Effect of different playing surfaces of the table on ball bounces in table tennis

Abstract

the purpose of this study was to measure the coefficient of restitution, ball spin and coefficient of friction (CoF) that are generated between the table tennis table and the ball. Nine combinations consisting of three table tennis tables and three balls were tested, each from three manufacturers (manufacturers of tables: mfr.A, mfr.B, mfr.C, manufactures of balls: mfr.B, mfr.C, mfr.D). process was measured with two methods. first method was to pull a triangular raft placed on top of three balls across the playing surface at a constant speed with a mini motor. second method was to photograph the balls before and after bounce after being shot out from a robot machine at backspin or topspin with a high-speed camera. These methods are shown in The ITTF Table Technical Leaflet T1. first finding indicated that the CoF was the lowest when the ball made by mfr.C is combined with any table. In particular the CoF was the lowest for the combinations using the ball made by mfr.C and the table made by mfr.B. first finding made it clear that the ball slippage varied according to the combination of table tennis tables and balls of different brands. second finding indicated that the frictional force was produced in the direction of the ball when the rotation speed of the topspin ball before bounce reached 3000 rpm or more. It was revealed that the rotation speed decreased (21.7 %) and speed increased (7.2 %). CoF was produced in the opposite direction when the balls were hit with a backspin in any rotation speed. rotation speed decreased by 26.5 % and 18.1 % when before bounce it was 2500-3500 rpm and 4500-5500 rpm respectively. resilience of the table tennis table made by mfr.C was lower than other tables in both topspin and backspin. table with the highest CoF value generated in backspin was table tennis table by mfr.A, followed by mfr.C and mfr.B in this order. On the whole, the CoF was low for any combination of the ball made by mfr.C and the three different table tennis tables. It follows from these results that the trajectory of the ball varied in small amounts based on the CoF between the table tennis table and the ball. That is, when hitting the ball, the player's performance was affected depending on which combination of table tennis table and ball was used. In conclusion, in order to raise the performance of a player's hits, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of both spin and trajectory when using different combinations of table tennis tables and balls.