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Rule of the Week (6/15/98)

"Can doubles partners switch racquets?"

Every week TennisONE will respond to a frequently asked question about the rules of tennis.

Rule of the Week Question

I've told this story a lot, and people think I'm putting them on. But it's true. My partner and I were at the net playing a point. The ball came to me and as I hit it, two or three strings on my racquet popped. Despite breaking all these strings, I still managed to lob the ball to the back of our opponents' court. As our opponents ran back to retrieve our ball, I showed my broken strings to my partner. He instantly recognized I was helpless. As luck would have it, our opponents lobbed the ball back to my side of court. I tossed my racquet to the side of the court and my partner tossed me his racquet. I then proceeded to hit a winning overhead. Our opponents protested the point, claiming we couldn't switch racquets. It sure felt good, but was it legal?

Answer

The Two Muskateers live! Hurrah! We don't see anything in the rules that forbid one partner from using another's racquet. What will you try next? Double back-flips on the change-over?

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