Playing level

Thomas McCann Asked 13 years ago

How do you know if you are good enough for a rubber like tenergy05 or tibhar genius. Also if you use a rubber that is too fast for you will it really affect your game that much. I have been playing for 2 years now.

Jeff Plumb Answered 13 years ago

Hi Thomas,

Great question. In some ways these tensor rubbers are more forgiving than non tensor rubbers. What I mean by that is when you are playing a counter loop with something like Tenergy 05, you don't have to hit the ball perfectly and it will still have a good chance of going on. This is one of the great things about Tensor rubbers. It doesn't mean that you don't need good technique but it does mean if you have good technique you will benefit from these rubbers.

The most important thing in my mind in deciding if you can move up to these rubbers is how good your touch strokes are and your blocking. Are you able to block 50 solid loops back in a row? If so then you are definitely ready to give a tensor rubber a go.

I don't think it is easy to put a timeframe on it like 2 years or 3 years because that could mean anything depending on how much you play and practice. What is important is that you don't get anything too fast too soon or you will find it hard to develop your blocking, your short game and even your attacking strokes.

The fact that you are questioning whether you should upgrade probably means you are getting close. If you know someone who is using Tenergy 05 then see if you can borrow their bat for a while and try it out. Practice your blocking, your short play and your attacking strokes. Then play a few games with it and see how you go.

Let us know if you decide to upgrade!