The Trend of Tacky Rubber on the Backhand, Part 2
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The backhand is best with a bit of added elasticity. “Not too tacky” and “add a bit of elasticity” are clearly related. The slightly-tacky tensor backhand mentioned above satisfies both. The bestselling may be D09c, with similar-performing and relatively cheaper options like the V>15 Sticky. Too tacky, and the elasticity naturally seems worse, with more stagnation, so the ball release is not as fast. If speed is insufficient and you rely purely on spin, first the threat is smaller; second, you must fire more power yourself to ramp up speed. And too tacky, it relatively more easily catches the opponent’s spin. To break the incoming spin, either your strokes are very nimble, or you have to fire more power to suppress the spin.
On “adding a bit of elasticity”: for backhand Hurricane, different national players have different demands. Ma Long and Liang Jingkun chose Hurricane 3; Wang Chuqin, Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha chose Hurricane 8-20. Both are 20# sponge — just the surface differs. Wang Chuqin played Hurricane 3 before, switching to Hurricane 8-20 these one or two years. By DHS’s official manual, Hurricane 8’s pip diameter is slightly thicker than Hurricane 3’s, with larger pip spacing, so its toughness and elasticity are a bit stronger. Simply understood, Hurricane 8-20 is a bit more ball-releasing, while Hurricane 3 is more solid when fired but has a higher power threshold. Of course, both are less elastic than slightly-tacky tensors. The slightly-tacky tensor backhand seeks well-roundedness. Spin less than Hurricane, speed less than a tensor, but with stagnation when holding the ball, fairly good stability, and a decent spin-speed combination. If your power is good, with a brush-hit combination, the ball quality is not low. If your power is average, treat it as for the landing rate.
Here it becomes clear: if your power level is middle-of-the-road, the slightly-tacky tensor actually has no personality, also middle-of-the-road. Though backhand tacky rubber is now a mainstream trend, especially suited to pros who fire on the backhand, whether it suits a specific amateur still needs your own pondering. Because considering our amateur ability, the slightly-tacky tensor has constraints. In the next point we continue analyzing.
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The backhand is best a bit heavier and harder — this is for pros. Before, the national team’s most-used slightly-tacky tensor on the backhand was D09c. Now there are many other brands’ slightly-tacky alternatives. For example Chen Yuanyu, Xiang Peng and Xue Fei’s backhand Jinghai C55.0. Compared with retail D09c, the C55’s sponge has stronger after-power, with greater power threat. National-level backhand power is beyond doubt. Many backhands’ power approaches forehand level, a few even exceed it. There are also Stiga-signed stars — Xu Yingbin’s DNA Golden Dragon 57.5, Wen Ruibo’s custom DNA Hybrid 55 (the market max is only Hybrid XH). All reveal this phenomenon: their slightly-tacky backhands are ever harder, and heavier, to score directly, one-shot kills. Tibhar’s batch of signed players too, using 55- or even 57-degree harder custom K3 or K3 Pro.
But many amateurs lack this backhand power, and many cannot play the Jinghai C55.0 and D09c. The slightly-tacky tensor’s problem: to produce high-quality balls, it must be hard enough, and hard means easily heavy. Otherwise the ball is not penetrating enough, and the threat is average. So a soft slightly-tacky tensor on our backhand often has middle-of-the-road killing power. Trend or no trend, whether it suits a specific person still needs careful weighing.