I bought a Der-Materialspezialist Wizard blade with inverted rubbers, which is quite light and I liked it. However, I was told if I replaced one of the rubbers with an Anti-Power rubber by Yasaka it would deflect all the spins received from other players. I think now it’s preventing me from adding spin to my play when I’m serving or returning. What’s your view?
Helen – beginner player
Tom’s response…
Yasaka Anti-Power is an anti-spin rubber. The benefits of an anti-spin rubber is that it is far less sensitive to incoming spin than an inverted rubber. This can make it easier to return spinny serves, spinny topspins and spinny pushes. Not only can you absorb the incoming spin, but the ball can be returned very short, with little pace, which can be very disruptive to the other player.
The downside of an anti-spin rubber is that you can’t really generate much spin. It’s not easy (although not impossible) to play aggressive attacking shots. Serving with an anti-spin rubber is also limited. You can’t spin the ball in the same way as an inverted rubber, so most serves often end up quite floaty.
Most anti-spin players will use a combination bat. They will have anti-spin on one side and an inverted rubber on the other side. They use the anti-spin to cause disruption and weak shots from their opponents and then use the inverted rubber to attack any weak balls. This can be a very effective playing style. Even at the professional level, players such as Sabine Winter and Luka Mladenovic have plenty of success using anti-spin.
Should you stick with anti-spin or change back to an inverted rubber? It all depends how you want to play and what brings you pleasure at the table. If you want to play more topspin shots with both your forehand and backhand, then you should switch back to inverted. But if you are happy to be more disruptive (and less spinny) on one side, then you might persevere with anti-spin.
If you stick with anti-spin, then you will have to learn how to use the rubber effectively. Players who use ant-spin use lots of blocks and chops with an early timing. This really takes the pace out of the ball and can be very disruptive. It is a skill which has to be developed, but if you make progress with anti-spin it is likely to bring you plenty of success in amateur table tennis.
The blade you have – Der-Materialspezialist Wizard – is ideal for a combination bat. One side of the blade is more defensive and should be used for anti-spin. The other side is more offensive and should be used with an inverted rubber. You can use the offensive side for serving and topspin attacks. The defensive side can be used for disruptive shots with the anti-spin rubber..
There is no right or wrong approach here. You have to decide what playing style you want to use. You can have success with anti-spin, but if it’s not bringing much joy, then switch back to an inverted rubber.
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