Koki Niwa ZC, to make up the speed shortfall. Whether the bigger the hall, the slower the ball, is a perceptual illusion is not our scope today. Anyway, athletes feel this way. In a small venue, the ball feels fast, so use the better-controlling all-wood; in a big venue match, the blade needs more hardness to raise speed, so use a carbon blade. The same happens with Falck. At least Yasaka advertises it: he switches between the Falck all-wood seven-ply and the Falck Carbon. Locally there are amateur experts who report the same: in a small venue he finds the Super Viscaria enough; in a big venue he feels he needs the Super Zhang Jike for punch.
2
Simon Gauzy, when under Cornilleau and Andro, also operated this way, switching between all-wood and carbon-fiber blades. But besides venue, he also adjusts the blade by opponent and the day’s feel. But since picking up the inner-green-aramid-carbon Andro VCI, he uses it for both big and small venues. Maybe he now feels this blade’s control and rebound are both enough. So I had a thought: if you always play in a small venue, fine. But if sometimes in a big hall, sometimes in a small venue, you might as well just use a fairly springy fiber blade. This way, in a big hall, you will not feel limp. In a small venue, you adapt to the carbon blade’s elasticity and can hold it — more convenient.
3
Ovtcharov is also particular in different venues. In a small-venue match, he brushes the sponge with two coats of inorganic glue; in a big venue, three. Although we all say inorganic glue cannot add spring, in fact a thicker base, more coats, provides better support, making power easier in a big venue. But in a small venue, the ball is already fast, so the blade’s control matters. Inorganic glue — I actually have some feel. For example, gluing tensors, brushing Liulan feels a bit springier. Using the same brand’s Yantianming, the elasticity feels less than Liulan, but it sticks tighter. Some people like more elasticity and not sticking so tight. Some really hate easy unglueing.
4
Some players use different blades in different venues — like Xue Fei. Though I am not close with him and did not ask when he uses the N301 and when the all-wood N656-1. Oh, to add: the backhand of the five-ply all-wood N656 or N656-1 is not as weak as imagined, because it uses a spruce power ply. This material has a slingshot effect. You can feel it on Butterfly’s Zhangwen 5 too — also using a spruce power ply, the backhand is crisp. I am also reminded of a Sanwei SW968 from years ago — also using a spruce power ply, so the backhand improved a lot, with more punch. We mentioned before: for the same blade, why do many people’s review results differ? Besides quality-control variation, rubber pairing and personal skill, it also relates to venue size. For example the Fan Zhendong SZLC — testing it in a small room was simply perfect. Ball speed, ball-holding and control were all really nice. In a bigger hall, it clearly felt limper than the Super Zhang.