Fan Zhendong Keeps Using ZYRE-03 in the Bundesliga Semifinal — Just Exploring?
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In the Bundesliga semifinal, Fan Zhendong stayed with the same setup as the Champions League: Fan Zhendong ALC special edition, forehand ZYRE-03, backhand Dignics 09c.
Match-wise, his forehand with the Z03 looked a bit more comfortable than before, but the short-game touch was still not as natural as when he uses a tacky rubber.
As I’ve said before, the real test will come against players at his own level — let’s wait until he plays another top-ten opponent or two before drawing conclusions.
Is Fan convinced that switching to Z03 actually improves his forehand, or elevates certain aspects of his game? Hard to say. He may simply be exploring — and he himself may not know the answer yet. He just wants to make a change.
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I suddenly recalled something Jensen Huang said: don’t just chase happiness — actively seek out some hardship and adversity, because one day you will need them.
The analogy may not be perfect. But what I mean is: Fan Zhendong may simply be trying to escape his rubber comfort zone and find some new breakthrough. The outcome could be success, or it could bring a tortuous setback. But some forms of exploration are unavoidable.
For instance, over the past year I’ve practiced a lot of forehand serves — techniques that don’t really suit my game system. They’ve even slightly disrupted my backhand serve patterns. But at least now I know those forehand serves don’t fit my system.
And even when something broadly doesn’t suit you, against certain opponents who read your backhand serves very well, those out-of-system forehand serves can actually produce better results.
Another example: years ago, I needed total quiet to write. I’d find a secluded corner, clear my mind, and start. These days I write while waiting for a ride, between rallies at the club, when I have a stomach ache in the bathroom (not recommended), even when people around me are arguing at the top of their lungs. I’ve gradually developed the ability to write anywhere.
What I’m saying is: not every realization Fan Zhendong reaches at each stage of his career is necessarily correct. Z03 may not suit him better than D09c. But he needs to explore. The more you explore, the more detours you might take — but after the exploration, your self-knowledge and your mastery level may rise.
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Viscaria with national-team special D09c on the forehand. Yalyard PLC with K3 VIP on the forehand. That’s my latest exploration.
I’ve been feeling that with age I might need to play outer carbon. After trying it, I still feel inner carbon suits me better. On the forehand side, I’m relatively capable and can adapt fairly freely. Going from inner carbon plus non-tacky to outer carbon plus tacky rubber.
But on the backhand, contrary to the conventional wisdom that outer carbon is better for the backhand, my backhand adjustments are actually more stable with inner carbon. The extra dwell gives a higher margin of error.
But without this kind of exploration, you can’t develop a deeper understanding of yourself. Some explorations push you forward; some are detours — but they help you understand who you originally were.
By the way, this national-team special D09c — if you played it blind, you might not be able to distinguish it from the market version. You’d probably just chalk it up to normal quality variation between sheets. Maybe after a full swing it pops out just a tiny bit more than the market version. That’s about it.
Of course, each Butterfly-contracted player gets their own special D09c, and they’re not all the same hardness. I’ll try other players’ versions when the opportunity arises.