Hi Bobv, Yes I know Joanna very well I actually used to practice with her quite a bit and she’s a very good player. She is more of an all out defender for sure than someone like Satoshi Aida, this comes down of course partly to personal preference but also what you find are your strengths and weaknesses. Joanna was always very good at creating a lot of backspin away from the table and also varying the spin, so she just mainly used her attacks on a weak ball or as a surprise.
As for the rubbers, it’s definitely better to uses a thinner sponge as a defensive style player as it adds a lot more control when you need to handle the opponents incoming speed and spin compared to thicker sponge. Tenergy for chopping and attacking is great if you feel you can control it, some players find for the defensive side it can be a little to quick but of course the thinner sponge will help. It has great spin and is brilliant when you need to attack, so it can be a good combination for sure.
