Forced to change broken rubbers

eugene lu Asked 9 years ago

Hi alois,

Most of the tournaments or during a match , the umpire will check your equipment to see whether it's broken or damaged. If it's damaged they will ask you to change it. Even a really really tiny crack and not obvious, they you ask you to change it.

I can't refuse, they will force you to change it or they will not allow you to play or just disqualify you.

Why is this in the rules anyway? If the rubber is cracked just a bit won't effect my game at all. And even if it does, it's on me. Why must the umpire forced me to change it? If that's my favorite bat and my primary bat and been using almost every time I play table tennis, I will get used to the feel even if it's broken. If I change to my spare bat, I might not get the right feeling and lose.

So do you think they should change the rules?

Alois Rosario Answered 9 years ago

Hi Eugene,

This can be a frustrating rule.  they do it so that the playing surface is even.  I guess if the ball comes off an uneven surface it can also effect your opponent and that is why they have the rule in place.

I think in most tournaments they are fairly lenient in the application of this rule.