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A couple of cases are being conflated here - the lengths to which Dima went to avoid discussing what he actually used were clearly about being sponsored by Donic while using Butterfly equipment He even claimed to use Bluefire and Donic rubbers, while he was obviously playing with Tenergy. This wasn't even well hidden, it was public knowledge, similar to Fan's usage of a Stiga Viscaria - I don't even think Dima consistently switched out the handles. Mixing this specific situation up with something like Zhang Jike where he is using something manufactured by the brand he plays with, but which is "custom made" is your prerogative. What would be more interesting with Dima is if there are significant differences between what he plays with and what is sold as by Butterfly commercially and of course, the implications of such changes.
Even Zhang Jike did not play with the blade that had his name on it, but he was advertised as a Viscaria user. ERT posted a translation of what ZJK got from Butterfly (you have posted the source), and as usual, custom blades are not marked, because in addition to that being a commercialization cost, some players think it affects play. He talked about his blades/setups being extremely heavy and needing to be sanded down. He never answered what about his blades beyond heaviness was custom. And this is what people are interested in - in the absence of details, everyone can make up their own opinion. Off limits means that you can't buy the racket in exactly that form in a store. But the implications of that with respect to commercial equipment quality are being answered with speculation, not data.
Anders Lind wasn't my example, but he is a good example of. pro being deceptive (like Dima) but is he a good example of a pro using something custom? Was Dima getting custom Butterfly supplies without a contract? Is Lind getting custom blades drom Butterfly without a contract?
