Changing racquets in the middle of a rally

There has been at least one thread about this before, and yes, it is legal.

Tony Gunawan does it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZaWclM4zak

 

I don't see how you'd have time to pull this off in an MS match. Granted MX and MD are much quicker than MS, but there about 2-4 hits by the partner in each example I saw. So unless you hit an unbelievably high clear, once the opponent sees you running off the court, he'd probably hit a quick net drop or smash to the farthest corner.

And as for it being legal, since there has been examples of this done before, there is precedence for it to be allowed. However, I was reading the BWF's rulebook, and it says the player cannot leave the court for any reason unless specifically allowed by the umpire. Whether the "court" is restricted to the playing area or includes the area where equipment is kept is something that I don't know myself. If the former, then its most certainly illegal to leave the court to change the racquet. If the latter, than it is most certainly legal.

Unless the umpire/referree circumvents the whole matter by declaring it an acceptable reason to leave before the match.

I've certainly taken to leaving the handle of my back-up racket sticking out of my bag for a

 

I don't see how you'd have time to pull this off in an MS match. Granted MX and MD are much quicker than MS, but there about 2-4 hits by the partner in each example I saw. So unless you hit an unbelievably high clear, once the opponent sees you running off the court, he'd probably hit a quick net drop or smash to the farthest corner.

And as for it being legal, since there has been examples of this done before, there is precedence for it to be allowed. However, I was reading the BWF's rulebook, and it says the player cannot leave the court for any reason unless specifically allowed by the umpire. Whether the "court" is restricted to the playing area or includes the area where equipment is kept is something that I don't know myself. If the former, then its most certainly illegal to leave the court to change the racquet. If the latter, than it is most certainly legal.

Unless the umpire/referree circumvents the whole matter by declaring it an acceptable reason to leave before the match.

I've certainly taken to leaving the handle of my back-up racket sticking out of my bag for a quick grab though ^_^. always be prepared XD

 

Off court means in those buckets where they put their bags. Though if you notice carefully, sometimes you'll see some doubles players putting spare racquets on the ground next to the court....so they can quickly exchange.

 

Ah I see. Thanks for the clarification. One of the examples though had a guy actual run out to his bag, rummage around for a second, pull out his racket, and continue te rally, eventually winning the point on his smash. Wouldn't that be considered illegal then?

Of course, I may be wrong in my recall of the video.