(by Steve Hopkins)

I recently had opportunity to try Dignics 09C.  I’ve now used the rubber for about 8 hours of playing time and I’m pleased with the result.

I’ve been playing with Butterfly Tenergy and Dignics rubbers for some time.  Most recently I had Dignics 80 on my forehand and Dignics 64 on my backhand.  There are some interesting differences with this rubber and I’m going to try to relay those differences here as I see them.

As a 2000-and-change level player, my analysis and comparison of equipment has limits.  I don’t have the arm speed of the pros, and I don’t rely on powerful loops or try to drive the ball through my opponent – so my review is on how this equipment works for me in a competitive setting.  I’m an all-around or control player that uses precise shots to set up high-percentage points.  I vary spin and speed, and my attacking shots generally occur when the other player has made a mistake or as a counter-attack using my opponent’s power against them.

Overall I have found the Dignics rubbers to be designed for the modern game – if you loop the ball from both sides and rely on topspin to bring the ball down onto the table, this rubber series was designed for you.  I have found angles that I’ve never been able to land and I’ve hit wild topspins from yards behind the table that have surprised me by landing. Dignics 05 had a deep downward rotation when hitting heavy topspin. Dignics 80 had less of an arch on the same swings and had better control in blocking.  Dignics 64 was flatter yet, but still with the ability to add extra top spin and get great downward movement. Each of these rubbers have been fun to experiment with.

The Dignics 09C is a little harder and a little tackier than the other rubbers in the series.  When flat hitting in warm-ups, it felt a little slow — I would attribute that to the tackiness of the top sheet. Once one starts looping, however, it reacts very much like the other Dignics rubbers.  The ball has long dwell time on the paddle and you are able to put a great amount of spin on the ball (creating the severe downward arc and allowing one to swing very freely with confidence that the ball will find the table on the other side).

Spin from a normal underspin serve seems a little less than the other Dignics rubbers – for me, the harder the rubber the less spin there is on short serves.  As this is the hardest of the Dignics series, it makes sense that it does not bite as much with a short underspin serve.

Service return is very good and placement is easy.  The hard sponge makes it easier to pick hit a high serve – it also adds some additional flip options with some deep poke returns.  The tacky top sheet provides some really neat options for banana flips or spinny returns – that is, a brushing return that doesn’t drive the ball into the sponge can provide a lot of spin.

Topspin rallies away from the table are very much like other Dignics rubbers, and players will get used to 09C very quickly.  Again, with the hard sponge, there are some additional options of pick hitting balls – options that are less apparent with the other rubbers in the series but that are easy to accomplish with this rubber.

This is the best Dignics rubber for chopping away from the table.  The ball stays low and you can load up the spin.  These are clearly designed to be offensive rubbers, but if you are someone who mixes in defense, this is worth a close look.

This is also the best Dignics rubber for covering your opponent’s loops as they are rising and for aggressive blocks. Like Tenergy 05 Hard was the best of the Tenergy series for these strokes, this hardest of the Dignics rubbers excels here as well.  My opponent’s best loops often went back with simple flat hits, and I could use his spin to drive a block deep into the corners.  The control on these shots may be the best of any rubber that I’ve every used, and as this is a big part of my game, I’ll be experimenting more with how this rubber can compliment my skills.

On my backhand side, I like to loop off of weaker shots and block strong shots.  I don’t normally attack with blocks or flatter strokes on that side, but I found the ability to hit some neat aggressive flat shots with this rubber.  I have sometimes watched amazed as our top women athletes pound flat backhands at each other in rallies.  Some of my rallies felt like that – that one could just pound the backhand almost straight and the control and feel enabled balls to land deep without the deep downward arc of a big loop.

Responsive is the best word to describe this rubber.  Whether one wants to trade loops, or play short, or pick hit, or aggressively block, you’ll find great control.  In the end, for a creative all-around player, the key to performing one’s best is maximizing options.  Dignics 09C allows the user to land a variety of shots from a variety of angles – it is great for providing options.