Rasanter R53 review

by Thierry Verviers
Coach of the Prestige Club of Montreal and the Quebec Team

The Rasanter R53 has a sponge hardness of 53 degrees. When I saw this, I was apprehensive, since I don’t like very hard rubbers. On the other hand, I told myself that it was worth trying it considering the positive tests that I carried out with the other andro Rasanter models. I thought, at worst, I could recommend it to players who need a very hard rubber.

andro gave us the following information

• The andro ENERGY CELL sponge with highly elastic cell structure ensures an extremely dynamic energy transfer, especially for fast and hard topspins.
• The R rubber surface for maximum rotation gains additively more impact through the ENERGY CELL sponge.
• The 53 ° sponge provides immediate feedback on ideal ball contact. You will be surprised how soft 53 ° can feel like.

The last characteristic seemed to me impossible: good touch and good feeling with a 53 degrees.

Well I was wrong and I was totally surprised. I had the speed and rotation that I expected from a 53 degree sponge, but with the feeling of softer rubber. I felt like I had control over the ball regardless of the shots: serves, returns, first attacks. I would even say, I felt like I was playing with a “boosted” rubber.

But where I was most surprised was looping from mid-distance. Not being my specialty, I did not expect that. My mid-distance shots instantly improved.

Really, R53 is a rubber that you absolutely must test.

In addition, I have been told by players who use it regularly that the R53 is durable and keeps its characteristics for a long time.