Correlations Between Stroke Structural Characteristics and Stroke Effect of Young Table Tennis Players

Abstract Background: A perfect stroke is essential for winning table tennis competition. A perfect stroke is closely related to reasonable stroke structure, which directly affects the stroke effect. The main purpose of this study was to examine the correlations between the structural characteristics of stroke and the stroke effect. Methods: Forty-two young table tennis players were randomly selected from China Table Tennis College (M age = 14.21 ± 2.13; M height = 1.57 ± 0.14 m; M weight = 46.05 ± 6.52 kg, right-hand racket, shake-hands grip, no injuries in each joint of the body). The high-speed infrared motion capture system was used to collect the data of stroke structural characteristics, and the high-speed camera was used to measure the spin speed of the stroke. The influence of striking structural characteristics on striking effect was examined.Results: The time duration of backswing and forward motion were significantly correlated with ball speed (r = -0.403, p < 0.01; r = -0.390, p < 0.01, respectively) and spin speed (r = -0.244, p = 0.027; r = -0.369, p < 0.01, respectively). The linear velocity of right wrist joint was positively correlated with ball speed (r = 0.298, p < 0.01) and spin speed (r = 0.238, p = 0.031). The angular velocity of right elbow joint and right hip joint were positively correlated with ball speed (r = 0.219, p = 0.013; r = 0.427, p < 0.01, respectively) and spin speed (r = 0.172, p = 0.048; r = 0.277, p = 0.012, respectively). The angular velocity of right knee joint had a significantly negative correlation with placement (r = -0.246, p = 0.026). The angular velocity of right ankle joint had a significantly positive correlation with the ball speed (r = 0.443, p < 0.01).Conclusions: The time allocation of the three phases of backspin forehand stroke had an important impact on stroke effect, especially the ball speed and spin speed. The ball speed of the stroke was mainly affected by the translation of the right wrist joint. The spin speed of the stroke was mainly affected by the translation of the right wrist joint. The placement of the stroke was mainly affected by the rotation of the right knee joint.