ITTF Racquet Control Changes for 2025 (...don't shoot the messenger!)

[pong99]

Here is what the document actually says in section 7:

Reasons for deciding that the racket be dismantled after the match include (but are not limited to):
• The racket is submitted to the racket control room before the match or after the match (due to
delay of the player before the match):
o and the result of the thickness measurement is an acceptable figure but does not look
reasonable to the racket tester – for example because a check with a net gauge or a loupe
suggests a bigger thickness.
o and the result is more than 4.05 mm, the racket tester has to double check this value with
the dismantling procedure.
o and any preparation on the visible blade parts, e.g.: certain amount of lacquer on the
handle area, has been inspected which could lead to an after treatment on the blade.
• With the rubber surface of the racket, it looks like the pimples come to the surface and the rubber
edge bends outwards.
• The appearance of the blade is leaving doubts about its carving to the umpire who checks the
racket in the Call Area but cannot be proven legal/illegal unless examined separately.


From the above details, it looks like only rackets that have obvious issues, like the rubber is not flat or lacquer on the blade near the handle, will be flagged for disassembly. If that's the case, then there's no reason to panic about this.

There are some weasel words like "but are not limited to" that leave some possibility for bs. If I was the players rep reviewing this, I would ask for more precise language to prevent arbitrary/political bs disassembly.

In regards to the blade lacquer near the handle issue. It means if you are pro, you must tape off the bottom of the blade when you seal it so it won't get flagged. Certainly a nuisance, but a minor nuisance. For all of us hobby players it's a non issue.

 

[John_]

Next they'll be checking their bags for hiding booster, just you wait.

 

[John_]

any preparation on the visible blade parts, e.g.: certain amount of lacquer on the
handle area, has been inspected which could lead to an after treatment on the blade.

People aren't allowed to lacquer their own blades? Am I understanding this right? What exactly are they trying to achieve?

 

[lodro]

Betcha that MaLong, Fan Zhendong and ChenMeng are having a good giggle reading these new rule and probably think "good riddance" 😁

I wonder if this might pass:

Just kidding of course but if we consider the rubber rule that basically states that rubbers must be the way the factory supplies them and all the BS that goes with it, then maybe the new blade rule should make a similar statement re the blades.
The manufacturers would then have to guarantee the quality. They could apply a tinted lacquer with watermarks over the blades so when really any doubts arise and the rubbers have to be removed ,it would be visible without even having to measure if the blade has been tampered with,

 

[igorponger]

NO FEAR, MY DEAR.

There is nothing new about testing players' rackets for flatness. We did adopted the such long time ago.

Igor Novick
certified umpire
in charge of racket control

 

[haggisv]

I can see these changes to be very negative for sport as a whole, some of the majors reasons being:
1. The media releases after majors events will be all about the 'cheaters' not the winners or great players, because bad press tends to sell better.
2. Audiences watching or attending events won't experience the huge 'buzz' of the winners, because the results won't be known until well after the event. So why bother watching or attending the events?

 

[Wakkibatty]

People aren't allowed to lacquer their own blades? Am I understanding this right? What exactly are they trying to achieve?

According to this Racquet control guidance document, the reason to remove the lacquer is some people who illegally boost, apparently also add extra layers of wood sealant to the playing surface, *but only at the base of the rubber*.

Essentially, it makes the surface of the blade lightly raised at the exact point ITTF bat controllers usually measure the thickness of the playing rubber.

In all fairness to the ITTF, they are right -- doing this *would* have the effect of partially hiding the true thickness of the playing rubber.

Given that VOC emissions from illegal boosting become largely undetectable after a week or two, they also have a point that they need other ways to detect illegal boosting. This is the same rationale they use to justify disassembly if it appears the blade's surface has been sanded and/or modified after manufacture.

However, testing a blade IMMEDIATELY AFTER a match is pointless - if these disassembly tests are to be conducted at all, it must be BEFORE a match, not after, because a player's sweat has the potential to locally distort a blade's thickness to the exact same degree those extra layers of sealant would do (depending on the timber used in the blade's ply sandwich).

 

[Wakkibatty]

On thinking on this whole matter further, it strikes me I might be mistaken in one of my earlier comments. This change *might* be coming from the FIT as well as the ITTF.

I note most manufacturers don't seal their blades at the factory. Of those that do, they typically only seal the playing surface. To the best of my knowledge, NONE of them currently seal the edges or end-grain along a blade's wings or at the blade's fulcrum (i.e. the area where the blade's wings meet up with the base of the handle scale).

I cannot stress enough the fulcrum area is a hugely important point of a blade's geometry - the blade's design and engineering in this location directly influence its overall stiffness and flex level.

This region is also the most prone to absorbing moisture from a player's hand. Around the fulcrum area, ALL of the blade's various wooden layers have some degree of exposed, unsealed end-grain -- especially the blade's medial layers, and to a lesser degree its core

Getting back to the new bat control protocols, while excess sealant around the fulcrum area can potentially help hide a boosted rubber, it can also help protect the blade from sweat, and help prolong its life.

All you need here is a very thin layer to protect the wood - the 0.1mm sealant layer authorised by the ITTF is usually sufficient to last the life of the blade (depending on the hardness of the wood, the hardness of the sealant you use, and the coarseness of the skin & callouses on your hands).

Unless you work regularly with timber though, it's very difficult to judge just how much sealant is sufficient for the purpose. Timber sealant viscosities and shore hardness levels when cured can vary widely (compare any two cans of oil-based and water based poly to see what I mean). This makes it very easy to add too much sealant if you don't know what you're doing, which is partly the reason I'm so flabbergasted at this ruling.

It struck me this morning however, this is probably the exact same argument FIT member companies (like Andro, DHS, Butterfly etc...) might posing to players in future, so that they feel compelled to use only TT-branded wood sealants. 🤦‍♂️ Next thing you know, I suspect they'll be claiming "Using our sealant can help ensure you always comply with the new ITTF racquet control regulations" 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

In other words, I'm starting to think this whole thing may be (in part) yet another revenue-raising TT equipment snow job!

Good grief...

---

POST SCRIPT:

Assuming my cynical guesses above are all correct, consider me annoyed.

I hate these sorts of equipment con-jobs on general principle, so please let me nip this particular one in the bud while I still have your attention.

If you're a pro or semi-pro player, you should know that one single thin layer of ANY water-based polyurethane wood sealant, applied to the fulcrum area, the wing edges, and any exposed plywood edges located between the handle scales, should be sufficient to seal the blade, prevent any wood swelling from hand sweat, and ensure you comply with the new interpretations.

On my own blades, I wipe on one thin layer of water-based poly with a clean, dry, lint-free cloth, then immediately wipe off the excess with another cloth just like it.

If I use water-based poly, this technique consistently results in a cured PU sealant film that's well under the ITTF's 0.1mm tolerance.

I can't say the same thing of oil-based poly sorry. In my opinion that stuff is too thick, and might potentially exceed the ITTF's limit.

If in doubt, try looking for Bondall Monocell if you can find it - it's the same stuff I use to factory-seal a blade.

One 250ml can is more than enough to completely seal the entire surface of at least 12-15 average shakehand blades, top to bottom (excluding the handle scales).

Follow the directions above and you should be just fine. (I don't get any kickbacks at all for saying this - It's just a good product, and my honest opinion).

You could also try Cabot's Matt varnish, which is slightly thicker and pricier than Bondall, but is still good stuff. The above technique works fine with this product as well, you just need to stir it a lot first.

Failing that, you can safely use any other regular TT brand's own particular wood sealant. It's all just water-based poly anyway (...or it is in my experience at least!) The only thing that ever seems to change is the price you pay per litre.

Good luck.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

According to this Racquet control guidance document, the reason to remove the lacquer is some people who illegally boost, apparently also add extra layers of wood sealant to the playing surface, *but only at the base of the rubber*.

Essentially, it makes the surface of the blade lightly raised at the exact point ITTF bat controllers usually measure the thickness of the playing rubber.

In all fairness to the ITTF, they are right -- doing this *would* have the effect of partially hiding the true thickness of the playing rubber.

Given that VOC emissions from illegal boosting become largely undetectable after a week or two, they also have a point that they need other ways to detect illegal boosting. This is the same rationale they use to justify disassembly if it appears the blade's surface has been sanded and/or modified after manufacture.

However, testing a blade IMMEDIATELY AFTER a match is pointless - if these disassembly tests are to be conducted at all, it must be BEFORE a match, not after, because a player's sweat has the potential to locally distort a blade's thickness to the exact same degree those extra layers of sealant would do (depending on the timber used in the blade's ply sandwich).

soon, we need to come up with anti hand-sweat potions

 

[John_]

According to this Racquet control guidance document, the reason to remove the lacquer is some people who illegally boost, apparently also add extra layers of wood sealant to the playing surface, *but only at the base of the rubber*.

Essentially, it makes the surface of the blade lightly raised at the exact point ITTF bat controllers usually measure the thickness of the playing rubber.

In all fairness to the ITTF, they are right -- doing this *would* have the effect of partially hiding the true thickness of the playing rubber.

Given that VOC emissions from illegal boosting become largely undetectable after a week or two, they also have a point that they need other ways to detect illegal boosting. This is the same rationale they use to justify disassembly if it appears the blade's surface has been sanded and/or modified after manufacture.

However, testing a blade IMMEDIATELY AFTER a match is pointless - if these disassembly tests are to be conducted at all, it must be BEFORE a match, not after, because a player's sweat has the potential to locally distort a blade's thickness to the exact same degree those extra layers of sealant would do (depending on the timber used in the blade's ply sandwich).

Weird thing to do. At this point they should work with a few companies that make boosters and approve a couple of different models.

The reason they were banned in the first place was because there were health concerns, not because they are unfair, everyone could and still can get their hands on them.

Now it just looks like a controlling move and nothing else, they're not preventing any health issues with banning oil based boosters.

 

[backspacer]

soon, we need to come up with anti hand-sweat potions

The age of the grip tape will be upon us.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

The age of the grip tape will be upon us.

and you know what
they will want you to unassemble that too, and you can glue it back when they are done

 

[John_]

and you know what
they will want you to unassemble that too, and you can glue it back when they are done

It won't surprise me if they actually do that.

 

[Tyce]

I just realised that Dotec handles make it impossible to measure rubber thickness... Does that make Dotec blades illegal?

 

[haggisv]

I just realised that Dotec handles make it impossible to measure rubber thickness... Does that make Dotec blades illegal?

No, there is nothing in the current laws that would make them illegal.