The “TTBL Player of the Month for July”: Hugo Calderano (1. FC Saarbrücken-TT)

In a social media poll, fans of the Table Tennis Bundesliga were able to vote for their “TTBL Player of the Month for July” for the last time during this year’s summer break in the championship, based on international singles results. From among four candidates, TTBL returnee Hugo Calderano (1. FC Saarbrücken-TT) prevailed over two-time world champion Shunsuke Togami (TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen), German top-20 star Patrick Franziska (also Saarbrücken), and Marcelo Aguirre (Werder Bremen).

He left the Table Tennis Bundesliga in 2025 as a three-time “Player of the Month” and, almost as a matter of course, as “Player of the Season”—and is returning to the top flight in mid-August as yet another “Player of the Month”: Just a few days after the official start of his contract with 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT, Hugo Calderano reported for duty with the three-time champions, backed by his title win at the $300,000 Star Contender tournament in São José dos Campos, Brazil.

With great anticipation for his return to Germany’s top division, the TTBL community named the 30-year-old Player of the Month for July. Calderano is all too familiar with this honor, as during his final season with TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, the South American won the monthly votes cast by Bundesliga fans for January, April, and May—and ultimately the entire season.

In his home match in São José dos Campos, Calderano impressed with his composure in the final after an opening victory against U21 European champion Andre Bertelsmeier. Against European champion Alexis Lebrun, the local hero failed to capitalize on a 3-1 set lead despite the frenetic cheering of the home fans, but then converted his very first match point against the Frenchman in the seventh and decisive set to win 11-9. Before his eleventh singles triumph on the WTT Tour, Calderano had lost the mixed doubles final in four sets alongside his partner Bruna Takahashi to Togami and his Japanese teammate Satsuki Odo; now, the world runner-up celebrated his home victory with a slightly awkward backflip, in the process knocking over the umpire’s table.

In light of the news from Brazil, the management in Saarbrücken must have felt vindicated in their decision to sign Calderano as the successor to superstar Fan Zhendong, who had moved to Borussia Düsseldorf. Even before Calderano’s tournament victory in his home country, FCS captain Franziska had made no secret of the Blue-and-Blacks’ expectations for the top-ten star: “When you sign a player like Hugo Calderano, it’s clear just from that alone that you want to be in contention for every title again.”

Florian Manzke