Fan Zhendong's Blade Evolution: From Viscaria to His Own Signature Series
1. A Prodigy Arrives — With a Prodigy’s Blade
At fifteen, Fan Zhendong joined the national team and was immediately hailed as a generational talent. At the same time, the Butterfly Viscaria was at its peak — its then-owner Zhang Jike had just won the London Olympic men’s singles title with it, completing the fastest Grand Slam in history.
Playing with a Viscaria today, you sense its faithful, linear character. Compared with the many new blades on the market now, it offers little power amplification — it is more of a symbol of stability. It plays surprisingly easily. Attack and defense alike, balance is the word. The construction is genuinely classic, and similar blades still sell well today — value options like Sanwei’s 75# and Yinhe’s PRO-01 come to mind.
2. The Diamond Touch Era
After signing with Stiga, Fan Zhendong’s first blade was the Infinity VPS V — commonly nicknamed “Diamond Five.” It is an all-wood five-ply, but the face veneer uses Diamond Touch technology to raise surface hardness. This gave sharper feedback on short-game control and strong performance on block-and-counter hits, shedding the old soft-five-ply stereotype.
Exactly how long he used it is a complicated question…
3. Back and Forth
For a long stretch after that, observers would sometimes spot a VPS handle, sometimes a Viscaria handle.
4. Trying Something New in 2017
By 2017, the reasoning seemed to be: if you cannot beat Ma Long, change your paddle. That year Fan Zhendong experimented with the 968 in a Bo handle. But after losing to Ovtcharov at the German Open, he immediately abandoned it.
Returning to his original blade, at the subsequent ITTF World Tour Grand Finals — playing through a back injury — he dismantled Ovtcharov 4:0. Perhaps that result only deepened his trust in that particular construction.
Worth noting: the men’s singles champion at the 2017 World Cup was Ovtcharov himself, playing with a W968 in a transgender handle.
5. The Golden Label Era — 2021
At the 2021 Direct Qualification Tournament for the WTT Grand Smash and World Championships, the golden-label Viscaria was everywhere among national-team members: Fan Zhendong, Lin Shidong, Fang Bo, Xu Chenhao, Zhu Yuling, and Chen Xingtong all used it.
That year was the golden label’s golden age — even Sun Yingsha picked one up, though it was the Arylate Carbon 45 version. Also at that tournament, using the standard (non-golden) Viscaria were Wang Chuqin, Liang Jingkun, and Chen Meng. Three more players were on the legendary variant — the Lin Gaoyuan ALC: Lin Gaoyuan, Wang Manyu, and Zhou Qihao.
Compared with the retail Viscaria, Fan Zhendong’s golden-label version had a more dwelling feel overall and stronger backhand topspin. Earlier batches of the golden label had some forehand power dispersal, but later batches apparently addressed that, becoming a touch firmer.
6. Reading the Signs
From the moment Fan Zhendong was publicly spotted with the golden-label Viscaria, speculation circulated that he was about to sign with Butterfly. I was not entirely certain at first — though I had a hunch. The confirmation came when DHS quietly discontinued his signature national-team rubber set. Everything was settled.
7. Signing with Butterfly — November 2021
On November 1, 2021, Butterfly officially announced Fan Zhendong’s signing. His listed equipment: blade — Timo Boll ALC Special Edition (shakehand), rubber — Dignics 05. Yes, he was still on D05 at that point, not D09c.
The Butterfly Special Edition ALC, about which I have written extensively, is characterized by a cleaner, more transparent feel compared to the retail version, a biting grip sensation under power, and superior penetration on full swings.
8. The Fan Zhendong Blade Series — September 2022
On September 1, 2022, a full Fan Zhendong blade series launched: ALC, Super ALC, ZLC, Super ZLC, and CNF. The blade he personally uses is the unique gold-tail-mark Fan Zhendong ALC Special Edition.
Since I genuinely have not played it, I cannot say much — except to voice the hope everyone shares: please release a limited gold-label Fan Zhendong ALC for the rest of us.
