2016 U.S. Open Hardbat Final

A. J. Carney vs Sharon Alguetti (pronounced Sha-rown' - long "o" sound)

Thanks for the video!  Honest question to hardbat folks - are most high-level hardbat matches played in this style?  

This match looks a lot like sponge rubber games - in particular, many of the criticisms lodged at sponge rubber (i.e., mistakes reading serves, short rallies, hard to return drives) occur in this match, even to a greater extent. 

Is this because both players typically play sponge?  If so, why are sponge players dominating hardbat using sponge rubber technique?

I have a suspicion (may be wrong) that modern technique for sponge play (e.g., loop drives) are in actually more effective than classic techniques for hardbat strokes.  In other words, switching to hardbat wouldn't change the game that much.

(bmann)  Modern sponge technique is demonstrably effective for attack to attack play.  The World Champions of the early '30s through the early '50s (Victor Barna, Bohumil Vana, Johnny Leach, Richard Bergmann, Ferenc Sido, could both attack and defend effectively.   Bergmann's defense was regarded as the best of his day.

Exactamundo, my dear Watson.  In 1926, Viktor Barna, then a 15 year old, wrote in a later book that the topspin hit as opposed to the plain hit which is now termed a flat hit had a distinct arc as opposed to a very narrow arc.  A 1928 instructional video produced by ITTF President Ivor Montagu shows this.  The English international A. A. Haydon is shown hitting forehand topspins with a distinct arc to them. Hardbat loops, 1928 style. Laszlo Bellak demonstrates what was then known as the "plain hit" style of forehand and backhand driving.  Even this way of stroking had a bit of an arc to it.

All shots in table tennis are going to have some spin, even if very little.  A perfectly flat fh or bh (if such a shot is indeed possible) would not land of the opposite side of the table,

I shot with a Panasonic GH4.  I chose the 60fps speed since I figured there was going to be some fast play. The other potentially good alternative was to shoot 4k at 30fps for more detail.  

I should have set up a second camera given that A.J. is a lefty.  With this one camera position his body got in the way of a number of shots.  This would happen less often if he was a righty.

Use any all wood blade that you have and like.  I personally like slow but stiff blades with soft outer wood layers.  Defensive blades with willow outer plies have been my favorite. I'd probably choose the Barricade from your list.  But some other player would choose something else.  

I also really like the Gambler Zebra Classic from ZeroPong.  But I have to warn you that it is a bit fragile and more prone to breaking than other blades since the grain in all the wood layers is aligned.  But at $28 you aren't out much if you break it.  Besides, the ones I've broken have repaired perfectly fine and play the same.  They have a Classic Rosewood that is faster and that I therefore don't like as much. I played with the five ply Instinct from ZeroPong for years and only left it because I wanted a somewhat larger blade for chopping.  So that's something to consider as well.  Many hardbat players prefer a slightly oversized blade.

But the easiest thing is to just use a blade that you have and put a couple sheets hardbat rubber on it.

Dr. Evil is very popular because it is inexpensive and plays well.  Cole can also sell you some Air Classique. It should also be fairly inexpensive.   It will have more bounce and speed, but not much more spin. Valor Premiere would be my next choice.  It is a bit more expensive and is heavier.  But it plays well.

Maybe you should get a sheet of each and move them around on your blades until you find something that feels good.  That way you can try out a lot of combos without spending much money.

Thanks. My Panasonic HC-V770EB-K only does 50fps in full hd, which is very nice, but IMHO videos shot at 60fps look better and more natural.

Orthodox is one of the grippier hardbat rubbers, but I think some YASAKA Cobalt variant might have a bit more bite. Haven't used it, but I assume that the Cobalt has thicker pips than the orthodox giving it more grip.

I asked AJ if he was inspired by the Family Guy Peter Griffin Beard episode. Surprisingly, he wasn't aware of it. http://media.giphy.com/media/mVsKCTY2zjeow/giphy.gif