May 13, 2019

Ask The Experts: Sung Soo Jung
Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer

Question:

Hi , I am middle player and would like to know from you your opinion regarding my racket which i going to order as following:
Timo Boll ALC Blade 
Fronthand rubber: Tenergy 80
Backhand rubber : Tenergy 80 FX 

Please advise me which thickness i need to select for both rubber sides 1.7 or 1.9 or 2.1 ? And which one will be my fronthand and whichone will be backhand ?
And for the blade please what is the suitable Handle style: AN or FL or ST ? What are the differences please? 

If I selected non suitable racket parts as mentioned above , Kindly let me know what is the right and suitable parts for me ad midium player?
I am waiting your kind reply please 
Thanks so much and best regards

Answer: 

This Ask the Experts question was answered by Sung Soo Jung. Coach Jung is the head coach at the Jung Table Tennis Club in Los Angeles, CA and his response is as follows:

Hello Ibrahim,

First of all, your choices in blades and rubbers are excellent!

Timo Boll ALC blade is one of the blades I frequently recommend to my players.  As for the rubbers, the selection is huge. While Tenergy 80FX for the backhand rubber is an ideal choice for you, I would recommend Tenergy 05 for your forehand rubber because it yields better control thanTenergy 80.  When it comes to the thickness of a rubber, anything less than 2.1 in its thickness has less power and speed, therefore I recommend 2.1 for its power and speed.  Besides rubbers that are thinner than 2.1 tend to decrease the bouncing effect of a ball at the impact, thus preventing the ball from advancing forward. 

As you already know there are three kinds of handles according to its grip shape:

FL (Flared):  Proximity of the gravity center to its grip and blade, fits in the palm

AN (Anatomic):  Wave-shape grip.  It fits in the palm and provides stability

ST (Straight):  Flexibility of the way player grips the handle according to the play

Among these three types of handles, my recommendation for average players would be FL which is most common, because of its position of the gravity center to grip and blade, giving a sense of the blade being fitted to the palm of the player.  However, I would like to caution you that there is no scientific proof that tells us which handle works best.  In my opinion, you might want to find a local coach to show you how to hold a paddle to your personal preference.   

Good luck!

Sungsoo Jung