Who is Yasaka Rising Dragon for?
The Yasaka Rising Dragon rubber is designed for advanced and professional players looking for a rubber that combines speed, spin, and control. The rubber is particularly well-suited for players who use an attacking style of play and who rely on a combination of power, spin, and accuracy to win points.
It is an ideal weapon for offensive players such as loopers, opener-ups, and some controllable players who try to control the game’s rhythm through changeable placement and shots. The rubber gives them great spin, decent speed, and excellent control.
Review of Yasaka Rising Dragon
Appearance and Data
The Yasaka Rising Dragon rubber has a distinctive appearance with a red and black color scheme. The top sheet of the rubber has a slightly glossy finish and a slightly tacky texture, which helps to increase the rubber’s grip on the ball. The Yasaka logo is prominently displayed in the center of the rubber sheet, with the name “Rising Dragon” printed just below it.
The sponge of the Yasaka Rising Dragon is a bright yellow color and has a medium hardness, providing a good balance of speed and control. The rubber is available in a variety of thicknesses, ranging from 1.8mm to 2.2mm, to suit different playing styles and preferences.
By the way, I am really fond of the name of this series. Yasaka has a series of rubbers named after dragons, such as Rising Dragon, Shining Dragon, Hovering Dragon, etc.
The dragon is legendary in many cultures, often associated with strength, power, and good fortune. In Chinese mythology, the dragon is a symbol of the emperor and represents prosperity and success. In Japanese culture, the dragon is also a symbol of strength and good luck.
Speed
I glued the rubber Yasaka Rising Dragon both red and black version on the Butterfly Zhang Jike ALC blade to test its performance. At the first touch, I don’t feel the rubber is that tacky like DHS Hurricane Series. It’s somehow tacky but more like European rubber.
The forehand and backhand drives have decent initial speeds. Combining the unique top sheet and medium-hard sponge allows for good speed while maintaining a good level of control.
The close-to-medium distance loops are quite powerful and speedy! The rubber gives me a bouncy feel. The overall feeling is somehow similar to the DHS Hurricane 3 after being boosted. I am quite satisfied with the backhand performance due to its great elasticity.
However, the speed begins to decrease while exerting loops at a far distance from the table. It is quite obvious that the speed decreases sharply after jumping on the table, but it still maintains a huge spin.
Spin
The spin performance of the Yasaka Rising Dragon rubber is one of its key strengths. This rubber is really a spin machine. The unique top sheet design of the rubber allows for excellent grip on the ball, which translates into better spin performance on shots.
The medium-hard sponge of the Yasaka Rising Dragon also contributes to its spin performance by providing good ball contact and dwell time. I could feel it was even spinnier during the test than Chinese rubbers.
The rubber has a medium throw, and during the topspin rallies, players could generate strokes with huge amounts of spin with decent speed, making it almost impossible for the opponent to return it back. With great effort, I can feel that the sponge grabs the ball perfectly and then release it.
Control
The performance of the overall control can be described as excellent. The rubber’s medium-hard sponge provides a good balance of speed and control, allowing players to generate good power while maintaining accuracy and precision on their offensive shots.
The rubber has a relatively high error tolerance. Several times, I didn’t hit the ball at the best time, and I thought the ball might be out, but finally, they didn’t.
The drop shots are also amazing. As a defensive player, I am more sensitive about the performance in control than others. No matter whether it is short pushes or long pushes, the ball can be located precisely. Especially the long and profound pushes, the balls are quite spinny and low, making it uncomfortable for opponents to lift them up.
Defense
This is the most doubtful part of the test! As I have tested both the red and black versions of the rubber, I found that they are quite distinct. The black side is less tacky, and the sponge is somehow harder than the red one. Thus, the overall speed is slightly faster than the red one.
This is not quite obvious during the loops, as both of them are able to generate speedy and spinny shots with proper effort. However, the detail and difference of the rubber are noticeable while doing the block.
The black side can be faster, and the shots are relatively flat. The red one is slow but absorbs the incoming power quite well due to the tacky topsheet. Thus, I suggest you use the black side on my backhand to do fast and active blocks, while the red one on the forehand makes loops or passive blocks. Also, the tacky surface is good for chopping.
Serves
The unique top sheet of the rubber allows for excellent grip on the ball, which translates into a better spin on serves. I didn’t test the rubber with all-wood blades. But with the carbon blade, the rubber can generate quite fast and spinny serves.
I am quite satisfied with the backspin and sidespin served by Yasaka Rising Dragon. Especially the long sidespin serves toward the backhand or forehand. The fast and deceptive shots make it hard for opponents to return it back.
About Yasaka Company
Yasaka is a Japanese company that produces various table tennis products, including blades, rubbers, balls, and accessories. The company was founded in 1947 by Hirosi Yaoita and Sakamoto, who gave the company its name by combining their surnames.
Yaoita was a table tennis player and coach passionate about the sport, and his goal was to create high-quality table tennis products that could help players improve their game.
Since its founding, Yasaka has remained committed to this goal, and the company has become known for producing innovative, high-quality table tennis products that are used by players around the world. The company is particularly well-known for its rubbers, which many top-level players use worldwide.
In addition to its focus on quality and performance, Yasaka is also known for its strong commitment to social and environmental responsibility. The company has implemented several initiatives to reduce its environmental impact and promote sustainability.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Yasaka Rising Dragon is a high-performance table tennis rubber that has earned a reputation among players for its outstanding speed, spin, and control. Its innovative design, which includes a special top sheet and a hard sponge, allows for maximum grip and a higher trajectory, making it an excellent choice for players who rely on heavy topspin shots.
I really like this rubber, and it can also be used on the forehand to do both attack and chopping. I recommend you have a try.
