We Challenged Portuguese Champ Joao Geraldo!

[TableTennisDaily]

In this video the TTD Team take on the 2025 Portuguese National Champion João Geraldo!🔥

The rules are simple: each TTD Team player (Founder and Frog) play a one-set showdown against the table tennis champ, the player to score the most points in a race to 11 wins... the loser faces the dreaded cold plunge ❄️🧊

Can we hold our own against one of the best players from Portugal? Watch to find out! 💪

Big shout out to Butterfly and João Geraldo for making this epic collab happen! João uses the Timo Boll ALC combined with Dignics 05 on both sides!

 

[Dr Evil]

Interesting that João changed back from 09c to 05 on forehand. 09c still more popular, but seems to be a minor trend. Makes sense for players who prefer open play, though definitely requires a lot more touch over the table. Maybe Zyre 03 will be a good compromise.

 

[po-stit]

He is not the only one. Timo Boll also changed and i bet they are not the only ones. I'm no pro but i've really struggled with the sudden "catapult" effect of the 09c.

 

[NextLevel]

Interesting that João changed back from 09c to 05 on forehand. 09c still more popular, but seems to be a minor trend. Makes sense for players who prefer open play, though definitely requires a lot more touch over the table. Maybe Zyre 03 will be a good compromise.

Dignics 05 is not as fast/bouncy as one might think and the touch demands are not as high as Tenergy 05. In fact the whole Dignics series is very ball holding, maybe not on the tacky level, but definitely moreso than Tenergy. There is a reason why it is popular on the forehand with these top players, even if their sponge hardness may be slightly more than the usual. They are realizing that the slowness (which is what some of them didn't like about it when they kept going back to Tenergy) isn't as bad once you have tried and gotten used to 09c. The people who don't like 09c but still want to use hard sponge go to 05 Hard.

 

[Dr Evil]

Dignics 05 is not as fast/bouncy as one might think and the touch demands are not as high as Tenergy 05. In fact the whole Dignics series is very ball holding, maybe not on the tacky level, but definitely moreso than Tenergy.

Definitely D05 holds the ball longer than T05. In general, it's easier to control, though I think the extra grip of D05 makes it more tricky to keep short pushes low.

There is a reason why it is popular on the forehand with these top players, even if their sponge hardness may be slightly more than the usual. They are realizing that the slowness (which is what some of them didn't like about it when they kept going back to Tenergy) isn't as bad once you have tried and gotten used to 09c. The people who don't like 09c but still want to use hard sponge go to 05 Hard.

D05 requires a lot less effort than D09c to get the ball moving (I've recently switched from 09c to 05 to help me with shoulder issues and it's been really helpful). It's easier in the open game for this reason, though it has a much lower throw which makes it less safe. But more linear shots are a good thing if you can keep them on the table and win with speed. No question though that players who make this switch are sacrificing some short game control. I wouldn't have guessed a player like Geraldo who has plenty of power would make that trade.