Backspin from Inverted Rubber

Kenneth Tham Asked 3 years ago

Dear PingSkills,

A member in my club sometimes uses inverted rubber to impart backspin via a chopping stroke, and I usually fail to return it with a topspin stroke. I noticed that the backspin from inverted rubber is quite heavy.

Is the backspin imparted from inverted rubber heavier than long pimples? Are there cases where backspin from inverted rubber cannot be overcome by topspin and we need to push instead? How about for long pimples? Will we be able to use topspin for all backspin shots received from long pimples? Thanks.

Regards,

Kenneth

Alois Rosario Answered 3 years ago

Hi Kenneth,

The backspin from inverted rubber is a lot more than from long pimples.  Long pimples have much less friction so they can't generate much spin at all.

You can also ways topspin a backspin stroke.  When it is really heavy backspin you can open the angle of your racket slightly to also compensate for the backspin.  It may be a better option to push sometimes if your topspin is going to be very weak and ineffective.