Speed and spin differences between the old celluloid versus new plastic table tennis balls and the effect on the kinematic responses of elite versus sub-elite players

Journal Title: International Journal of Racket Sports Science - Year 2019, Vol 1, Issue 1

Abstract

This study measured 1) the speed and spin differences between the old celluloid versus new plastic table tennis balls at pre ball-table impact and post ball-table impact when projected with topspin at 7.56 m.s-1, and investigated 2) the effect this has on the kinematic responses of 5 elite versus 5 sub-elite players’ forehand topspin in response to topspin and backspin. Plastic balls were lower in both speed and spin at pre and post ball-table impact compared with celluloid balls but the magnitude of change in speed and spin for each ball material differed. During flight before impact plastic balls lost 3.98% more speed and 1.24% more spin than celluloid balls. Post ball-table impact, plastic balls showed a greater speed increment (0.69%) and smaller spin decrement (0.19%) than celluloid balls. Differences in players’ kinematic responses to the different ball materials were found only when players returned backspin shots. Players supinated their rackets more by 2.23% at ball-racket contact and produced 3.37% less ball spin when returning plastic compared with celluloid balls; an indication of an early adaptation to the lower spin rate of plastic balls. The lack of differences in kinematic response to topspin may be due to the similar changes in speed and spin of both types of ball at ball-table impact. It is not known if a higher initial ball projection velocity would evoke differences in movement responses from the players post ball-table impact but could be explored in future studies.

Authors and Affiliations

Marcus J. C. Lee, Hiroki Ozaki, Wan Xiu Goh

Keywords

Related Articles

Does ischemic pre-conditioning during the recovery period between two successive matches preserve physical performance in badminton doubles players?

Changes in physical performance were assessed in response to two successive doubles badminton matches with implementation of ischemic pre-conditioning (IPC) or sham treatment during recovery period between matches. Eight...

Performance analysis in wheelchair para-badminton matches

Para-badminton has performance classes which consider the impairment degree of each athlete; two of them use a wheelchair and are identified as Wheelchair 1 (WH1) and Wheelchair 2 (WH2). Due to the difference in function...

Serve analyses of elite European table tennis matches

The purpose of this study was to analyze the serve activities of elite European table tennis players. Twenty matches (78 games, 1466 points) of semifinal and final German League and Europe TOP 16 in men’s (in the top 30...

Psychobiosocial states in competitive badminton: Similarities and differences between juniors, adolescents and adults

Emotions affect the way elite athletes respond during competitive play. Elite athletes who identify and regulate emotions can increase their consistency and optimize high quality play. This cross-sectional study examined...

Comparison of hip joint mechanical energetics in table tennis forehand and backhand drives: a preliminary study

Hip joints are highly involved in table tennis. Some authors found both pelvic angular velocity and hip joint torques are related to the racket velocity. Others have also demonstrated how some of the best players have hi...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP698512
  • DOI https://doi.org/10.30827/Digibug.57324
  • Views 117
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Marcus J. C. Lee, Hiroki Ozaki, Wan Xiu Goh (2019). Speed and spin differences between the old celluloid versus new plastic table tennis balls and the effect on the kinematic responses of elite versus sub-elite players. International Journal of Racket Sports Science, 1(1), -. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-698512