Takahashi - Calderano doubles team

The Takahashi - Calderano doubles team, often referred as Calderashi[1][2] by fans and media, is a Brazilian table tennis mixed doubles team composed of players Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi that have many groundbreaking achievements and titles together.[3]

Bruna Takahashi
Hugo Calderano
Bruna Yumi Takahashi in 2016 and Hugo Marinho Borges Calderano in 2021

Career

Early years

The duo first met through table tennis and have known each other since a young age,[4] during their teenage years, when both trained in São Caetano do Sul, in the state of São Paulo. Calderano, a native of Rio de Janeiro, had moved to the ABC Paulista region to further develop his game, while Takahashi, born in Santo André, was already training at the same facility. Their daily interaction at the training center, along with shared experiences in international competitions, brought the two closer together.[5]

Takahashi and Calderano began playing together in 2019, when they formed a doubles team on the ITTF World Tour, more specifically for the Hungarian Open. On that occasion, they passed the qualifying rounds, but were eliminated in the round of 16.[6]

Their collaboration continued intermittently in subsequent years, but they only have been playing officially together since the end of October 2024, at the El Salvador Pan American Games.[3][2]

2025

At the 2025 World Table Tennis Championships, Takahashi and Calderano participated in the mixed doubles, where they were eliminated in the 2nd round by the world's No. 1 pair.[7]

At the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana, they defeated the world's No. 3 duo, Chun Ting Wong and Hoi Kem Doo, from Hong Kong, and later the German duo Verdonschot/Schreiner and the Hong Kong duo Ng/Yiu to reach the final of the tournament, where they faced the South Korean duo No. 5 in the world and No. 1 seed of the tournament, composed of Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin. The Brazilian duo was defeated by 3 sets to 0, thus finishing in 2nd place, with the silver medal.[8][9][10][11]

At the WTT Contender in Buenos Aires, in mixed doubles, they reached the final of a WTT Contender for their first time playing together, and won their first title.[12][13]

Takahashi and Calderano participated in the European Grand Smash, one of the 4 tournaments equivalent to a tennis Grand Slam on the table tennis circuit, held in Malmö, Sweden in August. In this tournament, they reached the quarterfinals of a Smash for the first time, and, when facing the Japanese duo seeded No. 4 in the tournament, Sora Matsushima and Satsuki Odo, they started winning 2 sets to 0, but ended up being eliminated 3 to 2, being one set away from reaching the semifinals and subsequently a medal.[14]

At the China Grand Smash, Takahashi and Calderano achieved a historic result by defeating the world No. 5 Spanish duo Robles and Xiao and reaching the semifinals, securing a medal, the best result in Brazil's history in mixed doubles. They were the only non-Chinese duo to reach the semifinals of this tournament.[15]

In October 2025, they became Pan American Table Tennis Championships champions in mixed doubles.[16][17] After these results, Takahashi became the 6th best in the world in mixed doubles.[18][19][20]

2026

In February 2026, the pair of Takahashi and Calderano became the 5th best in the world ranking, behind only Asian pairs.[21]

At the 2026 Singapore Grand Smash, Takahashi and Calderano reached the mixed doubles final at a Smash for the first time, defeating the Hong Kong No. 3 ranked pair Wong/Doo. Takahashi and Calderano became the first non-Asian pair to reach a Smash final.[22] The Brazilian pair faced the world No. 1 ranked pair, South Korea's Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin, where, in a high-level match, they defeated the Olympic medalists 3-0, becoming the first non-Chinese pair to win a WTT Grand Smash. With this result, they rose to the No. 4 ranked pair in the world.[23]

In March 2026, the Takahashi/Calderano duo was ranked 4th in the world, this being the best ranking obtained by Takahashi in this modality, despite having already made partnerships with other players.[24]

In June 2026, Calderano and Takahashi revealed that Paco Arado had become their personal coach. They also announced that former Brazilian international Vitor Ishiy had retired from professional competition to join their coaching team as an assistant coach and training partner, accompanying them during training sessions and international tournaments.[25]

At the 2026 United States Smash, Calderano and Takahashi reached the mixed doubles semifinals, securing the bronze medal. Seeded second, they defeated the American pairs Nandan Naresh and Jessica Reyes Lai in the first round and Jishan Liang and Sally Moyland in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champions and reigning Olympic champions Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha of China in straight games. The bronze medal marked another podium finish for the Brazilian in the season.[26]

After reaching the semifinals of the US Grand Smash, Takahashi and Calderano became the world's number 2 mixed doubles pair.[27]

In July, at the 2026 WTT Star Contender in São José dos Campos, in the interior of São Paulo state, Calderano and Takahashi finished as runners-up. They were defeated by the Japanese duo Shunsuke Togami and Satsuki Odo, ranked No. 44 in the world, losing 3–1 in the final.[28][29]

Honours

  • Singapore Grand Smash – 2026
  • Pan American Table Tennis Championships– 2025
  • WTT Contender Buenos Aires – 2025

Personal lives

Calderano and Takahashi are currently dating and publicly announced their relationship in February 2024, on Valentine's Day.[2][4]

"Because of this relationship outside of sports, we have extra confidence in each other during the game. I know I can say anything I need to say there, and so can she. If I ask her to do something, there won't be any doubt. We managed to build this with experience, with time. Trusting each other is much easier when we spend every day together in our lives"– Calderano emphasized.

[2]

Takahashi described the team’s atmosphere as being based on trust and friendship.[25]

Despite public awareness of their relationship, both athletes have emphasized a clear separation between their personal lives and professional conduct during competitions. They have stated that their on-court behavior remains focused on performance and results, without specific arrangements regarding celebrations or interactions during matches.[2]

Results at senior level

YearVenueMixed Doubles
World Championships
2025Qatar Doha, QatarRound of 32
WTT Finals
2025Hong Kong Hong Kong, ChinaGroup stage
Pan American Championships
2024El Salvador San Salvador, El SalvadorSilver Medal
2025United States Rock Hill, USAGold Medal
Tournaments202120222023202420252026
WTT Grand Smash Singapore Singapore R16 W
Sweden Europe QF
China China SF
United States United States SF
WTT Star Contender
Qatar Doha
Hungary Budapest
Slovenia Ljubljana F QF
India Goa
Brazil Brazil QF F
WTT Contender Tunisia Tunis
South Africa Durban
Qatar Doha
Oman Muscat
Brazil Rio de Janeiro
Argentina Buenos Aires W
Key
W  F  SF QF #R
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds

References

  1. ↑ ""Calderashi" bate dupla número 1 e fatura título no Smash de Singapura". Agência Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2026-02-27. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Efeito "Calderashi": Hugo e Bruna exaltam confiança em parceria campeã". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2026-03-05. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  3. 1 2 "Calderano and Takahashi: all titles of the duo". Olympics.com (in Portuguese). International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  4. 1 2 Lima, João Pedro (2025-06-22). "Calderano e Takahashi: parceria vai além do tênis de mesa". Portal iG (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2026-04-03.
  5. ↑ "Hugo Calderano e Bruna Takahashi: conheça história de amor do casal que fez história no tênis de mesa". Revista Quem (in Brazilian Portuguese). February 2026. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  6. ↑ "Hugo Calderano e Bruna Takahashi são campeões no WTT de duplas mistas". UOL Esporte (in Brazilian Portuguese). 27 February 2026. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Hugo Calderano e Bruna Takahashi são eliminados nas duplas no Mundial de tênis de mesa". ge. 19 May 2025.
  8. ↑ Turolla, Gabriel (19 June 2025). "Calderano e Bruna vencem e avançam às quartas na Eslovênia". Olimpíada Todo Dia.
  9. ↑ "Hugo Calderano e Bruna Takahashi garantem primeira medalha da dupla no Circuito Mundial". ge. 20 June 2025.
  10. ↑ "Bruna Takahashi e Hugo Calderano estão na final de duplas mistas na Eslovênia". ge. 20 June 2025.
  11. ↑ "Aniversariante, Calderano é vice nas duplas mistas com Takahashi". ge. 22 June 2025.
  12. ↑ Hugo Calderano defeats Portuguese in a comeback and advances to the quarterfinals at the WTT in Buenos Aires
  13. ↑ Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi win WTT Contender Buenos Aires 2025 and claim their first title in mixed doubles
  14. ↑ Bruna Takahashi defeats sixth in the world and advances to the round of 16 of the Europe Smash 2025; Hugo Calderano defeats fourth Chinese player of the year
  15. ↑ Hugo Calderano e Bruna Takahashi vencem e são semifinalistas do China Smash
  16. ↑ Hugo Calderano brilha mais uma vez e conquista sexto título pan-americano nos Estados Unidos
  17. ↑ Hugo Calderano e Bruna Takahashi batem porto-riquenhos e levam o Pan-Americano de duplas mistas
  18. ↑ ITTF TABLE TENNIS WORLD RANKING Mixed Doubles Pairs 2025 Week #43 - October 21st
  19. ↑ Women's Singles 2025 Week #43 - October 21st
  20. ↑ Dupla formada por Bruna Takahashi e Hugo Calderano sobe no ranking mundial e faz história para o Brasil
  21. ↑ ITTF Mixed Doubles Ranking as of February 9, 2026
  22. ↑ Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi reach an unprecedented final at the Singapore Smash 2026
  23. ↑ "History makers: Calderano and Takahashi win 2026 Singapore Smash mixed doubles title". World Table Tennis (news). 27 February 2026. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  24. ↑ ITTF TABLE TENNIS WORLD RANKING Mixed Doubles Pairs 2026 Week #10 - March 2nd
  25. 1 2 João Pedro Lima (2026-06-30). ""Calderashi": Hugo Calderano e Bruna Takahashi falam sobre parceria dentro e fora das mesas". Olimpíada Todo Dia (in Brazilian Portuguese). Olimpíada Todo Dia. Retrieved 2026-07-03.
  26. ↑ João Pedro Lima (2026-07-02). "Calderano e Takahashi perdem para campeões olímpicos e ficam com o bronze nos EUA". Olimpíada Todo Dia (in Brazilian Portuguese). Olimpíada Todo Dia. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
  27. ↑ Mixed Doubles ranking
  28. ↑ Daigo Oliva (2026-07-26). "Hugo Calderano e Bruna Takahashi perdem WTT no Brasil nas duplas mistas". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Folha da Manhã. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
  29. ↑ "Hugo Calderano e Bruna Takahashi ficam com vice do WTT Star Contender de São José dos Campos". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). Grupo Globo. 2026-07-26. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
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