The Hottest Inner Carbon Blades at the London World Table Tennis Championships
1 — The 968 Family
I’ve covered the 968 line extensively before, so I’ll keep it short here.
W968 (Key Players: Xiang Peng, Jang Woojin, Chen Xingtong, Wang Yidi, Kim Nayon, Liang Xiaying)
Grouping these players together just means they all use the W968 handle; the underlying internal structure of some of them may be something like a W968-8 variant, but I won’t get into the details.
Simply put: if your forehand is noticeably stronger than your backhand, the W968 or Q968 is a better fit than the S968. The S968 has a thicker core that’s bouncier and more borrowable in power. But in actual play, it just doesn’t feel as penetrating as the W968. I think a more aggressive forehand benefits from a blade that flexes more and lets the arc develop fully — that’s what makes looping and driving feel freer.
Q968 (Key Players: Wang Chuqin, Zeng Jian)
The Q968 is basically a slightly stiffer W968. If you’re choosing between the two, they’re close enough that you might as well pick the cheaper one.
S968 (Key Players: Sun Yingsha, Shin Yubin)
If your forehand and backhand are more balanced in strength, and you want a DHS inner carbon blade, the S968 is the right call.
2 — North Korea’s Custom PRK-520X (Key Player: Cha Suying)
Cha Suying: 520X, with D09c on both sides.
This is one of the highlights of this article. Looking at the North Korean team’s equipment at this year’s Worlds, it’s pretty interesting.
Ryu Seong is on W968 plus Hurricane on both sides. Kim Gumin is still on Nittaku 70. Pyon Songgyong has also switched to Nittaku 70. What does this tell us? Nittaku 70 isn’t as bad as some people make it out to be.
Actually, a few years back I had a small factory build a handful of custom blades — I called them “Mozart” — modeled on the Nittaku 70 structure. The feedback was excellent: good ball-wrapping and great catapult feel. That was a tiny shop at the time. The craftsmanship of Butterfly’s manufacturing is obviously on another level entirely.
Players who say Nittaku 70 is hard to play are probably pairing it with Hurricane, and the combination just doesn’t suit them. The hinoki face-ply and Hurricane pairing just takes some getting used to.
Back to the 520X: at medium power, it has better rebound and a more catapult-like feel than the 968. A lot of players who’ve tried the Yinhe custom KLC blade have said the same thing — its natural acceleration and backhand explosiveness are noticeably better than the 968.
Of course, the 968’s forehand spin generation is still a notch higher.
3 — Inn ZLC Family (Key Players: Franziska, Uda Yukiya, Chen Siyu)
Franziska’s ZLC and Uda Yukiya’s special order are both thin blades at around 5.7mm. Chen Siyu’s is also an Inn ZLC structure, but with a thicker core at close to 6.1mm.
Within the 5.7mm Inn ZLC special-order category, there are actually two sub-types. One is the conventional design — thinner carbon ply, thicker core — still around 5.7mm, which includes well-known blades like the Timo, Franziska ZLC, and Appelgren ZLC specials. The other is the type Liu Shiwen used to play — thicker carbon ply, thinner core — which prioritizes speed.
My custom MAX ZFC blade that sold out within half a day when it went on sale mid-month was built on this second design philosophy. The feedback has been outstanding.
4 — Other Notable Blades
Zhang Jike SUPER ALC (Key Players: Harimoto Tomokazu, Harimoto Miharu, Nagasaki Miyu)
Tibhar Felix (Key Player: Felix Lebrun)
Cybershape 6 (Key Players: Moregard, Hanna Gouda, Jarvis)
JOOLA Hugo ARY-C (Key Player: Hugo Calderano)
The first three we’ve discussed at length before. Hugo’s blade should be hitting shelves around July.