Expert Equipment Blog by Wang Cheng - Dynaryz ZGR Review

When I became a coach at the Maryland Table Tennis Center, I had the chance to try out some more of JOOLA's table tennis blades and rubbers. Dynaryz ZGR is one of the rubbers that I had the opportunity to try, and to use more.

As a player coming to the USA from China, the standard for the players there is Hurricane 3. This has always been the case. The tacky topsheet and hard sponge combination is very well suited to the Chinese style of playing on the forehand.

I was very interested to try the Dynaryz ZGR and see how it performed. I used the Vyzaryz Freeze HRD blade in combination with this rubber on the forehand.

At first I did feel like the Dynaryz ZGR was on the heavier side. This was the very first impression of the racket. All rubbers have pros and cons, and this firmer sponge added weight to the racket head. The feeling of the topsheet was not sticky but it was very grippy. There was more grip than most normal european style rubbers.

The sponge of the ZGR was also quite unique, unlike Chinese rubbers this sponge was quite reactive, the ball came off the rubber much faster. With Chinese rubbers you need to generate a lot of the power with your body and make a direct contact, with the Dynaryz ZGR the sponge helps to add pace to the ball and take some stress off the body weight transfer.

A lot of firm sponges have small air cells and are much harder. This sponge was firmer but still with some catapult effect.

My impressions at the table were that while the rubber was not a typical Chinese style rubber, it was a mix of a grippy topsheet and a firmer sponge. There were properties suited to Chinese style, combined with properties suited to European style. The Dynaryz ZGR is a more hybrid style of rubber.

This rubber on the forehand was definitely able to achieve a good level of power. The sponge hardness is 57 degrees, so there is a lot of direct power in the third ball attack. In countering situations the sponge is very reactive. I felt that the more incoming power to the player, the more ability the rubber has to unlock its potential.

A player can play delicate shots where the topsheet grips more and the sink to the sponge is more shallow. However, a player can also generate more power when they play through the sponge layer more.

The ball was more reactive than a Chinese rubber in the short game. Without the tackiness the spin generation is slightly less – but still an impressive level.

With such a reactive sponge it can be harder to control initially, but after adjustment it was great.

It was very interesting for me to have the chance to try this rubber and some others out. The Dynaryz ZGR rubber is a great option for players looking for a powerful forehand rubber with many gears. There is also the Dynaryz ZGX rubber which is a little softer, but also a lighter alternative.

About the Author:

Wang Cheng is a professional table tennis coach and training partner at the Maryland Table Tennis Center in Germantown, MD. An extensive background in the sport of table tennis, Wang is a former member of the Guangxi Province Team in China with an adept knowledge of the game.

Wang has a number of titles to his name in China and the USA including victory at a Hunan Provincial Singles Championships and the National Rising Star Cup Singles in China. He also won the Under 2500 event at the Westerchester Table Tennis Tournament in 2017.