The difference of the stroke effect between two types of new material seamed plastic table tennis ball: a case study of Nittaku and DHS

Abstract

Abstract Nittaku 40 + and DHS D40 + are new material seamed plastic table tennis balls, both of which are designated as official match balls and widely used. Due to the change of material and diameter of the new seamed plastic ball, its hardness and elasticity also change accordingly. The purpose of this study is to analyze the difference of the stroke effect between the two types of new material seamed plastic table tennis balls, taking Nittaku 40 + ball and DHS D40 + ball as an example. Table tennis players (N = 18) were randomly selected from the China Table Tennis College (M age = 15.16 ± 2.41; M height = 1.59 ± 0.32 m; M weight = 45.72 ± 5.17 kg). Each participant was all righthand shake-hands grip. The high-speed camera was used to measure ball speed and spin speed. Data normality was tested by using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. An Independent-Samples T test was conducted to assess the difference of the stroke effect between two types of new material seamed plastic table tennis balls (Nittaku 40 + and DHS D40+). Results showed that there was a significant difference between the two types of new material seamed plastic table tennis ball in the ball speed and spin speed during the backhand backspin loop stroke (p = 0.041, p = 0.022, respectively), and the ball speed and spin speed of DHS D40 + were higher than that of Nittaku 40 + ball. Compared with the DHS D40 + ball, when hitting the Nittaku 40 + ball, players need to increase the swing distance and hit the ball with more strength to improve the ball speed and rotation speed.