Gear Breakdown of the All-Japan Men's Singles Top 16 (2026 Edition)
The numbers represent each player’s finish at the All-Japan Championships. When it comes to Japanese players’ gear choices, Japanese brands tend to enjoy enormous favor.
1. Matsushima Sora: Fan Zhendong ALC, D09c, Z03
Last year Matsushima Sora also won the All-Japan men’s singles title. Back then his backhand was D05. Yes, this has been the main trend over the past year. For Butterfly-sponsored players, a lot of backhands have switched from D05 to Z03. This too is a matter of personal preference. Lin Yun-ju and Harimoto Miwa stick with D05 on the backhand, which goes to show that Z03 isn’t inherently superior.
My take: in terms of characteristics, Z03’s strength is that it’s less prone to absorbing the opponent’s spin, so you can attack more mindlessly. This may push the pace even faster. In an interview, Harimoto Tomokazu mentioned that after switching to Z03, picking up the pace felt easier and more effortless than with the rubbers he’d used before. For example, with D05, his backhand would loop underspin into a high, arcing ball (subconsciously, out of fear of netting), but with Z03 he can flick it faster and more aggressively.
2. Shinozuka Hiroto: Boll ALC custom, D09c, Z03
Also runner-up last year. His rubber last year was D09c on both sides. By default I assume Butterfly-sponsored players use custom blades. But if there’s a brand label on it, I’ll just write Fan ALC or Boll ALC. With no label, I write “custom.” In reality, even most of the labeled ones used by sponsored players are custom, with corresponding player-specific codes.
3. Harimoto Tomokazu: Harimoto SALC, Z03 on both sides
Last year Harimoto was also third place, with D05 on both sides at the time. He mentioned that in the second half of last year he deliberately trained for a month or two before fully understanding and adapting to this Z03.
4. Tanigaki Yuma: Harimoto Tomokazu ZLC, T05 Hard on both sides
Forehand unchanged. Same period last year, his backhand was D80. Now he’s taking ferocity to the limit. He’s not a Butterfly-sponsored star, so there’s no shoe restriction; he wears Asics Attack Excounter 2. I really love this shoe line: the start-up is very fast, the grip is strong, and it’s easy on the feet.
This inner Harimoto ZLC, with a 158x152 face, is larger than the Innerforce Layer ZLC, so it plays a touch heavier. It’s stiffer than the Inner ZLC, so it pairs better than the Inner ZLC with rubbers like D09c. Slightly faster initial speed close to the table; paired with grippy (non-tacky) rubber, the spin doesn’t seem as good as the Inner ZLC.
5. Kizukuri Yuto: W968, NEO Blue National Hurricane, backhand rubber unconfirmed
The backhand should be a Butterfly rubber, but due to some confidentiality agreement, the rubber model couldn’t be disclosed in Table Tennis Kingdom.
6. Uda Yukiya: Inner ZLC custom, D09c, Z03
Same period last year, the rubber was D05 on both sides.
7. Kawakami Ryusei: outer SALC custom, Z03 on both sides
8. Yoshimura Maharu: outer SALC custom, Z03 on both sides
We’ve discussed before that if you want to move from an inner blade to an outer blade, SALC is one direction to consider. They tend to hold the ball longer and have strong arc-generating ability. At the same time they offer a decent sense of power amplification. These traits resemble those of inner blades.
During last year’s All-Japan, Yoshimura ran D05 on both sides.
9. Oshima Yuya: Andro VCI, NUZN 55, C53
An inner green-aramid-carbon blade. My own Moyu (Heima brand) is no slouch either, with the fiber likewise imported from Japan.
10. Togami Shunsuke: Fan Zhendong ALC, Z03 on both sides
11. Hamada Kazuki: Zhang Jike ZLC, Z03 on both sides
Last year’s setup was: Franziska ZLC, T05 Hard, D05.
12. Sambe Kohei: Harimoto Tomokazu ZLC, D09c, Z03
The Harimoto ZLC has a pretty high usage rate among Japanese players.
13. Kobayashi Hiromu: Harimoto Tomokazu SZLC, Z03 on both sides
His old setup was Fan ALC, D05 on the forehand and D09c on the backhand. Z03’s high ball-holding made it possible to replace D09c.
14. Kasahara Hiromitsu: Fan Zhendong ZLC, D09c on both sides
Amy Wang won the Pan-American Cup, which has drawn some attention to her blade, the Fan Zhendong ZLC.
15. Yoshimura Kazuhiro: Quartet AFC, V22 on both sides
Even though it’s a grippy rubber, V22 offers high forgiveness, astonishing ball-holding, and defensive ability.
16. Matsushita Daisei: ALC custom, D09c, Z03
A rare penholder.