Knowing when to commit to a playstyle change

Jeff Van Goidsenoven Asked 3 years ago

Hi there dear Pingskillers!

Due to a shoulder injury, I played mostly defensively with my backhand (pushing, chopping, blocking) the past couple of months, instead of being more active. I just slapped a random thin (1.3) inverted control rubber on the backhand and started defending, and to my surprise, did quite well with it.

Now that my shoulder has mostly recovered, I'm wondering, should I stick with it or should I switch back to my old style? My backhand was never my strong suit, however I was decent at opening up the game with it but I was never able to keep the pressure up because I think my movements were too large and inefficient.

Also, if I keep playing defensively, should I adjust my setup? I tried long pips but that was catastrophic and broke my brain a bit. Maybe short pips or a 1.5 rubber to block more aggressively?

Alois Rosario Answered 3 years ago

Hi Jeff,

I think you could even stay with the thin inverted rubber and block or play defensively with it but then also it allows you to topspin when required or when possible.

I tried this at one stage and found it really effective.