(ang. + slo prevod)

Hugo Calderano

Full name: Hugo Marinho Borges Calderano

Born: June 22, 1996, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Country: Brazil
Height: ~182 cm
Playing hand: Right-handed
Style: Offensive attacking player
Ranking (highest): #3 in the ITTF World Rankings (January 2022, October 2025) – the highest ranking ever for a player from Latin America.

Hugo is the most successful Brazilian and Latin American table tennis player in history.

Early life

Hugo started playing table tennis at around 8 years old at a local club in Rio de Janeiro.
Already as a teenager, he showed exceptional talent and psychological maturity. He soon became the Brazilian national champion in the junior categories.

At the age of 15, he began training in Europe, first in Niemcz (Poland), and later joined top European clubs, which allowed him constant contact with the best players in the world.

Technique and style of play

Hugo Calderano is known for his very aggressive attacking style, combined with exceptional agility and tactical intelligence.

Key characteristics of his game:

Strong topspin from both sides, especially from the forehand
Fast play near the table[e] – likes to pressure his opponent with rhythm
Very good point preparation (serve + 3rd hit)
Excellent physical fitness and explosiveness
He often uses psychological routines and calmness, which earned him the nickname “The Thrill from Brazil”.

Equipment Summary (Currently Most Likely)

Element Model
Butterfly Viscaria Wood (ALC) – ~90g
Forehand Butterfly Dignics 09C (max)
Backhand Butterfly Dignics 05 (max)

Most Important Rankings and Achievements

Year Competition Achievement
2021 Tokyo Olympics 1/4 Final (first Latin American in history to reach this high)
2022, 2025 ITTF World Ranking #3 in the world – historic milestone
2021, 2018, 2016, 2015 Pan American Games & Pan American Championships Multiple Champion (individual and team)
2018 ITTF World Cup 4th place
2017 U21 World Championship Winner
2015–present Bundesliga / French PRO League Member of top clubs, regularly defeating players from the top 10

Hugo is known for consistently winning against top-ranked Chinese players, something that very few players outside of China can do.

Pan American Games
Year City Discipline Result
2015 Toronto Team Gold
2019 Lima Individual Gold
2019 Lima Team Gold
2023 Santiago Individual Gold
2023 Santiago Doubles Gold

Pan American Championships (Continental Title)

Six-time Individual Champion (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
Multiple Team and Doubles Champion

World Table Tennis League / WTT Titles

WTT Cup Finals 2021 (Singapore) – Place

· WTT CONTENDER – WINNING TITLE (SINGLE)
Year City Series Result
2021 WTT Contender Doha (Qatar) WTT Contender 1st Place
2021 WTT Star Contender Doha (Qatar) WTT Star Contender 1st place
2022 WTT Contender Tunis (Tunisia) WTT Contender 1st place
2022 WTT Contender Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)** WTT Contender 1st place (home crowd)
2023 WTT Contender Durban (South Africa) WTT Contender 1st place
2023 WTT Contender Antalya (Turkey) WTT Contender 1st place
2024 WTT Contender Mendoza (Argentina) WTT Contender 1st place
Explanation of the differences

Contender = standard WTT tournament (medium strength)
Star Contender = higher category (heavier tournaments)

Calderano is the only player from Latin America to have won both types of tournaments.

Record sources: Wikipedia & Google

(collected and written by: fv)

Hugo Calderano

 –

Polno ime: Hugo Marinho Borges Calderano

  • Rojen: 22. junij 1996, Rio de Janeiro, Brazilija
  • Država: Brazilija
  • Višina: ~182 cm
  • Igralna roka: Desničar
  • Slog: Ofenzivni napadalni igralec
  • Uvrstitev (najvišja): #3 na svetovni lestvici ITTF (januar 2022, oktober 2025) – najvišja uvrstitev kdajkoli za igralca iz Latinske Amerike.

Hugo je najuspešnejši brazilski in latinoameriški namiznoteniški igralec v zgodovini.

Zgodnje življenje

Hugo je začel igrati namizni tenis pri približno 8 letih v lokalnem klubu v Riu de Janeiru.
Že kot najstnik je pokazal izjemen talent in psihološko zrelost. Kmalu je postal brazilski državni prvak v mlajših kategorijah.

Pri 15 letih je začel trenirati v Evropi, najprej v Niemczu (Poljska), kasneje pa se je pridružil vrhunskim evropskim klubom, kar mu je omogočilo stalen stik z najboljšimi igralci na svetu.

Tehnika in slog igre

Hugo Calderano je znan po zelo agresivnem napadalnem stilu, kombiniranem z izjemno gibljivostjo in taktično inteligenco.

Ključne značilnosti njegove igre:

  • Močan topspin iz obeh strani, predvsem iz forehanda
  • Hitra igra na bližini miz[e] – rad pritiska nasprotnika z ritmom
  • Zelo dobra predpriprava točke (serve + 3. udarec)
  • Odlična fizična pripravljenost in eksplozivnost
  • Pogosto uporablja psihološke rutine in mirnost, zaradi česar je dobil vzdevek “The Thrill from Brazil”.
  • Povzetek opreme (trenutna najbolj verjetna)
Element Model
Les Butterfly Viscaria (ALC) – ~90 g
Forehand Butterfly Dignics 09C (max)
Backhand Butterfly Dignics 05 (max)
  • Najpomembnejše uvrstitve in dosežki
Leto Tekmovanje Dosežek
2021 Olimpijske igre Tokio 1/4 finale (prvi Latinskoameričan v zgodovini tako visoko)
2022, 2025 ITTF svetovna lestvica #3 na svetu – zgodovinski mejnik
2021, 2018, 2016, 2015 Panameriške igre & Panameriško prvenstvo Večkratni prvak (posamezno in ekipno)
2018 ITTF World Cup 4. mesto
2017 Svetovno prvenstvo U21 Zmagovalec
2015–danes Bundesliga / Francoska PRO liga Član vrhunskih klubov, redno premaguje igralce iz top 10

Hugo je znan po rednih zmagah proti najvišje uvrščenim Kitajcem, kar je nekaj, kar zmore zelo malo igralcev izven Kitajske.

Panameriške igre

Leto Mesto Disciplina Rezultat
2015 Toronto Ekipno Zlato
2019 Lima Posamezno Zlato
2019 Lima Ekipno Zlato
2023 Santiago Posamezno Zlato
2023 Santiago Dvojice Zlato

Panameriško prvenstvo (kontinentalni naslov)

  • Šestkratni prvak v posamični konkurenci (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
  • Večkratni prvak v ekipnih in dvojicah

Svetovna namiznoteniška liga/WTT naslovi

  • WTT Cup Finals 2021 (Singapur) – mesto

WTT Contender – zmagovalni naslovi  (posamezno)

Leto Kraj Serija Rezultat
2021 WTT Contender Doha (Katar) WTT Contender 1. mesto
2021 WTT Star Contender Doha (Katar) WTT Star Contender 1. mesto
2022 WTT Contender Tunis (Tunizija) WTT Contender 1. mesto
2022 WTT Contender Rio de Janeiro (Brazilija)** WTT Contender 1. mesto (domača publika)
2023 WTT Contender Durban (JAR) WTT Contender 1. mesto
2023 WTT Contender Antalya (Turčija) WTT Contender 1. mesto
2024 WTT Contender Mendoza (Argentina) WTT Contender 1. mesto

Razlaga razlik

  • Contender = standardni WTT turnir (srednja jakost)
  • Star Contender = višja kategorija (močneje zasedeni turnirji)

Calderano je edini igralec iz Latinske Amerike, ki je osvojil oba tipa turnirjev.

Viri zapisa: Wikipedia & Google

(zbral in zapisal: fv)