A Visible Analysis Approach for Table Tennis Tactical Benefit

Abstract

Tactics are one of the winning factors in table tennis matches because they can reflect the technical strength and strategies of players. However, the current evaluation method of tactics is relatively simple, and it can be difficult to distinguish the pros and cons of different tactics. To solve these issues, this study used information from 60 matches played by top-25 men’s right-handed shake-hand offensive players as samples and proposed a tactical benefit algorithm and a visible evaluation model to analyse tactical performance. The model could help coaches and players find meaningful tactics quickly and easily and make reasonable comparisons between them. The results showed that 1) the numbers of tactics based on the tactical association-mining model and the L-shaped curve were 37 in the first six strokes. Among them, there were 9 selected tactics in the first to third strokes, the third to fifth strokes, and the second to fourth strokes, respectively, and 10 selected tactics in the fourth to sixth strokes. 2) The visible evaluation model of tactical benefit can determine the difference between the frequency, scoring rate, and benefit of different tactics as mapped into the model as well as quickly and effectively discover the distribution of tactics and measure the advantages and disadvantages of tactics from multiple dimensions.