Weekly Table Tennis Equipment Review 252: Hugo Caldeira Wins, Sidorenko's Hybrid Blade
Weekly Table Tennis Equipment Review 252: Hugo Caldeira Wins, Sidorenko’s Hybrid Blade
- At the WTT Star Contender São José dos Campos, Hugo Caldeira triumphed on home soil, defeating Alex in the final with a 4-3 scoreline. In the women’s singles, Hirano Sayaka defeated teammate Sato Hitomi 4-2, but we won’t delve into that match here.
- Hugo Caldeira’s Setup: Urna Hugo ARY-C blade with Trinity Charged rubbers on both sides.
A positive takeaway is that Caldeira’s blade is not a hybrid design, despite earlier screenshots suggesting an inner-layer green carbon structure. Recently, I tested the ARY-C with Tenergy rubbers on both sides and found it to be well-balanced but slightly challenging to fully penetrate. However, after switching to the 57.5° Trinity Charged on the forehand, the overall forgiveness remained high, and the ball quality exceeded expectations, even when playing late into the night.
The adage ‘original soup for original food’ holds true. When a blade has sufficient rigidity, you might consider pairing it with a softer tacky rubber to balance it out. But sometimes, as with the Super Zhang Jike, players find that even if they can’t fully penetrate the blade, using a rubber like Hurricane can provide stability and control without needing to fully penetrate the blade.
- While Butterfly-signed players may not all prefer the same shoe model, the LEZOLINE-15 is a standout choice to experience Butterfly’s shoe evolution. It was the shoe of choice for the 2023 All-Japan Championships singles champions, Matsushima Kaito and Zhang Benzhihe.
The shoe features a soft and breathable mesh design with an integrated insole for comfort. The high ankle and KPU-thickened heel provide stability and prevent lateral movement during play.
- The Infinity series is on the horizon. The Dancok Infinity Carbon has already been released overseas, but the domestic release is pending. Today, we’re focusing on the upcoming Infinity MX-P and Infinity MX-S, set to launch internationally on July 31st. These models promise upgraded sponges for enhanced power and spin, and we’ll have to wait and see how they perform.
Speaking of Tibhar, let’s discuss Jeoung Youngsik’s setup. Previously, he used a Tibhar outer-layer green carbon blade with K3 Pro on the forehand and MK Pro on the backhand. At the São José dos Campos event, he finally used his own Tibhar blade (with the same green carbon structure) and interestingly switched to NEO Blue Hurricane on the forehand.
- Nittaku has released a limited edition of 200 units of the ‘Gouriki Super Cut’ for Hashimoto Honoka. The thickness remains at 4.9mm.
- Not long ago, we were marveling at the resurgence of 3+2 structure blades. Sidorenko, who reached the men’s singles final at the US Open, used a blade that appears to be the Donic Skachkov Carbospeed, with a cypress wood surface and a 3+2 structure with a paulownia core, similar to the Butterfly Primorac Carbon.
Now, it seems we have another hybrid design. The 5+2 structure is unclear due to the image quality, but it could be an outer-layer ALC or ZLC, such as the Viscaria or Mizutani ZLC.
