Stiga

Cybershape – a completely new type of blade with a unique shape and larger hitting area! Cybershape is a table tennis blade that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Not only does it boast a unique and impressive shape, it also has an optimised hitting area. Our research has shown that for the majority of players their optimal hitting area is on the top half of the blade. So we’ve optimized the hitting area so that it is larger in comparison to the traditional shape of the blade’s upper half and slightly smaller on the lower half to maintain the blade’s balance. One of the special features of Cybershape is that, during returns, the hitting area is as much as 6.5 cm closer to the table compared with 2.5 cm for a round blade. Since the majority of strokes of a professional player (both backhand and forehand) are made on the top half of the racket, it is precisely here that Cybershape excels. The larger hitting area provides an improved sweet spot, thus making it easier for the player to control their short serves and returns, for example. As the hitting area on the top part has been expanded, the bottom part has been reduced by 2% in order to not make the blade too heavy and cause an imbalance. Cybershape is a 5+2-ply blade based on CCF (Close Core Fibre) technology, which means that the carbon layer sits directly on top of the wood core. The result is more control and speed in your game. By means of the lightweight and technologically advanced, German-made carbon fibre composite, we were able to offset its weight, so although Cyberspace has a larger surface area than a regular blade, it is not heavier. Cybershape’s unique shape also makes it easier for the player to see the hitting area when serving. Thanks to its different angles, the player has six corners to choose from, depending on the type and amount of spin they want. In collaboration with KTH Royal Institute of Technology, we also tested the vibration properties of Cybershape, i.e. how the blade responds when it meets the ball. The tests showed that Cybershape has a larger sweet spot that lies further out on the blade when compared with a regular-shaped blade. The frequency response is also more linear, which means that the vibrations are transported differently to the handle and hand. For the player, this means a completely new and unique feel during play compared with a traditional blade.