tenergy 05 fx review by high arc

Impressions after second session:

First of all, the T05 FX will be my new backhand rubber, no doubt. I have not found anything about it on the backhand side which I don't like.

I played for about one hour against a machine, and for about another hour some matches against two different players. I play with both of them quite frequently, one is has quite a bit a lower level (no ranking because only the top 200 or so get a ranking), the other is quite a bit better (current number 15 in Switzerland), and I know their game well. However, the serves of the better player are often loaded with so much spin that I frequently used to make a direct mistake with T05 even if I read the spin correctly just because I misread the amount of spin. My ranking fluctuates in the Swiss top 100, but not below 60.

Playing against the machine (switch between T05 and T05 FX, see picture)



Actually both rubbers have similar characteristics. The FX has just a bit more dwell, and is a bit slower. Some may perhaps find the FX a bit mushy, but I don't, I actually find the T64 more mushy. It is certainly easier to loop bottom spin balls with the T05 FX than with the T05, but for now I can't tell whether this is due to a larger dwell, a smaller sensitivity to incoming spin or a higher throw. I guess it's not the last point because he rubber seems to have a lower throw than the regular T05 in all aspects. When I did some off the table counter looping against the machine (oh I love that so much), I found that there is a upper speed and spin limit of the rubber, which I have never experienced with the normal T05. But the limit is very high so that at my level I don't care.

In the matches, I noticed that I serve better with the FX. I felt more confident to put spin on short serves, because they did not go long as often experienced with the regular T05.

Against the player with a lower level, I performed pretty much the same as I would have with the normal T05. Though some unnecessary errors on first forehand loops due to the higher dwell, but nothing I can't get used to. I really liked how you can do touch shots with the rubber. Managed to do some nice short bottom side spin returns and found it good fun to use the catapult. Had some problems with flicking on the forehand side.

On the other hand I did better against the best player of our club than I ever have. Did less errors in the returns of his serves, where I dared to be more active. I blocked more balls than I usually would have. When he attacks, he always plays the balls there where I don't expect them, and the FX is much more forgiving for these kind of out-of-position blocks.

I don't know whether this is helpful or not...

By the way, I found the Jun Mizutani blade to be a perfect match to the T05 FX's.

I think the T05 FX rubber will be a huge success, because it is similar to the T05, but is not that difficult to handle. I often found the T05 working against me when facing better opponents, and I don't see that coming with the FX. I expect some pro's to use the T05 FX on the backhand, but I can't imagine that many would use it on the forehand, because it lacks the extreme power and top gear of the normal version.