London Worlds: How to Use These Forehand Slightly-Tacky Tensors? Part 2
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V>15 Sticky. Representative: Duda. I still do not quite believe this rubber’s bottom power can meet the stars’ demands. Just as Victas-signed stars also use a custom-hardened V>15 tensor, it is reasonable to guess there is a custom-hardened V>15 Sticky too — I just have not gotten one yet. But for the retail version, the V>15 Sticky really is steady, spinnier than K3, with a very nice wrapping feel, playable on both wings. Many treat it as a budget D09c. Yes, its power is not brutal — you could even say its forehand punch is a bit mediocre, and not fast. But considering amateurs’ wide level gaps, quite a few find it enough on the forehand. Besides, on the backhand, it really is very steady, and amateur backhands need not worry much about bottom power. Writing this, I think of many bestselling slightly-tacky tensors that are not brutal at all, yet that does not stop them selling. There seems to be a trend now: amateurs love these easy-to-play tacky tensors more, like the high-tack K2, the slightly-tacky V>15 Sticky, Bluegrip C2, DNA Chilong. I do not find any of these brutal, but I cannot always assess a rubber by my standard.
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DNA Hybrid XH. Representative: Jarvis. Jarvis uses it on both sides, Wen Ruibo on the backhand, but today we mainly discuss forehand use. The DNA Hybrid XH’s sponge is a bit muffled under medium power, overall more solid and tougher-springier than the Chilong version. It has some of the heft of domestic high-density tacky rubber. I always feel it is something between the Hurricane ZGR and ZGX, with many similarities. It has more power than the ZGX, but is not as taut as the Hurricane ZGR.
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K3 and K3 Pro. Representatives: the Lebrun brothers. I got the custom K3 Pro and the unreleased Infinity sample, and will try to review them this month. Not to show how good they are, but more to understand the stars’ matches and power. If the retail and custom-hardened differ in performance, I should write it out for everyone. After all, even many amateurs feel the retail K3 or K3 Pro shows average support and some weakness once backed off. The K3 Pro, close to the table, has a touch better support than K3 and ramps up speed a bit faster. But for our traditional Chinese forehand, it is still not punchy enough. Sometimes I feel a Guobiao 3 or Gaobo Power AMG (the AMG version is punchier) is more punchy than them. Maybe it is the brand’s assessment that amateurs play fine at this hardness — they think amateur and pro power differ enormously. As for the K3 or K3 Pro lifespan everyone worries about, ESN’s slightly-tacky surfaces are basically just those two kinds now. Expecting a sudden lifespan increase is impossible. You could even say: for tensors with good built-in energy, you should not expect a long lifespan. The better the energy-boosting before leaving the factory, the more easily the surface scales. Another, Andro’s NUZN 55, used by Gauzy and Winter, is also well-rated. But I have not played it, so I cannot say much. This month, let me first review the Hugo new rubber everyone cares about.