Close to the table, definitely frictionless type OXmerlin el mago wrote: on Friday 04 April 2025, 18:23
Close to the table OX, mid-far from the table with sponge.
For away from the table clueless chopper (morons), it is a litlle more complex
For player below about USATT rating of 1900 or so , OX is still the best but frictionful pips rather than frictionless pips
For players above 1900 or so but below semi pro level , thin sponge may be best.
For semi-pro & pro players , they need the thickest & lively MAX sponge below the pips
(I have a suspicion that some wide (stiff) pips pro choppers, also illegally boost their sponge under their wide (stiff) pips in addition to having some pips that is listed as wide (stiff) on ITTF LARC but probably is slim (flex) pips.
This comment is based on literally over 1000s of iterations of these rubbers over about 30 year period against all levels of players in sanctioned tournaments from beginner to highest pro players (such as Cheng Yinghua, David Zhuang, Abbas Ekun, Gao Jun etc etc to name some of the few, and with win over current USATT CEO Virginia Sung when she was on the USA team) , from the very inception (& qucik ban) of actual long pips to current useless social slim (flex) pips on ITTF LARC, starting from the 38 mm ball thru the 40- celluloid ball to the current disgusting 40+ plastic ball
