Calderano, Takahashi First Non-Asian Pair to Win WTT Singapore Smash Mixed Doubles

Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi defeated Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 13-11) to capture the mixed doubles title at the WTT Singapore Smash, with the final played Feb 27, 2026 at the Grand Smash event that carried a total purse of US$1.55 million (S$1.96 million). The straight-sets victory ended a run of previous straight-set losses to the South Korean pair and delivered a landmark win on the highest tier of the World Table Tennis series.

The result was described in differing historic terms by tournament and press outlets. WorldTableTennis noted, “Bruna Takahashi jumped into the arms of her partner Hugo Calderano as the pair became the first non-Asian players to win a Doubles title at a Grand Smash event.” Straits Times placed the milestone in an Americas context, reporting that the Brazilians “are the first table tennis players from the Americas to win a Grand Smash title” and calling them “not just the first non-Chinese Singapore Smash winners, but also the first players from the Americas to win a title at Grand Smash level.”

The match itself unfolded with early aggression from the Brazilians. As David Lee wrote for Straits Times, “While they had been swept by the South Koreans in their two previous meetings, the Brazilians were aggressive from the start, with their serves from high tosses causing significant trouble with increased speed and deceptive spins, dovetailing seamlessly as they took the first two games with relative ease.” Lim and Shin, the duo that “reached the top of the rankings soon after partnering each other in 2023 and claimed Paris 2024 Olympics bronze,” pushed in the third but could not overturn Calderano and Takahashi’s momentum.

Calderano and Takahashi’s partnership stretches back to 2018. Straits Times recounted, “Since teaming up in 2018, it has been a long way to the top for Rubik’s Cube lover Calderano and former gymnast Takahashi, but they have managed to put the pieces together after several twists and turns.” The victory in Singapore builds on a string of strong 2025 results for the pair and for Calderano individually: at WTT Contender Buenos Aires he won singles and his first mixed doubles title with Takahashi; at the Pan American Championships in October 2025 he became a six-time singles champion and won mixed doubles with Takahashi; on June 22, 2025 he beat Felix Lebrun 4-2 to claim the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana singles crown and earlier that day was mixed doubles runner-up with Takahashi; and at the WTT Star Contender Foz do Iguaçu he beat Benedikt Duda 4-3 for another title.

The Singapore Smash result also followed a deep showing at the China Grand Smash, where Calderano and Takahashi defeated the world No. 5 Spanish duo Robles / Xiao to reach the mixed doubles semifinals and were the only non-Chinese duo to do so, while Calderano reached the singles quarterfinals before a 4-3 loss to Xiang Peng. Straits Times listed Calderano at world No. 5 in its coverage of the Singapore final.

WorldTableTennis and social media celebrated the win as a first at Grand Smash level for the pair; Facebook posted, “Congratulations to Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi on clinching their very first WTT Grand Smash Mixed Doubles Title!” The Singapore Smash crown gives Calderano and Takahashi the Grand Smash title that had eluded them and cements a partnership that began in 2018 into one of the sport’s most consequential doubles pairings.