Changing a bat after warm up but before a match
Table Tennis Rules
Last updated 4 months ago
Mel Mitchell Asked 5 months ago
Hi,
In a local league match , both players warmed up with pimple bats. Just before the start of the match one player changed his bat to one contains pimples on the forehand when he had warmed up with a bat with pimples on the backhand. The initial bat was not damaged and the player did not tell the umpire or other player.no further warm up took place. During the dmfirst game after a point the opponent noticed the change and stated it was against the rules.. The game however continued and the player who changed the bat won the match that beforehand was not expected to do. What should happen? If the player is wrong should he be disqualified and the match warded to the opponent?
Alois Rosario Answered 5 months ago
Hi Mel,
According to the Rules it says:
A racket shall not be replaced during an individual match unless it is accidentally damaged so badly that is cannot be used...
Since the match hadn't actually started during the warm up then it would be OK to change your racket before the match starts.
This is a tricky one and what would normally happen is that the player would let their opponents know however it looks like the rules allow the racket to be changed before the match starts.
Thoughts on this question
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Mel Mitchell Posted 5 months ago
Hi Alois,
Thanks for your answer. I would think the player gained an unfair advantage by deliberately deceiving the opponent by warming up with one bat and secretly changing to another without telling the umpire or opponent. Surely at best this is bad sportsmanship and at worst cheating.
If this happens again when the two players meet, what should the umpire do ? Since this seems a grey area.
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 5 months ago
I think the player and umpire should allow the opponent to look at the racket.
Mel Mitchell Posted 5 months ago
Hi Alois,
The umpire of this local league game didn't know the player had secretly changed the bat .
Douglas Hill Posted 5 months ago
Personally I would refuse to play this person again. If people don't play within a framework of sportsmanship, it's not a game. I understand this would be a much bigger sacrifice for someone with a lot more invested in competition. I'm retired and will never be highly ranked.
ON THE OTHER HAND, if I thought they may have just made a spur of the moment decision to use their other bat without considering the consequences, I'd give them the benefit of the doubt, and just ask before start of play if this is still the warmup bat. People do do thoughtless things. See if it's a pattern of behavior.
Mel Mitchell Posted 4 months ago
I completely agree with you Douglas.