Macao World Cup: 10 Key Equipment Insights (Part 1)
A week of watching has given me a lot to think about. Here are the 10 deepest equipment impressions I’ve gathered — offered as a starting point for discussion.
1. Butterfly ZYRE-03: The Hurricane 3 Killer
Bearing the flag of the highest spin rating in history — 100 — Butterfly ZYRE-03 plays the role of a Hurricane 3 counter, especially on the seamless ball stage.
Starting in 2025, Harimoto Sora has been improving fast. Initially the main gain was strengthened forehand positioning and more compact footwork. But a new turning point arrived in early October of last year, when his already-solid backhand took a qualitative leap. Why? First, he’s young — easy to improve quickly. Second, he switched to ZYRE-03 at that point.
On October 2nd at the China Grand Slam, Harimoto Sora — now playing backhand with Z03 — defeated Liang Jingkun 3-2. I wrote at the time that this rubber was giving his backhand a boost. Under moderate force the arc stays short. When you really drive, the arc suddenly extends. And placed on the backhand, it’s genuinely easy to defend — stable, high error tolerance, perfect for Harimoto’s backhand counter. This rubber is particularly strong in speed and power during topspin rallies. Z03 just lets you go all-out; very few errors. I’m optimistic about its future on the backhand.
In mid-October at the Asian Championship men’s team event, Harimoto Sora continued his rise, defeating Wang Chuqin 3-2. That terrifying backhand was starting to take shape.
Later I watched Harimoto Tomokazu talk about ZYRE-03 in a video, and one key point stood out: with his previous D05 he had to constantly think about adjusting his swing, but after getting used to Z03, he can just forget about everything and play however he wants. That’s a terrifying characteristic. Athletes spend their entire careers looking for equipment that lets them play freely. That’s exactly why I’ve been defining the ideal blade as “soft yet powerful” — only when it’s soft enough can you play with complete freedom.
Of course, Z03 is at its strongest when the rally quickly transitions to sustained topspin. In Japan, more and more intermediate and above players are using it, finding their ball quality noticeably improved, because their game style isn’t primarily spin-variation based. At the higher end, though, opinions on Z03 are sharply divided. One camp believes Z03 sacrifices some spin.
In my view: if spin variation is something you value highly from your rubber, it’s not for you. If you just want to go full speed ahead, it’s actually quite good.
2. From Inner to Outer, From ZLC to Aramid Carbon — SALC First Choice?
Two years ago I wrote a piece titled: “Weekly Equipment Watch 207: Inner to Outer, ZLC to Aramid Carbon — Start with SALC?”
Then reading recent interviews with Lin Yun-ju, he mentioned that he had been strengthening his physical training, no longer needs the SUPER ZLC’s fast rebound, and needs more stability. The Super Viscaria performs better on that front and also delivers better spin.
On the comparison between ALC and SALC, I’ve written before: SALC makes it easier to generate spin and is relatively more susceptible to the opponent’s spin as well.
Now I have a new conclusion: when your power level advances further, you may prefer the more linear ALC. When your power isn’t yet at that level, you might still need to lean on SALC’s relatively better rebound speed. But regardless, equipment choice is personal. Everyone’s power level is different, so the choice differs too. SALC has its unique value. That’s also why I designed my blade “Mozaite (Mozai Ti).”