Racket Assembly

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The Sigma rubbers have been released in Korea for more than a year already. Be fore the Sigma 3, 4 and 5 rubbers were all just Korea exclusive but Xiom decided to have the rest of the world also able to buy this rubber from their respective regional distributors. The Sigma rubbers are mid-ranged performance rubbers. These 3 rubbers are less expensive than the Omega 7 Series and also have a lesser amount of performance to the said series when compared. With that said I will just give some comparisons of the 3 rubbers to their contemporaries. The newer Sigma rubbers are not found in the global website of Xiom but I can see them in the Korean website.

All the 3 rubbers are at 47.5 degrees or what we call medium-hard rubbers. The differences would be on their pimple spacing and some properties of each sponge. The Sigma III weighs about 43-44 grams cut to a 150 x 157mm blade while the Sigma IV cut weighs 45-46 grams and the 47-48 grams cut. All the sponges are at max thickness if I am not mistaken and when I compared it to other Xiom rubbers, the thickness seem to be at 2.1mm. The Sigma III and IV rubbers have the Hyper Elasto logos on their packaging while the Sigma V is the only one with the Elasto Futura logo. You can actually just conclude that the 1st 2 Sigmas have a bit older design while the Sigma V has the more current design.

For the speed, the Sigma V is the fastest or the have the most bounce among the 3 rubbers. The Sigma III is the one with the least speed while the Sigma IV’s speed is in between. I would say the Sigma III’s speed is not slow but if you compare it to the older generation rubbers, I would place it near EL-S or Acuda S2’s speed range. The Sigma IV’s speed is not that big of a gap compared to that of the Sigma III but with noticeable difference. Sigma v is significantly faster than the other 2 rubbers. It reminded me of the Omega V pro but somewhat with a different feel like it has more elastic feel plus the topsheet seem more durable. I happen to not see any finger marks on the topsheet of the 3 new Sigma rubbers when I have used all 3 for about 3 weeks. If I compare all the 3 NEW Sigma rubber speeds with that of the Sigma 2 Pro, the difference is noticeable starting with that of the Sigma IV and V’s speed. There are times that the Sigma 2 Pro’s bounce felt a little dull when compared to the newer Sigmas. The Sigma III’s speed and power is good up until middle distance when using both as a backhand and forehand rubebr while the Sigma IV and V’s speed and power can extend up to far distance with the Sigma V having the edge.

For the spin, I felt it has some similarities with the older rubbers. The Sigma III felt it has the spin of both the Xiom Vega Pro and Japan combined. The topsheet is quite grippy and it feels like the grip is that of the Asia DF or Vega DF. The Sigma IV’s spin is in between while the Sigma V’s spin is closer to that of Tenergy 05. All 3 have medium arc when looping but the Sigma V has a nasty kick when looping that the ball kicks the moment you loop the ball with emphasis more on brushing. Sigma V’s topsheet is quite grippy. It is almost slightly tacky that it reacts to spin more compared to the other 2 Sigmas. The Sigma III and IV are both very spinny. The topsheet grip is excellent for both rubbers but the Sigma V’s spin quite exceptional that you can brush the ball easily as if brushing the ball using a tacky rubber. Of the 3 new Sigma rubbers, the Sigma V is the one that I felt where the topsheet bites the ball better, even if I do not engage the sponge too much, a thin brush using the Sigma V has a better spin generation.

For the control, ease of use and accuracy, it surprised me that the Sigma IV has the best balance of control and speed. The Sigma III is the least speedy but I would give the ease of use and accuracy to the Sigma IV. It may not be as spinny or as fast as the Sigma V but I was impressed by its accuracy and control due to being like a rubber that is slower it seems your shots have better chances not to go out of the net. It reminded me of the Omega IV Pro but with a more grippy topsheet. For serves and short underspin returns, the Sigma V is better while for dropshots and blocks the Sigma IV is significantly better than the Sigma V with the Sigma III in between.

Overall, these rubbers are budget friendly but offer performance that above average to excellent levels of play. Both the Sigma III and IV are good enough for intermediate level players while Sigma V is much better for more advanced level players who can better utilize it.