October 25, 2019 Ask The Experts: Stefan Feth #285 Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer Question: Dear Coach Stefan Feth, My name is Denethi Wijegunawardana and currently my rating is 2209. I have met you a couple of times when you were coaching Kanak during US Nationals/Open. I play with a Gergely Alpha with short pips on both my forehand and backhand. (Andro Blowfish and Dawei rubbers) Since the Gergely Alpha is discontinued, I wanted to ask you what the closest blade to it would be so that I could buy a new one…. I see that some of the available options are Garaydia T5000, Timo Boll T5000 and Zhang Jike T5000. I tried the Garaydia ZLC and didn’t really like it, Could you please advise me on what blade is the most similar to a Gergely Alpha? Here’s the link to a small video if you wanted to see my style of play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBuOxWWeg4o Thank you so much, Looking forward to your reply. Sincerely, Denethi Wijegunawardana Answer: 

This Ask the Experts question was answered by Stefan Feth. He is one of the coaches at the World Champions Table Tennis Academy in Santa Clara, CA. Coach Feth’s response is as follows: Hi Denethi,  Thanks for your question and interest in Butterfly equipment. I recommend for you the Primorac Carbon (Tamca 5000) blade. Similar to the BTY Gergely Alpha this blade has the Tamca 5000 carbon fiber combined with the cypress layers for power play.  Both blades belong to the fastest in the Butterfly line and are lighter in weight.  Hope you get a chance to try it out and will be satisfied. Best,  Stefan Feth US National Team Coach Coach @ WCTTA www.tt-champions.com