We have studied spin observables in the three-body break-up reaction in deuteron–deuteron scattering in the phase-space regime that corresponds to the quasi-free deuteron–proton scattering process with the neutron as spectator. The data are compared to measurements of the elastic deuteron–proton scattering process and state-of-the-art Faddeev calculations. The results for iT11 and T22 for the quasi-free scattering data agree very well with previously published elastic-scattering data. A significant discrepancy is found for T20, which could point to a break-down of the quasi-free assumption.