Stroke performance relevance model for elite table tennis matches

ABSTRACT To analyse the technical strength of elite table tennis players more accurately, a model of stroke performance relevance (SPR) was proposed in this study, and 40 matches between Chinese male elite players and players from other countries were selected as samples. Compared with other match analysis methods in table tennis, the main advantage of the SPR model is that a) the calculating the performance relevance of each stroke can more completely reflect the technical and tactical advantage or disadvantage of both players than can the traditional analysis methods. b) In addition to the contribution (score) and responsibility (loss) information, the SPR value includes information on the orders of stroke and scores, which can better reflect the role of various game actions in different game periods. This is the most important difference between the SPR model and traditional match analysis methods. In addition, the SPR analysis showed that the first three strokes, the three techniques (“topspin + attack”, touch short, twist), and the three placements (long backhand, long forehand, long middle) in a table tennis match had an important impact on the game results. The technical strength of Chinese players was significantly better than that of players from other countries.