Hugo Calderano facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hugo Calderano
Calderano in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Hugo Marinho Borges Calderano
Born	(1996-06-22) 22 June 1996 (age 29) Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Playing style	Right-handed, shakehand grip
Highest ranking	3 (1 February 2022)
Current ranking	3 (15 July 2025)
Club	TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
Height	182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	74 kg (163 lb)
Medal record Men's table tennis Representing  Brazil World Championships Silver 2025 Doha Singles World Cup Gold 2025 Macao Singles WTT Cup Finals Bronze 2021 Singapore Singles ITTF World Tour Grand Finals Bronze 2018 Incheon Singles Pan American Games Gold 2015 Toronto Singles Gold 2015 Toronto Team Gold 2019 Lima Singles Gold 2019 Lima Doubles Gold 2023 Santiago Singles Gold 2023 Santiago Team Silver 2023 Santiago Doubles Bronze 2019 Lima Team Pan American Championships Gold 2017 Cartagena de Indias Singles Gold 2017 Cartagena de Indias Team Gold 2021 Lima Singles Gold 2021 Lima Team Gold 2022 Santiago Singles Gold 2022 Santiago Team Gold 2023 Havana Singles Gold 2023 Havana Team Gold 2024 San Salvador Singles Silver 2024 San Salvador Mixed doubles Pan American Cup Gold 2018 Asunción Singles Gold 2019 Guaynabo Singles Gold 2020 Guaynabo Singles Latin American Championships Gold 2014 Santo Domingo Singles Gold 2014 Santo Domingo Team Gold 2015 Buenos Aires Singles Gold 2015 Buenos Aires Team Gold 2016 San Juan Singles Gold 2016 San Juan Team Silver 2014 Santo Domingo Doubles Latin American Table Tennis Cup Gold 2016 Guatemala City Singles Youth Olympic Games Bronze 2014 Nanjing Singles

Hugo Marinho Borges Calderano (born on June 22, 1996, in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian professional table tennis player. Many consider him the best player from the American continent in the history of the sport. In January 2022, he reached the highest ranking ever for a player from the Americas, becoming No. 3 in the world.

Hugo won the 2025 World Cup, which is his biggest achievement so far. In that tournament, he beat the world's top three players at the time. He defeated the world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto in the quarter-final, the world No. 2 Wang Chuqin in the semi-final, and the world No. 1 Lin Shidong in the final. In the same year, he was the runner-up at the 2025 World Table Tennis Championships. He has also earned top 3 finishes at other major events like the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals and WTT Champions. He was the first table tennis player from the Americas to reach an Olympic semi-final, finishing fourth at the Olympic Games.

Early Life and Training

Hugo Calderano in 2012

Hugo Calderano was born in Rio de Janeiro. He started playing table tennis when he was eight years old. His parents and grandfather were all physical education teachers, so he was encouraged to play sports from a young age. When he was 10 to 12, he played for the Rio volleyball team. He was also a state champion in the long jump in pre-school.

At 14, Hugo left Rio de Janeiro and his club, Fluminense, to join the Brazilian table tennis team in São Caetano do Sul. In 2010, he became the South American and Latin American Children's Champion. The next year, at 15, he won the Brazilian Youth Champion title. He also became the Latin American Children's Champion in Peru, both individually and with his team. He won the Argentine Open Youth in singles, team, and doubles.

In 2012, at 16, he earned a bronze medal in singles at the World Cadet Challenge in Puerto Rico. He was also the South American Youth Champion in singles, teams, and doubles. He won youth open competitions in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Poland.

By 2013, at 17, he became the youngest table tennis player to win a World Tour event. He was also the first to win both Youth and Adult World Tour events in the same year. He won a silver medal at the Polish Youth Open. He was also the Brazilian Open Adult Champion in singles and the Brazilian Open Youth Champion in singles and team.

International Career Highlights

First Olympic Experience: 2014–2016

In 2014, when he was 18, Hugo had his first Olympic experience. He won a bronze medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. He also earned a silver medal in the ITTF Grand Finals under-21 tournament. He was the Japan Open under-21 Champion, Brazilian Adult Singles Champion, and Latin American Adult Champion.

From 2014 to 2021, Hugo played for the Ochsenhausen team in Germany's top table tennis league, the Bundesliga.

In 2015, he won two gold medals at the Pan American Games. These were for the individual and team events. He also became a Latin American individual and team champion. He won a silver medal in the Qatar Open doubles tournament. He competed in the 2015 World Table Tennis Championships.

In 2016, Hugo became the Latin American Champion in both individual and team events. He won the Latin American Table Tennis Cup in Guatemala. He was also the Kuwait Open under-21 champion. He earned a silver medal in singles at the Austrian Open and was a doubles champion at the Swedish Open. In October 2016, Hugo, ranked 31st in the world, reached the round of 16 at the World Cup in Germany.

Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Hugo Calderano competed in the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. He reached the round of 16. This was a big achievement, as only one other Brazilian table tennis legend, Hugo Hoyama, had done this before at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. Hugo finished 9th in the competition.

Rising Through the Ranks: 2017–2023

Hugo Calderano in 2017

Hugo entered the world's top 20 table tennis players in January 2017. At the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships, he reached the 3rd round. At the 2017 Pan American Table Tennis Championships in Cartagena, he won two gold medals in singles and team events. That year, he also won singles and doubles bronze medals at the Czech Republic Open. He was singles and doubles champion at the Brazilian Open and a silver medalist in doubles at the Hungarian Open.

At the 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships, Hugo and his teammates Gustavo Tsuboi and Eric Jouti reached the quarter-finals. Hugo won the gold medal at the 2018 ITTF Pan-America Cup.

Hugo entered the world's top 10 table tennis players in July 2018.

In December 2018, Hugo won a historic bronze medal at the 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals. He beat Fan Zhendong, the world's number 1 player, in the quarter-finals. This was a huge win. He then lost in the semi-final to Tomokazu Harimoto. Hugo started 2018 ranked 17th and finished the year ranked 6th.

Other important results for Hugo in 2018 included a silver medal in singles at the Qatar Open. He also won a bronze medal in singles at the Hungarian Open. He was runner-up in the 2017/18 Bundesliga and became the Brazilian adult champion.

At the 2019 ITTF Pan-America Cup, Hugo won the gold medal again, becoming a two-time champion.

Hugo Calderano at the 2019 Pan American Games

At the 2019 Pan American Games, Hugo won gold in singles. This made him a two-time champion of the event. He also won gold in doubles and a bronze in teams.

At the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships, Hugo reached the round of 16. He faced Chinese legend Ma Long, a two-time world and Olympic champion.

In 2019, Hugo also won individual bronze medals at the Austrian Open and Czech Republic Open. He won the 2018/19 Bundesliga title and the 2018/19 German Cup title.

At the 2020 ITTF Pan-America Cup, Hugo won his third gold medal, becoming a three-time champion. In 2020, he was also runner-up in the 2019/20 Bundesliga and the 2019/20 German Cup.

Year 2021 Achievements

In 2021, Hugo left the German Bundesliga to play in the Russian Champion's league. This allowed him to focus more on international competitions. He continued to live and train in Germany.

Hugo competed in the first WTT event in Doha. He won the WTT Star Contender Doha title in September. He defeated Liam Pitchford and Darko Jorgic on his way to victory.

In September 2021, Hugo entered the world's top 5 table tennis players for the first time.

At the 2021 Pan American Table Tennis Championships, Hugo became a two-time Pan American champion in singles and team events.

At the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships, Hugo reached the quarter-finals. He achieved Brazil's best result ever in this tournament, finishing in 5th place.

In December 2021, Hugo won another historic medal, a bronze at the WTT Cup Finals in Singapore. This tournament featured the 16 best players of the season. Hugo ended 2021 with his best season yet, ranked number four in the world.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Hugo Calderano at Tokyo 2020

By February 2021, Hugo had been among the world's top ten players for three years. He was ranked sixth globally. Hugo qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as the 4th seed. He was the highest-ranked non-Asian player in the world.

He beat South Korean Jang Woojin, ranked 12th, to become the first Brazilian and Latin American to reach the quarter-finals in Olympic table tennis. His Olympic journey ended in the quarter-finals with a loss to Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who later won the bronze medal. Hugo finished in 5th place.

Continued Success: 2022–2024

In November 2022, at the 2022 Pan American Table Tennis Championships, Hugo became a three-time Pan American champion in singles and team events. He had been undefeated in this continental competition for seven years.

In March 2023, Hugo competed in the Singapore Grand Smash, which included all top 20 players. He reached the semi-finals, where he lost to Chinese Ma Long, the world No. 2. He earned a historic bronze medal.

In May 2023, Hugo competed in the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships. He had an injury from a previous competition and was eliminated in the first round.

In July 2023, Hugo Calderano reached a milestone of 250 weeks in a row in the world's top 20 table tennis players.

At the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana 2023 in Slovenia, Hugo reached the semi-finals. He faced Chinese Fan Zhendong, the world No. 2.

In September 2023, at the 2023 Pan American Table Tennis Championships, Hugo became a four-time champion in singles and team events. He remained undefeated in this continental competition.

In November 2023, at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Hugo made history. He became the first three-time consecutive table tennis champion at the Pan American Games. He also won gold in Team and silver in Doubles.

Other important results for Hugo in 2023 included being runner-up in the 2022/23 T-League. He was also the individual champion at WTT Contender Doha, WTT Contender Durban, and WTT Contender Muscat.

In January 2024, he was runner-up in the WTT Star Contender Goa in India. This tournament is similar to a tennis Masters 1000 event.

At the WTT Champions in Incheon in March 2024, Hugo had one of his best performances. He reached the final, becoming runner-up in the tournament. He was the only non-Chinese player to reach the semi-finals in both men's and women's events.

At the 2024 Table Tennis World Cup, Hugo won his group stage games. In the round of 16, he played against the world No. 1, Chinese Wang Chuqin.

In May 2024, Hugo became champion for the first time at the WTT Contender Rio de Janeiro, the biggest table tennis tournament in Brazil. He lost only one set in the entire competition.

At the WTT Champions in Chongqing, China, Hugo had another excellent run, reaching the semi-finals. He defeated Chinese Liang Jingkun, the world No. 3, for the first time in his career.

At the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana 2024 in Slovenia, Hugo reached the semi-finals. He then won the final against Félix Lebrun, the world No. 5, without losing a set. This was one of the biggest titles of his career.

After his win in Slovenia, Hugo secured the number 4 seed position for the Paris Olympics. He decided to rest and not compete in the last two WTT Circuit stages.

In July 2024, he completed 300 weeks in a row in the top ten of the table tennis world rankings.

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Hugo competed in the Men's singles. He won his first three matches, beating players from Cuba, Spain, and France. In the quarter-finals, he defeated South Korean Jang Woo-jin. This made him the first table tennis player from the Americas to reach an Olympic semi-final. He broke his own record from the 2020 Olympics. In the semi-finals, Hugo played against Swede Truls Möregårdh. Hugo lost a very close match and then played for the bronze medal against Félix Lebrun, where he was defeated. He also competed in the team competition. Brazil reached the quarter-finals, matching their best Olympic performance ever.

After his performance at the Paris Olympics, Hugo Calderano returned to 3rd place in the world ranking.

Recent Success: 2024-Present

In October 2024, Hugo Calderano became a five-time champion at the 2024 Pan American Table Tennis Championships.

At the 2025 Table Tennis World Cup, he reached the quarter-finals. He defeated Japanese Tomokazu Harimoto and then beat Wang Chuqin, the world No. 2, in the semi-finals. Hugo became the first table tennis player from outside Asia and Europe to reach the World Cup final. In the final, he faced the world number 1, Chinese Lin Shidong. Hugo won the match, earning the biggest title of his career.

Right after the World Cup, Hugo Calderano reached the world number 3 ranking for the third time.

At the 2025 World Table Tennis Championships, he won four matches to reach the quarter-finals. He then won his quarter-final match, becoming the first Latin American player to reach the World Championship semi-finals and guaranteeing a medal. In the semi-finals, he beat Chinese Liang Jingkun, the world No. 5. This made him the first male player from outside Asia and Europe to reach the World Championship final.

On June 22, 2025, Hugo Calderano won the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana title for the second year in a row. He defeated Felix Lebrun in the final. Earlier that day, Hugo was runner-up in the mixed doubles competition with his Brazilian teammate Bruna Takahashi.

Clubs Hugo Played For

• Fluminense (2004-2010)
• São Caetano do Sul (2010–2014)
• TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (2014–2021)
• Gazprom Fakel Orenburg (2021–2022)
• Kinoshita (2022)
• TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (2023–)

Singles Titles Won

Year	Tournament	Final opponent	Score	Ref
2013	ITTF World Tour, Americas, Brazil Open	Gustavo Tsuboi	4–2
2014	Latin American Championships	Gustavo Tsuboi	4–1
2015	Latin American Championships (2)	Cazuo Matsumoto	4–3
	Pan American Games	Gustavo Tsuboi	4–3
2016	Latin American Championships (3)	Alberto Mino	4–0
	Latin American Cup	Marcos Madrid	4–1
2017	ITTF Challenge, Brazil Open	Anthony Amalraj	4–1
	Pan American Championships	Thiago Monteiro	4–0
2018	Pan American Cup	Gustavo Tsuboi	4–2
2019	Pan American Cup (2)	Kanak Jha	4–1
	Pan American Games (2)	Jiaji Wu	4–3
2020	Pan American Cup (3)	Gustavo Tsuboi	4–1
2021	WTT Star Contender Doha	Darko Jorgić	4–2
	Pan American Championships (2)	Eugene Wang	4–2
2022	WTT Contender Tunis	Alexis Lebrun	4–1
	Pan American Championships (3)	Kanak Jha	4–0
2023	WTT Contender Durban	Yaroslav Zhmudenko	4–0
	WTT Contender Doha	Jang Woo-jin	4–1
	Pan American Championships (4)	Nicolas Burgos	4–1
	WTT Contender Muscat	Liam Pitchford	4–3
	Pan American Games (3)	Andy Pereira	4–0
2024	WTT Contender Rio de Janeiro	An Jae-hyun	4–0
	WTT Star Contender Ljubljana	Félix Lebrun	4–0
	Pan American Championships (5)	Vitor Ishiy	4–0
2025	World Cup	Lin Shidong	4–1
	WTT Star Contender Ljubljana (2)	Félix Lebrun	4–2

Best Results in Tournaments

Singles Events

In January 2022, Hugo Calderano reached his highest singles ranking at number 3 in the world.

• Pan American Table Tennis Championships: Champion (2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
• Pan American Games: Champion (2015, 2019, 2023)
• WTT Contender: Champion (Tunis 2022, Durban 2023, Doha 2023, Muscat 2023, Rio 2024)
• WTT Star Contender: Champion (Doha 2021, Ljubljana 2024, Ljubljana 2025)
• WTT Champions: Runner-up (Incheon 2024)
• Grand Smash: Bronze medal (Singapore 2023)
• ITTF World Tour Grand Finals: Bronze medal (Incheon 2018)
• WTT Cup Finals: Bronze medal (Singapore 2021)
• Table Tennis World Cup: Champion (Macau 2025)
• World Table Tennis Championships: Runner-up (Doha 2025)
• Olympic Games: Semifinals (Paris 2024)

Doubles Events

In 2017, Hugo Calderano and Gustavo Tsuboi were ranked the 3rd best doubles team in the world.

• Pan American Games: Champion (2019)
• Super Series: Silver medal (Qatar Open 2015)
• Hungarian Open: Silver medal (2016)
• Swedish Open: Gold medal (2017)
• Rio de Janeiro Open: Gold medal (2017)
• World Table Tennis Championships: Round of 16 (Suzhou 2015, Dusseldorf 2017)

Mixed Doubles Events

In 2025, the mixed doubles team of Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi was ranked 12th in the world.

• Pan American Table Tennis Championships: Runner-up (2024)
• WTT Star Contender: Runner-up (Ljubljana 2025)
• Grand Smash: Round of 16 (Singapore 2025)
• World Table Tennis Championships: 3rd round (Suzhou 2015)

Team Events

From April 2021 to June 2023, the Brazilian team was ranked the 6th best in the world.

• Pan American Table Tennis Championships: Champion (2017, 2021, 2022, 2023)
• Pan American Games: Champion (2015, 2023)
• Table Tennis World Cup: Quarterfinals (Dubai 2015, London 2018, Tokyo 2019)
• World Table Tennis Championships: Quarterfinals (Halmstad 2018)
• Olympic Games: Quarterfinals (Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024)

See also

In Spanish: Hugo Calderano para niños