Calderano Signs with Joola (#139)

[The0rigina1]

I think Butterfly has a different "assembly line" for custom blades, like those you could order in the past, handled by 千原悟/CHIHARA Satoru. There was a video about him and his daily routine handling custom orders.

#98 卓球ラケット職人　千原悟(ちはら・さとる)
https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/takumi/backnumber/backnumber98.html
卓球ラケット - 千原悟さん (下富在住)
https://www.city.tokorozawa.saitama.jp/tokoronews/koho/koho_pdf/h15/20030905.files/969K1.PDF

Their special order factory was open until 2016

 

[zeio]

Here is the one where Chihara talks about players making a special order for 1 to 2 blades at a time, whereas RSM orders 3 blades at most at a time. Can't find the other one for now.

蝴蝶公司的单桧选材标准及千原悟谈柳承敏对底板的选择
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Cb411X7co

 

[canonFH]

He doesn’t get special versions 🤣 I don’t know why so many people assume that all pros have special or different blades. I can tell you right now there is no Joola sponsored player who is using a special blade, they are absolutely all commercial. Even someone like Pitchford is using the same ZQH blade that you could get from a shelf. I would know since I’m the one who gives them the equipment 🤭

Is there any conclusion on what's going to be the fate of the ZQH90 blade? Its a truly special blade in my opinion and should not be discontinued.

 

[MarekD]

He doesn’t get special versions 🤣 I don’t know why so many people assume that all pros have special or different blades. I can tell you right now there is no Joola sponsored player who is using a special blade, they are absolutely all commercial. Even someone like Pitchford is using the same ZQH blade that you could get from a shelf. I would know since I’m the one who gives them the equipment 🤭

Can you tell us how it is with Liam? What blade (still ZQH) and rubbers does he use? Will JOOLA make him a special blade with his name on it?
Do you at least choose rubbers with a specific hardness or weight for him? And a blade with a specific weight or thickness?

 

[theloopylooper]

It is said the Xiom sponsored player logo has gone missing from his personal site (not sure if referring to his social media page or personal website). The Xiom logo is still there on his personal website as of this writing.

红双喜和蝴蝶的惊人消息
https://tieba.baidu.com/p/10265232303

Hugo Calderano - Table tennis | News, live matches, results, official store
https://www.hugocalderano.com/en/home

Original title:
Calderano in Talks with DHS and Butterfly?

Joola Already have Hugo as the background image on their website.

Now Joola have Pitchford, Lily Zhang, Zhou Qihao, Diaw; similar to Andro also getting Gauzy, Winter and others.

Nowadays XIOM I think had Jung Youngsik or Lee Sangsu no (previously Ryu Seung Min 2007 - 2011)?

 

[IB66]

Golf pro’s get ‘fitted’ for their clubs (as do many amateurs nowadays) - perhaps there is more involved with golf equipment, but as a pro golfer you are looking for 1/2% gains for each club, they have lofts tweaked etc etc. There is certainly more adjustability available for golfers of all levels - especially for clubs like the driver, wood and hybrids.

Okay, table tennis isn’t golf, but given the opportunity any pro would jump at the chance of having equipment made for them. Especially if it gives them an increase of 1% more performance in this or that!!

What with training equipment such as spin sight being used and in future it’s extremely likely that this equipment will evolve and get way better, not only allowing spin and speed to be measured but also the players stroke / footwork / bat speed etc

What equipment do manufacture’s have available to them??

But they all give spin, flight, speed ratings for their rubbers, blades - usually stiffness, speed etc so they MUST have some idea how their equipment performs and equipment to measure and log the data. THEREFORE it stands to reason that equipment can and probably is tweaked for some players. If equipment isn’t being tweaked for a manufacture’s ‘top’ pro, then it should!!!

 

[piligrim]

Joola Already have Hugo as the background image on their website.

Now Joola have Pitchford, Lily Zhang, Zhou Qihao, Diaw; similar to Andro also getting Gauzy, Winter and others.

Nowadays XIOM I think had Jung Youngsik or Lee Sangsu no (previously Ryu Seung Min 2007 - 2011)?

Zhou Qihao not with Joola anymore

 

[NextLevel]

I don't understand your notion on claiming it "ridiculous" to acknowledge pros use special gear. Just because it is not commercially available does not mean it doesn't exist. You are right, companies make the most money on the amateur market, and that is why pros get special equipment that is not the same as the commercial ones: companies have to consider if a piece of equipment is suitable for amateur players with varying levels of skill, so in order to maximize profitability they tend to tune it down to accommodate normal players to sell the most gear towards consumers. Even Timo said so himself in one of his videos on gluing rubbers: he doesn't boost them, but he has butterfly factory tune it to his liking, proving the existence of special pro gear. It would be ridiculous for pros to not use special gear to get every advantage in a match.

Can you quote the video where Timo says he has Butterfly tune the rubbers to his liking? What I know is that pros may like certain rubber thicknesses and hardnesses and that is usually part of the rubber selection process. But it takes being a pro at the very top to get that and it isnt something common.

Most of the magic in what pros use with respect to equipment comes from the selection process not from some secret customization process. Manufacturers know there is a lot of money to be made from making what pros use accessible. But there is often little benefit in that to anyone but the pro in the cases of serious customization.

 

[NextLevel]

View attachment 39732
View attachment 39733
Harimoto's wedding gift to two CNT team members, you can clearly see the special "No." stamp

ZJK described a similar process on one of his videos about how he got ans gifted his Viscarias. He made it sound like rhe most unceremonious thing ever but if you retold the story, he would be using National Team Viscarias.

Here is a video where he talks about something related and points out he was using the Viscaria because he liked it and well before it became famous and he became famous for using it. In his words, he made a great blade popular. However, the story is now that there are special Viscarias and the Golden Viscaria is the best of them.

Not saying that pros can't get something closer to what they want. It's more about what it means to have these blades that didn't go through the retail market look different. Some of it is far more about making sure that they can track how a blade got into the market if need be.

 

[zeio]

Nowadays XIOM I think had Jung Youngsik or Lee Sangsu no (previously Ryu Seung Min 2007 - 2011)?

Xiom also lost Kim Nayeong to Mizuno starting from 2026.

https://www.instagram.com/na0_0219/p/DS9pg1lkiwX
na0_0219
Edited•2d
🌟

5년간 함께했던 엑시옴과의 인연을 마무리하게 되었습니다.
엑시옴의 많은 관심과 지원 덕분에 많이 성장할 수 있었습니다.
엑시옴 관계자분들께 진심으로 감사드립니다.


📍⭐️2026년부터 미즈노와 후원 계약을 맺게 되었습니다.
미즈노라는 브랜드와 함께하게 되어 영광입니다.
미즈노와 함께하는 앞으로의 새로운 제 모습도
많이 기대해 주시고 응원해 주세요! 감사합니다.🙇🏻‍♀️
#mizuno

https://weibo.com/6040160273/Ql7sct4fx
Moonlight_Rio
26-1-1 17:49
发布于 河南
来自 2026🔛全新的起点
已编辑
金娜英：🌟

结束了5年间与XIOM的缘分
多亏XIOM的关心和支持，我成长了很多。
真心感谢XIOM的工作人员

📍⭐️从2026年开始与MIZUNO签订了赞助合同。
能和美津浓这个品牌一起合作是我的荣幸。
希望以后能和美津浓一起展现新的面貌
请大家多多期待 多多支持我们！ 谢谢。🙇🏻‍♀️

 

[zeio]

I think Butterfly has a different/separate "assembly line" for custom blades, like those you could order in the past, handled by 千原悟/CHIHARA Satoru. There was a video about him and his daily routine handling custom orders.

#98 卓球ラケット職人　千原悟(ちはら・さとる)
https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/takumi/backnumber/backnumber98.html
卓球ラケット - 千原悟さん (下富在住)
https://www.city.tokorozawa.saitama.jp/tokoronews/koho/koho_pdf/h15/20030905.files/969K1.PDF

Found it. It was a different one from 2005 by サイエンスチャンネル/Science Channel.

匠の息吹を伝える～“絶対”なき技術の伝承～
（９５）栄光のスマッシュを決めろ！～卓球ラケット製造～
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Xk4y1y7gU

Assembly line for mass-produced blades
@9:01, https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Xk4y1y7gU?t=540
Chihara Satoru handling custom orders for Fukuhara and other top players
@9:08, https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Xk4y1y7gU?t=548
[On screen caption] Manufacturing process for mass-produced blades
@11:36, https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Xk4y1y7gU?t=695
Chihara Satoru handling custom orders for general public
@18:38, https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Xk4y1y7gU?t=1118

 

[The0rigina1]

Is there any conclusion on what's going to be the fate of the ZQH90 blade? Its a truly special blade in my opinion and should not be discontinued.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DS5O2MxjrRA
He posted this picture with something that looks like the Freeze

 

[The0rigina1]

Joola Already have Hugo as the background image on their website.

Now Joola have Pitchford, Lily Zhang, Zhou Qihao, Diaw; similar to Andro also getting Gauzy, Winter and others.

Nowadays XIOM I think had Jung Youngsik or Lee Sangsu no (previously Ryu Seung Min 2007 - 2011)?

ZQH switched to Double Fish already

 

[Der_Echte]

Golf pro’s get ‘fitted’ for their clubs (as do many amateurs nowadays) - perhaps there is more involved with golf equipment, but as a pro golfer you are looking for 1/2% gains for each club, they have lofts tweaked etc etc. There is certainly more adjustability available for golfers of all levels - especially for clubs like the driver, wood and hybrids.

Okay, table tennis isn’t golf, but given the opportunity any pro would jump at the chance of having equipment made for them. Especially if it gives them an increase of 1% more performance in this or that!!

What with training equipment such as spin sight being used and in future it’s extremely likely that this equipment will evolve and get way better, not only allowing spin and speed to be measured but also the players stroke / footwork / bat speed etc

What equipment do manufacture’s have available to them??

But they all give spin, flight, speed ratings for their rubbers, blades - usually stiffness, speed etc so they MUST have some idea how their equipment performs and equipment to measure and log the data. THEREFORE it stands to reason that equipment can and probably is tweaked for some players. If equipment isn’t being tweaked for a manufacture’s ‘top’ pro, then it should!!!

@IB66 You bring up an excellent discussion topic about the process of equipment selection...

- Figuring out what shots count to a player, ranking them in use and importance

- Figuring out what equipment makes it easier to do those shots

- Getting something at or near center of mass for the player figured out

What is reasonable and logical to build the appropriate equipment for a player very often goes out the window in favor of choosing what is expensive, popular, and what some beloved pro uses.

 

[Der_Echte]

My Hugo HAL is arriving from TT11 today, and today i find out that Hugo is leaving Xiom...

View attachment 39312

I have a friend who will buy TWO of this HAL blade TODAY if you want to send it.

 

[Matt Hetherington]

Can you tell us how it is with Liam? What blade (still ZQH) and rubbers does he use? Will JOOLA make him a special blade with his name on it?
Do you at least choose rubbers with a specific hardness or weight for him? And a blade with a specific weight or thickness?

Liam is likely out until April 2026, he had hip surgery, so we are figuring out the best course of action with regards to equipment for him for when he comes back 😇

 

[Matt Hetherington]

Is there any conclusion on what's going to be the fate of the ZQH90 blade? Its a truly special blade in my opinion and should not be discontinued.

I’ve been dying on that hill since Nov 2024. It will be back, just the production timelines are a little slow and other blades took some priority for earlier this year.

 

[IB66]

@IB66 You bring up an excellent discussion topic about the process of equipment selection...

- Figuring out what shots count to a player, ranking them in use and importance

- Figuring out what equipment makes it easier to do those shots

- Getting something at or near center of mass for the player figured out

What is reasonable and logical to build the appropriate equipment for a player very often goes out the window in favor of choosing what is expensive, popular, and what some beloved pro uses.

How many times do we play the ‘right‘ shots in the wrong order, and the ‘wrong’ shots in the right order!!!!

We like to use what the Pro’s use, so do amateur golfers. But there is a trend moving the other way!!!
Old school was using a ‘set’ of irons, now they are starting to pick groups of irons from different tiers within a brands group of irons. Irons for high handicap players, Irons for mid to high handicappers and irons for scratch / pro golfers were usually just for those groups, now the penny has dropped somewhat - if a club is easier to use, why aren’t I using them?? Now some pro’s pick out smaller groups of irons - to make up their ‘set’ some old school ‘blades’ some cavity-backs, some muscle-backs. They hit shots, collect the data - weigh up the pros and cons, make a decision based on their game and the facts in the form of data.

For table tennis SpinSight is a move in the right direction, cheap, easily understood, pretty reliable. I know there are members now using SpinSight, I’m just waiting for it to be available in the uk. Perhaps we’ll start getting feedback from these members, some proper data comparing rubbers and set ups that are not reliant on manufacturers blurb and the reviews we like to do and read.

This of course may not be what the Table Tennis manufacturers want!!!!

 

[canonFH]

How many times do we play the ‘right‘ shots in the wrong order, and the ‘wrong’ shots in the right order!!!!

We like to use what the Pro’s use, so do amateur golfers. But there is a trend moving the other way!!!
Old school was using a ‘set’ of irons, now they are starting to pick groups of irons from different tiers within a brands group of irons. Irons for high handicap players, Irons for mid to high handicappers and irons for scratch / pro golfers were usually just for those groups, now the penny has dropped somewhat - if a club is easier to use, why aren’t I using them?? Now some pro’s pick out smaller groups of irons - to make up their ‘set’ some old school ‘blades’ some cavity-backs, some muscle-backs. They hit shots, collect the data - weigh up the pros and cons, make a decision based on their game and the facts in the form of data.

For table tennis SpinSight is a move in the right direction, cheap, easily understood, pretty reliable. I know there are members now using SpinSight, I’m just waiting for it to be available in the uk. Perhaps we’ll start getting feedback from these members, some proper data comparing rubbers and set ups that are not reliant on manufacturers blurb and the reviews we like to do and read.

This of course may not be what the Table Tennis manufacturers want!!!!

Your golf analogies are un-understandable for those who don't play golf. Since you're in the UK, I think a better parallel that you would understand is cricket bats, since those are also wood based. I played cricket at a pretty high level and I can tell you that you can definitely buy bats the top pros are using commercially. The only difference is in selection.

Since there is a natural variation in the wood, a sponsored player gets sent 40-50 cricket bats depending on the level of sponsorship and they choose a few of them based on feel. Among those selected, pros have their favorites based on how the bat turns out after knocking and other "treatments", for which every player has a different processes. (for table tennis, it could be sanding, sealing, etc)

Though unlike table tennis, cricket pros also source their bats from independent bat makers, but there is nothing really stopping you from buying the same bat from the same bat maker. An example of this would be a pro player getting a blade from SDC and having Li-Ning as a sponsor. Since Li-Ning does not make blades, there is no conflict for all the parties involved.

But you can get the same "quality" bats commercially. Which means what wood was used, how many pieces and the grain, etc. Even among those differentiators, players have their preferences based on which position and style they like to play. Some players even change their bats based on what the match situation is. But these are definitely minor differences, mostly rooted in feeling and superstition, not any kind of data.

Also, there are countless instances of players using each others bats and they don't suddenly forget how to play. It takes a long, long time to develop this feeling of knowing what exactly you like and that too, changes over time. But if you buy a commercially available Joola ZQH 90 of the same weight and dimensions that Liam is using, you basically have his blade.

Joola or any other manufacturer gains nothing from having a different version of the commercially available blade reserved for pro players. They may as well slap the pro's signature on it and sell it for 3x the price.

I don't know how it works with the CNT Viscaria versions and the like but I would guess since its still a matter of selection. Its just that someone else working at Butterfly would be doing a preliminary selection based on some criteria because they have to send a large contingent which otherwise would become even larger if they don't do it.

 

[Doralikesmath]

Customized blades and rubbers for professional players exist and well-documented, at least for some manufacturers. For example, Tibhar lists the Infinity MX-P as Jorgic's BH rubber, but never makes it available to the mass market (yet). They even made a special mould for the topsheet, not just slapping the normal MX-P topsheet on some harder sponge. His blade is an asymmetric one, which is also not commercially available.