Yasaka is a brand that’s known for its high-quality, consistent equipment. The Rakza line in particular is extremely successful, and all of the rubbers within the line are (or have been) best sellers, for good reason.
The Rakza XX is one of Yasaka’s newest offerings, released in 2023. Not to be confused with the Rakza X which was launched in 2015.
According to Yasaka, this new Rakza XX has very high speed levels while maintaining strong spin and high stability.
We have tested the Yasaka Rakza XX for more than 10 hours to understand exactly how it plays, whether Yasaka’s claims are true, and exactly how good this rubber is.
Throughout my testing, I found it very easy to get the ball on the table, something that’s very remarkable considering it has good speed and spin levels. It’s not the fastest nor the spinniest rubber out there but it has more than enough power to finish points by attacking.
I think the Rakza XX is a great offering for most offensive players, as it has 70-80% of the speed and spin of top-of-the-line rubbers while having a lot more control. If you aren’t an advanced player, the Rakza XX would be a very sensible choice, and if you’re an advanced player, you could also use it on a faster blade or on your backhand side. There’s a lot to like about this rubber, including its high quality and its durability.
Perfect for: Offensive players of all levels on either side. 1-15+ years of playing.
Ace
About the Reviewer
Alvaro brings 7+ years of playing experience. He’s tested 20+ rubbers for Racket Insight and his style is The Controller.
About the Review
Blade Used: Stratus Power Wood
Rubber Thickness: MAX
Hours Tested: 10+
Recommended Playstyles
We recommend the Rakza XX to players who want a versatile, balanced rubber with great offensive capabilities and even better control and feel.
Design of the Yasaka Rakza XX
The Yasaka Rakza XX comes in a high-quality sealed package:
Inside, we can find the rubber, covered by a protective film.
The rubber we ordered is a shiny red, MAX thickness Rakza XX. Our initial impressions are that the Rakza XX is very grippy, as expected, and slightly tacky.
Upon pressing on the topsheet, we find that the Yasaka Rakza XX is a medium-hard rubber. Yasaka didn’t disclose their reading of its hardness in terms of the Shore A (Butterfly/DHS) or Shore O (ESN) scale, which is something I found quite uncommon and annoying, to be honest.
What they did tell us, is that the sponge is 4+/5 in hardness and that the rubber is 4/5 in durability.
I found it quite confusing that Yasaka didn’t state the objective hardness of the rubber and that they said it’s 4+/5.
From pressing on the rubber, I’d say that the Rakza XX is around 47.5 degrees on the ESN scale. It’s about as hard as the Vega X, the Tenergy 05, the Rasanter R47, and other rubbers in that hardness range.
Playtesting the Yasaka Rakza XX
We playtested the Yasaka Rakza XX on both my forehand and backhand wings. I believe it’s a great option for either side, for the reasons we’ll explain below.
The Yasaka Rakza XX is very controllable for an offensive rubber. Its arc is medium-high and it is relatively fast, but not enough to make it uncontrollable.
One of the main characteristics of this rubber, which may be positive or negative depending on who you ask, is that offensive shots played with this rubber land quite shallow on the table. That means it’s quite difficult to overshoot the table.
Compared with other rubbers with flatter and longer throws, such as the Hurricane 3 NEO for example, the Rakza XX gives us a lot more safety on offensive strokes.
The downside to this is that offensive shots aren’t as dangerous because the ball will not land as deep on the other side of the table so our shots may be blocked or countered more easily.
The speed and spin levels of this rubber are standard for modern offensive rubbers. I read that other reviewers say this rubber is extremely fast and super spinny, but this was not my experience with it.
In my opinion, it is a step down from the modern offensive rubbers that are designed for higher-level players.
It is slower and less spinny than the Rasanter R47, the Tibhar MX-P, the Tenergies, and other rubbers in that performance range.
The Rakza XX is more in line with rubbers such as the Xiom Vega X, the Nittaku Fastarc P-1, and other similar rubbers.
If I had to draw a direct comparison to other rubbers, the Rakza XX feels like a slightly harder Butterfly Rozena or a tamer Butterfly Tenergy 05. It is a very similar rubber to the Nittaku Fastarc P-1.
I say this because the design of the sponge is quite unique in that it is extremely porous. The Rakza XX is indeed relatively hard, but it plays softer than it is. I’d say it plays like a medium-hardness rubber, around 45 degrees.
Hence, the Rakza XX feels quite spongey and gives the player using it great dwell time and feeling with the ball, but not at the expense of firmness and stability when hitting hard.
In terms of what blade to pair it with, I think it could work great on a huge variety of blades.
We tested the Rakza XX on a Donic Original Carbospeed, a very fast OFF+ blade. On the Carbospeed, the Rakza XX behaved very well.
It ended up balancing the blade out wonderfully. The fact that shots played with this rubber land shallower on the table is a great quality to have if you have a fast blade and you want a consistent yet capable rubber.
I think that this rubber can work well on OFF- blades if you’re a beginner with 6 months – 1 year of training experience, and it can work on OFF/OFF+ carbon blades if you’re an intermediate or advanced offensive player.
Driving and looping
The Yasaka Rakza XX is a great rubber for driving, looping, and flat-hitting.
Drives clear the net easily and you get a huge sense of control over the ball.
Flat hits also work quite well with a Rakza XX, as they do with most European rubbers. It is a good rubber to flat hit and smash with, as it is a controllable rubber but it doesn’t lack speed, especially if you pair it with a faster blade.
As for looping, the Rakza XX is a very good rubber. It is an offensive rubber, after all.
I’d like to preface this section by saying that I tested the Yasaka Rakza XX alongside the Butterfly Glayzer. I had the Glayzer on one side and the Rakza on the other.
To test these rubbers, I usually train with them for a few hours and then shoot around two hours of video to get the clips for this article.
My experience with the Rakza compared to the Glayzer is the following: The Glayzer was noticeably faster, longer throwing, and slightly spinnier than the Rakza XX.
Even if it’s slower and slightly less spinny, it’s much more forgiving.
The key difference was that the depth of my loops played with the Rakza XX compared with the Glayzer was huge.
The Rakza XX’s throw was slightly higher and a lot more shallow than the Glayzer’s. This means we got more safety over the net and less risk of overshooting at the same time, at the expense of less directness and shot quality.
My training partner mentioned that with the Rakza XX, my shots were much easier to block than with the Glayzer. However, I found it easier to land the ball on the table with the Rakza.
In the end, it comes down to your preferences and your needs. Most table tennis players would benefit from getting the ball on the table one or two more times per rally, and the Rakza XX could be a great solution for that.
That’s why I think the Rakza XX could be a great rubber for developing offensive players who know how to loop but they want to improve their consistency and start counterlooping when the chance arises.
The Rakza could be the perfect solution for these players as its arc and control could help them play more freely and confidently, especially in tournament play when the pressure is on.
Whether it’s worth it to trade shot quality for the added control depends on your playing level and where you stand on your table tennis journey.
Loops (both backhand and forehand) played with the Rakza travel with adequate speed and spin levels for a modern offensive rubber.
I say that its spin and speed are adequate because they’re not lacking, but they’re definitely a step below those of most modern offensive rubbers. This is especially true if you consider that the Rakza XX was released in 2023.
Don’t get me wrong, you can produce fast winners and spinny open-ups, but the Rakza XX is not the best at either of those. Being able to produce high-quality shots is the bare minimum expectation for an offensive rubber nowadays.
Unlike other manufacturers such as Butterfly, Tibhar, or Donic, Yasaka seldom tries to push the limits of what a rubber can accomplish in terms of speed or spin.
I’d say that the Rakza XX, along with most of the Yasaka rubbers, prioritizes balance, control, and feeling above everything else while having enough speed and spin to reward offensive play.
Because of this balance, the Rakza XX is a great rubber to use on the backhand side if you’re like most amateur offensive players.
If you want a safe, consistent, and confidence-inducing rubber that’s also offensively capable, this is the rubber to get.
Most of us don’t hit powerloops on the backhand side, but rather, we prioritize spin and ensure a consistent return. This rubber excels at looping with control.
The Rakza XX is also a good rubber for the forehand side because of its hardness.
If you hit the ball harder and harder, you will be able to put good amounts of spin and pace on the ball. Just not as much as with other high-performance rubbers, but, if you want to improve your consistency and up your confidence, this is a great rubber to pick.
Speaking of improving your consistency, the Rakza is a superb rubber for counterlooping, a shot that most intermediate-level players struggle with, but one that’s necessary if you want to get to an advanced level, especially when it comes to forehand counterloops.
In my opinion, the Rakza XX is one of the best rubbers for counterlooping if you’re a developing player because:
- It has the perfect hardness, it’s not soft so it isn’t unstable, and it isn’t too hard.
- It gives us more dwell time than most offensive rubbers because of its slightly lesser speed.
- It has a nice, high arc but not a long throw, so it’s hard to overshoot.
- And, it’s fast and spinny enough to win points by counterlooping.
The forehand counterloop is a deadly shot simply because it’s hard for your opponents to react in time. They just attacked and you counterattacked, so it’s hard for them to recover in time to get to the ball.
You don’t have to hit too hard when counterlooping, you just have to aim for consistency if you aren’t a very advanced player. If you counterattack, you will gain control of the point the vast majority of the time, that is, if you don’t win it outright.
The Rakza XX is the perfect rubber to start counterattacking with control.
In terms of open-ups, it’s a good rubber. It has a safe, high arc, but it could use a bit more grip to get the vicious spin other rubbers are producing. It is very confidence-inducing and spinny enough nonetheless.
As for playing away from the table, the Rakza XX isn’t the best.
It’s good if you want to keep the rally alive, as its throw will help you land the ball on the table, but you will require you to use a lot of strength and power if you want to attack your opponent from further away.
In our experience, the Rakza was fast enough because we tried it on an extremely fast blade, but its speed could be an issue on slower blades.
Serve and receive
The Yasaka Rakza XX is a great rubber for serving and receiving.
Starting with the serves, the Rakza has enough grip to load serves with good levels of spin. In addition, it’s quite a controllable rubber, so it helps with the placement and depth of the serves.
However, its spin levels are not on par with the spinniest rubbers, such as the Tenergies, Dignics, and most tacky rubbers, so that’s why we only gave it a 4/5 for serving.
In terms of receiving serves, the Rakza XX is also a very good rubber.
It’s quite easy to play out the short game because of its control and it’s also easy to flick the ball because of its arc. It’s not hard to touch short with the Rakza XX.
Overall, it’s noticeably easier to play out the short game with it than with most other offensive rubbers.
Blocking and chopping
Blocking with the Yasaka Rakza XX is very good.
The rubber feels firm, stable and it has the perfect speed for blocking. It’s not fast to the point you lose control but not slow to the point that your blocks aren’t dangerous.
I felt like the Rakza XX, paired with the Donic Carbospeed was a killer combination for blocking.
If you pair it with a fast, stiff blade, you can play very effective backhand punches and active blocks. If you pair it with a slower blade, you’ll be able to control your opponent’s power quite easily.
Chopping with this rubber was quite impressive.
It was a lot easier to chop with this rubber than with the Glayzer we had on the other side. Chops felt nice in the hand, I felt like I could control the ball well with varying amounts of spin, speed, and direction.
Furthermore, if you accelerate more and more, you can get very heavy backspin on your chops with this rubber, and it’s a lot easier to accelerate more into the shot than with other more responsive rubbers such as a Tenergy 05, for example.
Alternatives to the Rakza XX
The Nittaku Fastarc P-1 is a slightly faster and more direct version of the Rakza XX.
The Xiom Vega X is a slightly slower yet firmer alternative to the Rakza XX.
The Butterfly Rozena is a softer and springier rubber with great control like the Rakza XX.
Overall reflections on the Yasaka Rakza XX
The Yasaka Rakza XX is an excellent rubber that’s very versatile and that can be used and enjoyed by a wide spectrum of players.
The Rakza XX has a nice high arc, good grip, and good speed as well, but it also has great control and feeling.
If you want a rubber to develop your game with confidence while not relying on too much speed or spin, this is a great one to get.
You can use it on your forehand side to develop your technique and confidence and to learn trickier shots such as counterloops if you’re an intermediate-level player.
And, you can use it on the backhand side if you want a stable, consistent, controllable rubber with great feeling and more than enough offensive potential.
I believe that this rubber could work for almost anyone, especially considering that every blade can bring out different characteristics out of it.
- The Rakza XX works great at bringing control and balance to very fast, ultra-offensive blades.
- It could also be a very dynamic and controllable combination with great feeling on OFF blades, such as a Viscaria or a Hurricane Long 5.
- It can be a great rubber for an advanced beginner or an early intermediate on an OFF- blade.
- And, it can be a great offering for all-rounders and defenders on their blades of choice.
Given my experience with Yasaka products, its durability should be above average. However, I think the Rakza XX may be just a bit overpriced.
At the moment of writing, it’s $10 more expensive than the Fastarc G-1 and $15 more expensive than the Vega X. I think it’d be more adequately priced if its price was in line with that of the Fastarc G-1, but even then, I think the Rakza XX is good value nonetheless.
Alvaro’s a qualified ITTF Level 1 Coach who's been playing Table Tennis since he was 15 and is now ranked within the top 50 in his native Argentina. He loves to compete in provincial tournaments and is always looking for ways to improve. Alvaro made his favorite memories with a racket in hand, and he joined the RacketInsight team to share his passion with other players!
Blade: Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC | Forehand: Butterfly Dignics 09c | Backhand: Butterfly Tenergy 19
Playstyle: The Controller
How would you compare this rubber to the Rakza 7?
Hello Jan!
This rubber is more offensive in every way – more grip, more speed, higher throw, slightly harder.
We recommend Rakza 7 for beginner offensive players and Rakza XX is more of an intermediate level rubber.
Cheers,
Álvaro
I’ve got it, and well, quite honestly I disagree with your rating. This rubber is an absolute rocket compared to the Rakza 7. The ease of creating power is just amazing. To create a lot of spin you need a bit of work, but it’s certainly doable (those high, slow and spinny open ups). In my view this is an advanced rubber, and I am able to control it just because my blade is really flexible and not that hard, which makes the whole combo feel a lot slower than it actually is.
It is indeed much faster compared with the Rakza 7, but I don’t agree in that it’s an absolute rocket in today’s market.
In fact, most of the rubbers released today are faster than the XX, the C53, NUZN, Jekyll and Hyde, Hammond Z2, Genextion. All of these rubbers are quite a bit faster than the XX.
I think advanced players can for sure use this rubber but most will prefer higher performance rubbers such as the Tenergies, Dignics or the ones I just mentioned, that’s why I think it’s perfect for intermediate players.
Cheers!
Álvaro
Hi Álvaro! First of all. I love your content. I find it very insightful. Have you tested the Rakza X (2015) version? As you pointed out, most reviewers say this rubber is extremely fast and only recommended for advanced players, which put me off a bit. I want to upgrade from the Rakza 7, I’m between the Vega X or Rakza X, but I can’t find much information about the later. Thanks in advance
Hello Amaury,
I haven’t tried the Rakza X, but if you wanna upgrade from the Rakza 7, the Vega X is an excellent choice 🙂
Cheers,
Álvaro
Hola Alvaro, excelente reseña de esta goma. Te quería consultar tu opinión puesta en maderos como el Stiga Clipper Wood y el Donic Waldner Diablo Senso, saludos desde Chile.
Hola José,
Va perfecta, te la recomiendo con esos maderos para un juego ofensivo, te va a funcionar bien. Es una gran goma.
Saludos,
Álvaro