Why I Play What I Play

My name is Tahl Leibovitz and I am a professional table tennis player. I have been using STIGA products for more than 10 years. Currently I use the Clipper Classic blade (master handle) with Boost TX (2.3) on my forehand and Boost TC (2.3) on my backhand.

The Clipper Classic blade is excellent for my style of play. I can block well with it and I can attack strong. It is the only racket I have used where I can play both defense and offense. The racket is a great balance of both offense and defense.

The Boost TX rubber on the forehand is awesome. Best forehand rubber ever. It is great for counter loop, smashing, and for blocking. Just a great all round rubber.

In my opinion, Boost TX is better than Tenergy. If you use Tenergy you will love STIGA’s TX rubbers. My friend who is from Poland, and played professionally there, said that Boost TX is excellent for the forehand.

Boost TX has a medium hard sponge. You can loop strong with it and get good spin. You can also smash with it very well. It’s a good serving rubber and you can block good with it. I might try and eventually use it on the backhand but, right now I am very happy with the Boost TC rubber on the backhand.

Boost TC is very soft and the ball sinks into the rubber more. Boost TX is a bit harder than Boost TC. If you compare a new sheet of Boost TC to a new sheet of Boost TX there is a difference but, what makes the big difference is when you glue the sheets. The Boost TX stays about the same hardness but the Boost TC tends to become a lot softer. Especially after 10 days of use. If you want Boost TC to be harder try and use 2 thin coats of water based glue. Put the first coat on and let it dry for 20 minutes, then do the same thing for the second coat.

Boost TX is a good quality rubber. You shots will have high quality. Boost TC tends to be softer so the ball stays on the racket longer. Boost TX can generate much more spin than Boost TC but smashing and blocking are better with Boost TC. Due to the stroke dynamics of forehand and backhand it is always good to use a harder sheet of rubber on the forehand and a softer sheet of rubber on the backhand.

A lot of players talk about high or low throw when discussing the characteristics of a table tennis rubber. I don’t know what low throw or high throw is. I don’t measure rubber based on the height of the ball. I can always use my hand to change the height of the ball. I tend to play many balls directly over the net and sometimes loop a higher ball to the backhand but, it depends on my opponent.

I think the Boost TC will be my backhand rubber, although I like Boost TX so much I am thinking of using it for the backhand also. However I have been analyzing the points I’ve played on the backhand. The block is working excellent and the smash is very good. Also my backhand is very good and I can use any sort of rubber on it. I can use short pips, anti, whatever. I found the Boost TX rubber to be excellent on my forehand and the Boost TC to be really good on the backhand, I think I will stay with this combination. I really like the way I can control the opponents loop when I block with the Boost TC on the backhand. The Boost TC is also great for smashing.

We need to understand that the more spin and speed we are able to impart on the ball with our rubber sheet means that we will have less control. What is great about Boost TX is that I am still able to control the ball while getting great speed and spin. Using the Boost TC I am giving my opponent a different ball when looping but, my smash is much better and my control is excellent also.