Coach CornerTechniquespushing-with-rakza-7
lem496 asked 3 years ago

Hey guys,
I use Rakza 7 on my forehand on a Nittaku Shake Defense blade and love it. The control, blocking and the ability to hit flat when needed have me just loving this combo. Since my opponents are waiting for the topspin produced by my pips for their third ball attack I’ve taken to twiddling to make my game less predictable. My problem is my pushes seem to be going into the bottom of the net and I catch myself lifting the ball. I pulled out my old racket, a Butterfly Interforce ZLC with Tenergy 05fx on the backhand and the pushes went over the net just as expected with plenty of control . I really don’t push much from the forehand, instead I’ve been successfully taking the short balls with my pips.
I’m really baffled, is it because of the grippy nature of the rubber on a slow blade. I’ve used grippy rubbers before (Hurricane 3 Neo) without this issue. Any advice will be appreciated. 

I hope all is well, stay safe 
Lem

1 Answers
TomTom Academy Coach answered 3 years ago

Hey Lem,

Yes that is a strange one with the pushes going into the net. I wouldn’t have thought this would be to do with the grip, but it might just be the combination of the rubber on the blade. I would say just make sure you are low and close to he ball when pushing and be sure to finish fully through the ball.

Sometimes this can happen when changing equipment and it takes some time to adjust to the different feeling of a new blade or rubber. It could also be if you are now twiddling more now and perhaps not totally set in your grip if you are changing this lore regularly.

I’m sure this will improve with practice and time but let us know if you continue to have this problem.

Tom 🙂

lem496
replied 3 years ago

It seems to happen when my opponent pushes hard and fast. The ball almost seems to catapult off the racket. Its probably just me and the fact I’m way out of practice pushing from my backhand.

TomTom
Academy Coach replied 3 years ago

Ahh ok, so I would say then really focus on getting a longer contact on the ball and trying to push through forwards. Also get a softer contact which isn’t too thick will also help this!

lem496
replied 3 years ago

Thanks for the really quick response. I’ll definitely be working on this all week. This is just another “thing” in my hate / love relationship with pips. It’s without a doubt a me issue. I even have problems blocking from the backhand the ball has a huge arc onto the table and the one thing Rakza 7 does well is block.

TomTom
Academy Coach replied 3 years ago

No worries at all, it will improve with time and practice though for sure. Keep up the good work and let us know how it goes!

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