Do You Need a Spare Bat? Interesting Facts About Main and Spare Bats, Part 1
Tabletennis Kingdom magazine explored the topic of spare bats. Let me combine its article with my own understanding.
Is a Spare Bat Necessary?
By the rules, if a blade breaks or the rubber clearly cracks mid-match, you cannot keep using that bat. So for pros, preparing a spare bat is common sense — a must. These few years alone, much has happened. The most famous is after the Paris Olympics mixed-doubles final, Wang Chuqin’s main bat was stepped on and broken by a photographer. Although after losing men’s singles to Moregard he felt the blade’s impact was small, whether there was an impact — actually, everyone judges by the result. Lost at the Paris Olympics, people think there was an impact. But at the 2024 Singapore Smash, Wang Chuqin vs Liang Jingkun, midway through the third game, Wang Chuqin found his backhand rubber’s pips broke, applied to change bats, then beat Liang Jingkun 4-1 with the spare.
So ultimately, how big the main-spare impact is depends on how big your “heart” is. Especially for pros, generally the main-spare gap is very small. If you feel no problem, there is none. If you feel a problem, the problem is not small. But regardless, you must have a spare — that is certain. Even our fifty-or-sixty-year-old aunties, joining events like the National Games mass group or some veterans’ cup, prepare a spare. Of course, some amateurs prepare a spare with a little scheme. For example, as a long-pips player, the main and spare have different long-pips models; if the main fails inspection, bring out the spare. But for those who rarely compete, or in pure amateur events with no gear restrictions, generally you need not prepare a spare. Like me, I generally carry one extra, for reviews, for play, or to keep the main from being damaged when lent out.
Key Factors in Preparing a “Spare Bat”
Normally, national players choose the same blade and rubber model for main and spare. And the standard practice: the blade weight and total bat weight of main and spare are nearly identical. Generally, a heavier blade leans hard; a lighter one drives through better. To keep the same feel as much as possible, players’ main-spare weights are about the same. In 2024 I bought two player customs; weighing them, both were 88.2g, even the thickness identical. A certain national player’s gold-label Vis blades are all about 95g. The total bat weight cannot be ignored either. It is not enough that the rubber pairing is the same, because for the same Hurricane sheet, a six-or-seven-gram difference is normal. Weight affects ball quality and the balance point. We always note the blade’s balance point but ignore the rubber’s weight on the overall balance point. Every blade, every rubber sheet is a different living thing. Identical weight at least means we strive for close performance. If the weight differs much, the performance and feel differ more. From here, Kasumi Ishikawa fixating on the same Viscaria batch makes some sense. Because if you find this code’s Vis plays well, maybe your spare can keep using this code. If you truly love the current main, preparing a closely related spare is being well-prepared. But some quirky players, like Koki Niwa, may carry two different blades — a Koki Niwa ZC and a Koki Niwa all-wood — deciding by the day’s state and venue. And we amateurs can be more open and bold, especially if rarely competing. Like me, I may carry both an inner and an outer.