If my opponent cramps up, is he allowed an injury break? Last night I was winning 9-8 in the fifth game when my opponent started to cramp, and he said he was allowed up to 10 minutes injury time to get rid of the cramp. I wasn't sure, so I said OK. He took nearly the full 10 minutes, by which time I was cold and lost concentration. He won the next three points and the match. I'm not sure whether I got ripped off. Was he allowed to take a break for cramp?
I must admit that I also thought that a player with cramp was allowed a short injury break of a few minutes to try and stretch the cramp out, so I was surprised to find out otherwise when I went to the rulebook to find the supporting laws.
An injury break of up to 10 minutes is allowed, but only for when a player is hurt in an accident. Cramp is specifically excluded as a reason for allowing the break, since it is a result of the player's current state of fitness, not an accident. I think many players have heard about the existence of an injury break, even if they aren't sure about the length of time allowed (I wasn't!), and have incorrectly extended what it covers to include cramp as an injury. However, the ITTF say otherwise in the Laws below, which are in the Regulations for International Competitions, which many tournaments and competitions follow.
3.04.04.04 The referee may allow a suspension of play, of the shortest practical duration, and in no circumstances more than 10 minutes, if a player is temporarily incapacitated by an accident, provided that in the opinion of the referee the suspension is not likely to be unduly disadvantageous to the opposing player or pair.
3.04.04.05 A suspension shall not be allowed for a disability which was present or was reasonably to be expected at the beginning of the match, or where it is due to the normal stress of play; disability such as cramp or exhaustion, caused by the player's current state of fitness or by the manner in which play has proceeded, does not justify such an emergency suspension, which may be allowed only for incapacity resulting from an accident, such as injury caused by a fall.
So as you can see, your opponent was in fact wrong to take an injury break for his cramp, assuming you were playing under ITTF Laws, and so you did get ripped off in this case. At best, he could have called a time-out and given himself one minute break to work on the cramp, but that's it. On the other hand, it's likely that your opponent made the same mistake that both myself and many other players would have made, which is knowing that an injury break is allowed, but not knowing that cramp is not considered an injury, so I doubt that he ripped you off on purpose!
