Real Results

Player Stories

Every player has unique needs. Here's how I helped amateur players find the perfect equipment setup for their playing style and goals.

Viraj

Intermediate

The Challenge

Viraj had purchased his first custom racket following the advice of ChatGPT, and he had bought a Joola Carbon blade with Andro Rasanter 48 for his forehand and DHS PF4 for his backhand. He was unsure whether this setup was correct for what he wanted to achieve and was noticing that the forehand was too fast and the backhand too slow and dead.

Before

Blade:Joola Carbon

FH:Andro Rasanter 48

BH:DHS PF4

After

Blade:Yasaka Sweden Extra

FH:Andro Rasanter C48

BH:DHS Hurricane 8-80

The Solution

After discussing together all the aspects of his game, playstyle, level and technique, it became clear that a carbon blade was not the right blade for his level and requirements right now, so we changed that for the Yasaka Sweden Extra. Then we looked at what he needed for the forehand, and changed that to the Andro Rasanter C48 as he wanted a bit more tack than with the R48 but without losing the catapult feeling entirely. Nuzn was an alternative here but did not fit in the budget. For the backhand, I recommended the DHS Hurricane 8-80 along with other hybrid tacky options to increase the speed, spin and overall quality compared to the PF4. This setup is now much more controlled and personalised for what he needs, plus it also fit in the budget!

Nikola

High Intermediate

The Challenge

Nikola is a prominent member of the Table Tennis community in the US, and has made a couple of TT apps for that, including SpinUpTT. He was using the Tibhar Samsonov Black Force with Rakza Z on his forehand and Rakza 7 on his backhand, and had many other blades and rubbers that he had tried before. He wanted to see if one of his new blades would be better for the feeling and the handle, and also if his technique had any details to improve on.

Before

Blade:Tibhar Samsonov Black Force

FH:Yasaka Rakza Z

BH:Yasaka Rakza 7

After

Blade:Tibhar Samsonov Black Force (kept)

FH:Yasaka Rakza Z (kept, tacky options planned)

BH:Yasaka Rakza 7 (kept, upgrade paths planned)

The Solution

After analysing his technique, we were able to see some good improvement points for his forehand and backhand, and after our live call it became clear that his current equipment was fine to keep on improving the technique. We also looked at other gear options for the future, so if he wants to change to a tackier FH rubber he has plenty of options now. For the backhand, we also analysed different paths for when Rakza 7 becomes too slow for him.

Henrik

3rd National Division (Sweden)

The Challenge

Henrik is a forehand dominant player but used to attack with backhand too whenever he couldn't pivot. Some years ago, he decided to try pips on his backhand and went for the Spinlord Keiler. But then his old all-wood blades that he loved so much (Acoustic and Korbel) didn't work anymore, it was too unstable so he bought a Timo Boll ALC. This stabilised his pips rubber but made his hard tacky rubber on forehand way worse and he decided to go for Vega X. That was his previous setup, however, due to the speed of blade and rubber he had lost confidence in his forehand loop and was mostly brushing thinly and upwards to compensate for that. He came to me with a great and interesting puzzle: can I find a blade and a forehand rubber that will not make my backhand pips unstable?

Before

Blade:Timo Boll ALC

FH:Xiom Vega X

BH:Spinlord Keiler

After

Blade:Stiga Clipper CR / Korbel SK7

FH:Xiom Vega China

BH:Spinlord Keiler / Yasaka Rakza 7

The Solution

After analysing the technique videos, it became clear that there were some improvement points on his forehand. He was mostly hitting from right to left without a braking motion, and the arm was going too much inwards instead of forward. This meant he was contacting the ball mostly on its back so most balls would go long. It was also true that on other shots it would be mostly a thin brushing action. To help correcting this, I suggested a new approach: going back to a 7 ply all wood limba/ayous blade but make sure it was not too soft so the pips would not become unstable again. He will first try the Stiga Clipper CR but there were other options like Korbel SK7 and others. On the forehand, since he didn't want to use pure hard tacky rubbers, I suggested Xiom Vega China as a good middle step between hard tacky rubbers and pure hybrids. The H3 Nittaku Turbo and even something like Glayzer 09C were on the table for later as well. On the backhand, he will keep the Spinlord Keiler but in the future he may try a controllable linear inverted rubber like Rakza 7 so he can block but also attack again in a controlled manner.

Shoaib

Intermediate

The Challenge

Shoaib had played table tennis for many years, and after playing and experimenting many different blades, his last blade was the Butterfly Innerforce ALC with Dignics 09c Max on both sides. He was struggling to feel the ball, and develop consistent strokes. The whole setup felt very hard, fast and unforgiving, and he wanted to know how to improve his setup and his equipment.

Before

Blade:Butterfly Innerforce ALC

FH:Dignics 09C Max

BH:Dignics 09C Max

After

Blade:Butterfly Petr Korbel

FH:Butterfly Glayzer 09C

BH:DHS Hurricane 8-80

The Solution

After looking at his technique and gear, it became clear that there were some improvements to be achieved around the body mechanics of both the forehand and backhand strokes. Besides this, and after discussing together the different paths and options that he had for the gear, we settled on the first recommend path with the Butterfly Petr Korbel plus Glayzer 09c on the forehand and DHS Hurricane 8-80 on his backhand. He is very happy and making really strong progress!

Jared

Intermediate

The Challenge

Jared had played in a club in the US for quite a long time and after having to replace an old out-of-date blade (Waldner Senso Carbon), he followed the advice of his coach and got a faster setup with the Harimoto ALC as a blade combined with Dignics 09C on FH and Tibhar K3 on backhand. As the time came to replace the rubbers, he was feeling that the whole setup might be too fast for him and wanted to know what options he had to keep on working on his technique development with a familiar feeling.

Before

Blade:Harimoto ALC

FH:Dignics 09C

BH:Tibhar K3

After

Blade:Harimoto ALC

FH:DHS Hurricane 3 Neo (39° Orange Sponge)

BH:Butterfly Glayzer 09C

The Solution

After analysing his past gear setups and preferences, and his technique, I realised that the FH loop needed some improvements on the correct fundamentals, and that the BH was mostly a defensive tool even though he wanted to attack/loop 3rd balls and take the rally initiative. He really enjoyed hard tacky setups but was struggling with 09C, and the K3 was too fast for his developing BH, so I suggested a couple paths and we settled on the first recommended one with the DHS Hurricane 3 Neo Orange Sponge 39 boosted with 1 layer and the Glayzer 09C on the backhand to keep the 09C hybrid feeling. He will try this out very soon and if he doesn't like certain details, we already have 5 other alternative paths depending on what the outcome of the testing phase is. Lastly, we decided to keep the blade for now as a way to make small iterative changes but we already have clear plans on what to do if the blade base speed is still an issue.

Christian

Low Intermediate

The Challenge

Christian had played professional baseball in the US when he was young, so he had a lot of hand-ball-eye feeling. He always played table tennis with his brother in the basement and wanted to get serious with the sport. When he started looking for his first custom frame, he made the mistake I had also made when I started: get the best of the best, a Butterfly Viscaria with Tenergy 05 on FH and Tenergy 64 on BH rubbers. Then, after realising he could not control this, he went to the Tibhar Balsa Fibre 60 with Aurus rubbers, but didn't like the characteristic porous feel of balsa with the bouncy tensors. So he changed again to the Korbel blade with DHS Hurricane Neo 3 on FH and Xiom Vega X on backhand. That was his current setup but he had lost confidence in his gear and wanted to get help on technique too.

Before

Blade:Butterfly Petr Korbel

FH:DHS Hurricane Neo 3

BH:Xiom Vega X

After

Blade:Butterfly Petr Korbel / Primorac / Violin

FH:DHS Hurricane Neo 3 Provincial

BH:Xiom Vega Europe / Rozena / Glayzer 09C

The Solution

I first analysed the videos Christian sent me from his basement robot, both on topspin and backspin shots. After this, we discussed together the technical improvement points that were holding him back, namely the stroke motion, body usage and feel. After he understood what the feel should be in a call together, we moved to the gear part. Since the issues were coming mostly from technique, and he loved the limba ayous feeling of the Korbel, I suggested to keep the Korbel with Primorac as a slower and Violin as a faster alternative. Then for the FH, I suggested to keep the H3N but buy the provincial version for better QA process. Battle 2 and Xiom Vega China were future alternatives too. For the backhand, I suggested to downgrade the Vega X as we needed more control and less bounce, so we downgraded to Xiom Vega Europe to keep the Xiom feeling, with Rozena as a different sponge feeling alternative and Glayzer 09C and DHS 8-80 as hybrid alternatives for a different future feeling.

Dimitar

Intermediate Regional Player

The Challenge

Dimitar came to me because he had changed to the Anders Lind Hexa Carbon blade with Donic C2 on both sides and even though he loved the blade, it was too fast for him and was hurting his technique and development. Before, he had tried many other setups with blades including Xiom Paltida, Yinhe 980, and Sanalion S. He was now using Sanalion S as his main blade with Friendship 729-08 on FH and Xiom Omega 7 Pro on BH to try to go back to a controlled setup to better develop his technique.

Before

Blade:Sanalion S

FH:Friendship 729-08

BH:Xiom Omega 7 Pro

After

Blade:Donic Anders Lind Hexa Carbon / Hadraw 5

FH:DHS Hurricane Neo 3

BH:Donic Bluestorm C2

The Solution

I asked Dimitar to send me a video of his technique so we could analyse that first. Then we discussed a couple of key issues to improve on before moving on to faster gear, mostly details that are difficult to see yourself but greatly affect shot quality. After our call, Dimitar understood the feeling of what he had to do and then we moved on to gear. Since he loved the feeling of the Anders Lind blade and his past gear preferences leaned more towards a koto outer with inner carbon, I recommended 3 options ranging from fast, medium, and slow. Together, we chose the Anders Lind blade with Hadraw 5 as a slower alternative and kept the rubbers to a similar philosophy. On FH we changed to H3N as a better alternative to 729-08. And on BH we kept the C2 to keep the changes to a minimum as he really enjoyed the hybrid nature of the rubber.

H.

U15 National Team (Hong Kong)

The Challenge

H. wanted to replace her current Tenergy 80 on her forehand. She plays a speed game rather than spin as her FH is usually flat hitting and smashing to put pressure on the opponent like Mima Ito, but still wanted to generate good spin without pure loops. In her own words, tacky rubbers were not her preference and needed more speed and feeling that Tenergy 80 was not giving her.

Before

Blade:Sword Soul Wood

FH:Tenergy 80

BH:Dr. Neubauer Killer

After

Blade:Sword Soul Wood

FH:Dignics 05

BH:Dr. Neubauer Killer

The Solution

We kept the blade and the BH rubber the same as these were not the problems and focused on technique and gear. We discovered that H. had a small issue on left to right footwork that she can now work on, and then focused on gear. After analysing all the many options together, we settled on Dignics 05 as the first rubber to try. It has more speed than Tenergy 80 when hitting hard and more feeling due to the less bouncy nature of the rubber, and it's very good for her aggressive FH style and preferences. She discarded for now good hybrid rubbers that she also enjoyed before like Victas Triple Extra, but this remains an option for later.

Astrid

Beginner

The Challenge

As a beginner who just joined the club, she wanted to get her first own table tennis racket while staying within budget.

Before

Blade:Donic pre-assembled bat

FH:Pre-assembled rubber

BH:Pre-assembled rubber

After

Blade:Yasaka Sweden Classic

FH:Friendship 729 FX

BH:Friendship 729 FX Super Soft

The Solution

After considering her options and budget, we went for a classic limba/ayous all-round blade with great control and feeling, the Yasaka Sweden Classic. Paired it with 2 affordable but excellent controlling rubbers: Friendship 729 FX for the forehand and Friendship 729 FX Super Soft for the backhand. This combination fits her budget and sets a solid foundation to later upgrade the rubbers and eventually the blade with a winning wood composition.

Raoul

4th Regional Division

The Challenge

Raoul wanted more speed and felt his 5-ply all-wood blade was limiting his development and growth.

Before

Blade:Tibhar Samsonov Pure Wood

FH:Nittaku Fastarc G-1 Max

BH:Yasaka Rakza 7 Max

After

Blade:Tibhar Samsonov Pure Wood

FH:Nittaku Fastarc G-1 Max

BH:Yasaka Rakza 7 Max

The Solution

After discussing his technique together, we realised that even though his feet and body technique were correct, all that energy stored was being dissipated due to a very thin brush contact. Raoul was doing everything right except the contact point, and thus I recommended to focus on a better hit/brush ratio with a better follow through and braking motion. In one single training session Raoul changed this and he now has more than enough power with his current setup. This is a very good example that technique comes before equipment, but he is now very happy that we realised this and has improved his level exponentially since.

Kevin

Low Intermediate

The Challenge

After playing for many years with a pre-made bat, Kevin wanted to get more serious about table tennis. Initially thinking of upgrading to another pre-made, after our discussion he decided to take the leap into custom equipment.

Before

Blade:Pre-made bat

FH:Pre-made rubber

BH:Pre-made rubber

After

Blade:Stiga Allround Classic

FH:Friendship 729 Super FX

BH:Friendship 729 FX Super Soft

The Solution

We explored several controlled 5-ply wood blades with limba and ayous compositions: Stiga Allround Classic, Yasaka Sweden Classic, and Donic Appelgren Allplay. For rubbers, we discussed options like Friendship 729 FX, Yinhe Mercury II, Xiom Vega Intro, Nittaku Factive, Victas Ventus, and Yasaka Rigan. Balancing Kevin's desired feeling, development needs, and budget, we chose the Stiga Allround Classic paired with Friendship 729 Super FX for the forehand and Friendship 729 FX Super Soft for the backhand—a classic setup that rewards proper technique.

Dick

1st Regional Division

The Challenge

Wanted more speed and power for far-from-table play, and a more attacking blade to transition from allrounder to attacker.

Before

Blade:Xiom Solo

FH:Gewo Nexus EL Pro 48 2.0

BH:Gewo Nexus EL Pro 48 2.0

After

Blade:Xiom Stradivarius

FH:Gewo Nexus EL Pro 48 2.0

BH:Gewo Nexus EL Pro 48 2.0

The Solution

Kept the same rubbers which are fast enough and upgraded to the Xiom Stradivarius blade. This preserved the familiar Xiom Novus Series feeling while adding the power he needed.

Marco

1st Regional Division

The Challenge

Wanted a more aggressive attacking game while keeping the crisp and direct blade feeling he was used to.

Before

Blade:Older Joola blade

FH:Gewo Nexus EL Pro 48

BH:Gewo Nexus EL Pro 48

After

Blade:Joola Tezzo Warrior

FH:Gewo Nexus EL Pro 48

BH:Gewo Nexus EL Pro 48

The Solution

Kept the rubbers as they provide enough speed, and upgraded to the Joola Tezzo Warrior which has similar wood composition with added carbon layers for extra base speed and strength. With the new setup, he has had one of his best competition seasons ever.

Tony

3rd Regional Division

The Challenge

Wanted more attacking power without compromising touch and feeling, to have different attacking gears.

Before

Blade:DHS 08X Soft Carbon

FH:DHS Hurricane Neo 3

BH:Tenergy 05

After

Blade:DHS Hurricane Long 3

FH:DHS Hurricane Neo 3 (39° Orange Sponge)

BH:DHS Hurricane Neo 3 (37°)

The Solution

Changed to the Hurricane Long 3 blade for more power while keeping the familiar DHS wood feeling. Switched backhand to Hurricane Neo 3 37° for more controlled attacks, kept forehand with Hurricane Neo 3 39° orange sponge. With the new setup, he has become 2026 South Holland Champion in the category F.

Daan

3rd Regional Division

The Challenge

After experimenting with different setups, wanted a mix of power and control with the crisp Butterfly blade feeling while keeping familiar Xiom rubbers.

Before

Blade:Various experimental setups

FH:Xiom Vega Pro

BH:Xiom Vega Europe

After

Blade:Butterfly Petr Korbel / Butterfly Innerforce

FH:Xiom Vega Europe / Xiom Vega Hybrid

BH:Xiom Vega Europe / Xiom Vega Hybrid

The Solution

Created two setups to try: a traditional all-wood Butterfly Petr Korbel with Xiom Vega Europe rubbers, and a faster inner carbon Butterfly Innerforce with Hybrid Vega rubbers to find the best competition fit.

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