playing-against-short-pimples-and-normal-rubber
Nomad asked 4 years ago
Hi guys
Before lockdown I played against an opponent who had short pimples on one hand and a grippy rubber on the other. He was able to twiddle the bat from one side to the other during a rally making it very tricky to get into a steady rythm.
I found that if I played slow high balls wih enough topspin to clear the net to his pimple rubber then I could usually gat a return suitable for me to make an outright winner. However If I was too persistent with this tactic he would twiddle the bat and send a heavy topspin drive whizzing by me using the grippy rubber..To counter this I tried to vary regularly the diection of my shots from his forehand to his backhand which gave him less confidence in changing from one side of his bat to the other.
i am not keen on playing against this type of player as it takes a great deal of concentration especially when he blocked with the pimples and I received backspin from my topspin drive.
I eventually managed to win the match but the games were long and physically draining. I came off with a headache wondering if I oould have adopted a different strategy…Any ideas?
Dan Academy Coach answered 4 years ago
Hey Nomad, a lot of the tactics you mentioned are generally the right thing to do. One thing which is key against these types of players is to vary your shots, so the placement, spin and speed. If they get into a rhythm or the pattern of the points are too similar they will get in more attacks as you said.
You mentioned above giving him less confidence by changing the direction,that is vital to get players making more decisions abd have uncertainty in their mind. Probably you’ll find it much easier next time but overall it is the right approach!
